Anguish's page

The early portion of the module involves several skill tests, which are fine in their own right, but by the time a combat encounter rolls around, we were already bored.

The actual area where play takes place is interesting enough. That said, the whole adventure is on a timer with a constant time-pressure that is vague. "Do we have time to check one more room?" Who knows? We achieved the most important task of the module first, and spent the rest wondering if we could afford to do the rest or if we should just leave. Not a good feeling.

The final "boss" fight was too much. It involves one creature which is party level +1, and unlike PF1, that's a huge difference. Against anyone but a perfectly armored, shielded PC, it's going to crit on its first strike. And that's enough to take out anything but the perfectly optimized barbarian in that one hit. It can comfortably kill another, lesser PC on its second strike. So yeah, party of 5 reduced to 3 active members pretty much immediately. No healing can keep up with its damage output, so even if you come back up from a heal, you're prone, wounded, barely alive, and going to die.

So, for a first PF2 adventure, don't try this one. Balance is probably off, and the start is... bland.

I'll leave the proper reviewing to the likes of Endz but here's what I see.

This offers a series of expanded options for people playing a soulknife. If you don't know what that is, first buy Ultimate Psionics, enjoy the awesome, then come back. This comes in both "lite" and "full" editions and is 18 pages consisting of the cover, the copyright page, an introduction page, the OGL page, and the back cover, leaving 13 pages of rules text. Other than the cover, there are two bits of art, one of which is admittedly extracted from the cover. Formatting follows Dreamscarred's standard two-column layout.

Inside, there are what looks to be 34 new blade skills. These offer a wide variety of customization. There's one that basically gives you to power points per soulknife level, thus softening the blow for multiclass soulknives. There's one that lets you throw your mindblade like a grenade, detonating pretty much as you'd expect. There seem to be a few designed to cross over between existing soulknife styles, letting you dabble in melee if you're playing a soulbolt, letting you dabble in armor if you're playing a standard soulknife, and so on. There is also psychic toolkit, which literally lets you manifest (amongst other things) a psionic blanket. Too cool.

The remainder of the PDF consists of three new archetypes.

The augmented blade is designed for those players that want to use found or bought weaponry instead of a manifested mindblade. Such a character gains a psicrystal which then bonds with a traditional weapon, imparting many of the benefits normally reserved for mindblades. This also comes with a set of new blade skills that support this approach to augmenting traditional items. These allow augmenting shields, armor, or tools. Psicrystal power source is exceptionally cool. Amongst other things, if you use your psicrystal to augment a spell-trigger item such as a wand, you can spend power points out of your own pool (remember, there's that blade skill I mentioned that gives you more power points?) and doing so uses your soulknife level as caster level and your Wisdom mod to calculate saving throws. This is an interesting and elegant way to build a character who carries around a variety of cheap wands yet isn't crippled by their normal limitations. Yes, you can split your psicrystal to augment multiple items, once you're high enough level.

The brutality blade is a sort of fusion of the soulknife, barbarian, and wilder classes. Basically, the brutality blade has some restrictions regarding the flexibility of their mindblade, but they can manifest a "rage blade" for a number of rounds per day similar to a barbarian's rage, and when doing so, they can augment that blade more, with magical enhancements. Doing so risks suffering damage, similar to a wilder's psychic enervation. The brutality blade is also Charisma-based for class features. There are a handful of new blade skills for a rage blade, similar to rage powers. As the brutality blade levels up, they gain a more traditional rage which increases the odds of suffering enervation. As a capstone, a rage blade can maintain their fully augmented rage blade while in a null psionics field or similar, making them likely the only combatant able to rely on a magical weapon.

The psychic armory is able to manifest a floating quasi-real arsenel of melee weapons which they can telekinetically fling at foes. Amusingly, these weapons threaten and can be used to make attacks of opportunity despite their being used as ranged attacks. Surprise! The psychic armory designs their weapon array including magical enhancements and damage types. Such drastic changes justify the inclusion of a series of supporting blade skills allowing such customization as expanding the area threatened by the armory, mixing melee and ranged weaponry, and turning the swarm of weapons into a defensive wall.

The new archetypes are creative and definitely more than just a rehash of existing character concepts. With this product, the variety of soulknife builds is expanded dramatically, allowing - as the author points out - every soulknife to be very different from those that have come before.

Disclosure: I have done volunteer editing and layout for DSP in the past, but have no involvement with this product.

Well, I just got my case and felt like sharing my impressions. This is my first full case since Rise of the Runelords, though I've been ordering a lot of singles from Paizo for other sets, and picking up a bunch from my FLGS who also opens up boxes and puts singles up for sale. I've also got a bunch of older minis so I've got quite a bit to compare against.

1} BRIMORAK This is exactly what it looks like in the preview except more of the legs are painted as pants, which is good. An excellent mixture of clear orange and painted surfaces. Very nice, and three of these suits me just fine.

2} SLOTH DEMON AKA DRETCH This Small demon is very nicely done. There's a great brown/pink wash applied that looks much better in person than in the preview. My only regret is that I only got three of these, which I plan to remedy shortly.

3} BAPHOMET CULTIST These are pretty standard "soldier guys" with a good paint job. All four of mine are without issues, even around the face. A good addition to any starter collection.

4} WILL-O-WISP The first one of these I opened struck me as really cool. I'm very glad this was included in the set since they're so... unusual. Erik's preview mentioning the floating skull couldn't do the real thing justice. The second one, I thought "hey, yeah, I guess I could see an encounter with a couple of these." The fifth one, having reached barely over half of my case, I started fearing every box-opening, expecting to end up with way too many. Fortunately that didn't happen.

5} BERBALANG These neat green demons look better in person than in the preview. Especially the effect involving holes in the wings - an artistic touch used elsewhere in this set. The protruding tongue isn't obvious in the preview, but all three of mine are truly disgusting. Very cool mini.

6} SCHIR DEMON I got four of these minitaur minis. Yes, I said minitaur. They've got a simple paint application with about three primary colours, but the end result is a very solid mini. I'm quite pleased to have these unique little monsters.

7} LOST SOUL These guys will work well as a couple classic undead if you're starting a new collection. Sort of zombie-like, they'd sub in as ghosts, or even as skeletons with only a bit of imagination. The sculpt is excellent while the two-colour paint job makes for a simple yet decent end result. Unlike the preview, these aren't green-tinted... all four of mine are a nice grey.

8} BLOOD DEMON AKA BABAU The preview doesn't do these guys justice. The paint job on my three is simple - which makes total sense given what these things are - but the sculpt is much more detailed than is evident in Paizo's picture. There's much more texture to them and the paint is somewhat less glossy. I like them a lot, enough that I'll be rounding out my three with a bunch more.

9} DEMONIAC Hey look, scary guys with fireballs and hoods! These make great assassins or cultists or even PC mages. They've got a simple paint application but the excellent sculpt sells it. All four of mine are done well.

10} INVIDIAK AKA SHADOW DEMON How the heck do you paint something that's supposed to be made of shadow? Well, these are a bit lighter than the preview picture but that shows off a heck of a lot more texture. Very, very nice sculpt. I may consider trying a dark wash on a couple of my five to make some variety, but I'm glad I've got these. They can sub in as undead nicely too.

11} MONGREL I wasn't sold on the preview of these, but the real ones are quite nice. I got four of them and the green and red bits are more muted than in the preview, which makes them look right. Quite the mutated little monsters. These are very well executed.

12} SLIME DEMON AKA OMOX What the preview shows is what you get, except - as Erik said - there's a nice glossy clear-coat on them that makes them look barftastic. All four of mine make me want to spew chunks.

13} DESKARI CULTIST I got three of these soldiers-with-scythes. They're more of a jade green than the preview shows, which makes them look really good. Recent problems regarding facial features aren't showing their ugly... face... with these. They've even got nice goatees.

14} VERMLEK DEMON Ewwww. These things are gross, and nicely underline how demons are chaotic. There's just random things wrong with demons that tends not to happen with orderly devils. Most of the paint job on my three are flat colours, but the heads/necks have a cool bloody red wash which shows off some really interesting striations in the skin. If I wasn't afraid they'd bite them off, I'd give two thumbs up. Deceptively simple minis.

15} ABRIKANDILU DEMON My pair of these psychotic book-eating hunch-backed demons aren't quite as nice as the preview. There's a little bit of detailing colour missing from their robes that I think the final product really needed. The sculpt is incredible and I suspect the paint application was simplified to bring overall complexity down, to not risk mistakes. I'll probably add a bit of colour to mine because they're so very, very close to being exquisite. Definitely worth getting, but the only (slight) let-down in the set, I felt, if only because the bar is so incredibly high.

16} DEMONIC FAMILIAR AKA QUASIT Little green not-imps that look exactly like the preview picture. Again tiny sculpted holes in their wings impress me. Three is a good number of these, and that's what I got.

17} BASILISK These also look better in person than the preview, which is much too dark. The real ones are more grey, looking kind of like stone. Clearly not the forest-dwellers from the Bestiary. I might grab one more to add to my two and paint that one green. A good addition to a basic collection given eight-legged non-spiders are rare minis indeed.

18} SHAGGY FIEND/DEMODAND I imagine real ones are shaggier than these but I quite like them as they are. These have a couple small rents in their wings and despite their simple mostly-grey paint application, they kind of imposing. I probably would have stayed with the more vibrant burgundy robes in the preview but still, I like them, all three.

19} SLIMY FIEND/DEMODAND These guys are very frog-like. I didn't get it just how squat and bulky these monsters are. Excellent sculpts. There's a touch of a clear wash on their arms and hands that's supposed to show off how they're slimy but there's so little of it that I didn't notice at first. Definitely these are going to get more of that treatment, then they'll be a terrifying trio.

20} TARRY FIEND/DEMODAND I don't know how to interpret these. They're pretty much exactly what the preview shows. Armored demodands. The paint job is good, the sculpt is good, but the monster I just don't get. Maybe it's the lack of tar anywhere. Still, these are unique monsters that would be difficult to substitute something else into the place of. I'm happy I've got two.

21} INCUBUS These are totally Rob Zombie meets Ozzie Osbourne, only is a demon. I've always liked the art that inspired these, and all three of mine have excellent paint applications over their equally excellent sculpt. The wings are even more textured on the back than the preview hints at. These are great miniatures.

22} DEATH DEMON AKA NABASU These are much more purple than the preview shows. The texture and overall paint job do a remarkable job at replicating the demented Bestiary artwork, except the light purple base colour. I'll be ordering another to go with my two, with hopes to darken it up a bit as an experiment. Don't get me wrong... these are absolutely top-notch. I just personally am reacting poorly to the base colour.

23} LOW TEMPLAR Just to remind me that there are things other than demons in the universe, these standard soldier types marched into my collection. They are generally very good in the paint department, better than I can do on my own certainly. One of my three has blobby mush-face paint though. The other two show wonderful detail and shadowing. It's clear someone just had too much paint on their brush for one of them. A very good sign that the artists in the East are getting better again.

24} HORNED DEMON AKA KALAVAKUS Now these guys are supposed to be purple and it works really well. The two-colour paint work on the ridges and horns is even better in person than the preview shows. This is me, happily clicking to add one more to my shopping cart because two just won't be enough of this very special mini.

25} MONGREL ARCHER There's facial detail lurking in that hood! They've got mostly blue skin as the preview hints, but there some red swirling on their faces that looks like war-paint or tattoos. I love everything about these from the sculpt to the very nicely applied paint job to the pose. I'd say "wow", but I'm saving that for later. All three of mine are very, very well done.

26} SUICIDE DEMON AKA SERAPTIS I wasn't sold on this creature from the preview but I like both of them in person. The blood on the hands is more a flat red but that looks better, I think. The only thing I might've done is added a little more colour to their robes, but being suicide demons the plain black goth woe-is-me emo look works.

27} ALAIN, HUMAN CAVALIER "Derpty-derpty-derp, I'm Alain, and the coolest thing about me is a horse." Alain is easily my least-favorite iconic but I am downright proud to have two of this mini in my collection. These are absolutely up to the original standards from the first four iconics. Very impressive detail, meticulous paint application, and a generally perfect execution. Kudos Paizo, you made a version of this guy I can't shrug off as unimpressive.

28} IMRIJKA Where I generally have little but disdain for Alain and his silly four-legged bestie, I've got a soft spot for his half-orc hottie. She's my favorite iconic and I'm glad to have two of her... a fantasy I will now take a moment to savour.

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Okay, that said, one of mine has just enough face-paint mistakes to make me wonder if the poor sap in China who did this has ever seen a humanoid. The other one surpasses my hopes and is really nice. Fangs and all. Pupils, eye-whites, fangs, and a hint of eyebrows. Seriously well-done. The things I said about Alain apply here - except the bit about the horse. I can probably touch-up the weird-faced Imrijka and she'll rejoin the dream-twin duo. Again, worthy of the iconics. Good job Wizkids and Paizo.

29} JARUUNICKA I look forward to playing Wrath of the Righteous, in about a year when the Tsar campaign I'm running wraps up. Then I can find out what the heck Jaruunicka actually is. The blood-splattered skirt looks much better in person than in the preview. All three of mine are well-done. I reserve judgement because I don't know anything about her, having not seen the original art or the reason why she looks as she does. There may be a good reason, but I would've liked to see her foot-gear and under-skirt a different colour so as to cut down on the everything-is-brown situation. Coupled with her grey hair being so similar to the off-white robes, it gives the impression there's a simpler mini than there really is.

30} LOCUST DEMON Run away now, if you want to live. These aren't the most terrifying of this set but boy, these are great minis. I got three of them and they're all really perfect. The wings are translucent. There's a hint of that in the preview picture but in person these are disgusting, frightening monsters. For minis with something like three colours on them, these are incredible.

31} FROST DRAKE These are neat monsters. The lack of front legs looks so disturbing that it's a cool effect. They are much more an icy blue than the aquamarine shown in the preview, so they're just perfect at what they are. I got three and they've all got a flawless execution.

32} RIFT DRAKE Clearly these are the more angry purple-and-orange version of the frost drakes. I am a big fan of the head portion of the sculpt. You can't see it in the preview, but they're more vulture-like than dragon-like and it's a menacing look that goes with the clutching claws. There's nothing to not like about getting three of these.

33} MOUNTED ALAIN There's nothing in this world more pathetic than Alain and his horse... except Alain without his horse. Clearly Erik took pity on him and included this sculpt as a consolation, trying (in vain) to make up for Alain being Alain. I am thrilled that I got three of these. Not because of who it is, but because there just aren't quite enough people-on-horses minis. These are perfect, with lots of detail and shadowing. I especially like the pose... the horse is just in the process of tossing his unwanted rider, or so I can imagine.

34} VESCAVOR QUEEN Kill it! Kill it quickly, preferably with fire. These look exactly like the preview shows only... so much stupidly bigger that they evoke an instinctive reaction of being revolted. Ughhh. So disturbing. These tower over Alain and his horse, with enough body mass that you can imagine them eating the cavalier easily. I just wish I didn't only have two... because there's nobody to eat the third mounted Alain.

35} HALF-FIEND MINOTAUR This monster has a bit more detail than you can see in the preview. His hair and the crags in his face and neck add a lot to the end result, making up amply for him being a brown & black mini. Much larger than the original minotaur, this winged freak came in a set of three into my collection and they're quite good. The paint is positioned well and there's enough of it to make him not feel boring. Nicely done.

36} MINOTAUR Someone stick these guys in a maze that can't be solved by always turning left. I like these... they've got a snout that's much more bull than humanoid, which is a unique look. There's a lot of skin detail and a really good dark wash applied over their base paint that makes them look nice. Not the world's most complicated mini, but as far as minotaur go these are top notch. I got two of them.

37} GRIMSLAKE This is one of those weird things that I wasn't sold on. Intellectually I get it that they're not easily represented by anything else. Emotionally I wonder what else I'll ever use them for. That said, they're pretty well-done. There a thin clear wash on them that makes the white bits glisten. If you've ever actually looked at a caterpillar, they're quite disgusting creatures. Well, these are worse. They're pretty simple minis and I think Erik is justified in including them. While I'm turned off by the creature itself, the execution is pretty good.

38} GIMCRAK I'm guessing this guy is a kind of uber-quasit or something. The mold looks like maybe a quasit with a few too many rogue levels than is good for anyone's health. He's got a nice thin dagger ready to shove in someone and some black leather armor. For such a small mini they've done a good job of applying paint in interesting ways. I like the wing ribbing.

39} ARUESHALAE I'm guessing someone sneezed. Wait. That's her name? Well, bless you. And while you're at it, bless Paizo. This mini has every bit as much detail on it as the iconics typically do. Her armor, clothing, and weapons are all very detailed. She's even got a tiny tattoo on her cheek. The only thing keeping this from being an 11 out of 10 in my book is that her neck seems impossibly long and thin. Still, I'm avoiding looking at the source material, so it's entirely possible that she's meant to be that way. This is a beautiful mini.

40} AREELU VORLESH Yes, I am in fact vorlesh. Wait. I already made a joke about a succubus' name? Darn. Well, this "lady" isn't quite as heavily-detailed as the sneezecubus above but she's still a very good mini. The sculpt is interesting (love the nearly-hidden dagger and the "look over here" raised gauntlet) and the facial detail is flawless. Very much one of the best Pathfinder minis.

41} QUEEN GALFREY Queen as in... this is a female? Honestly aside from the long hair - and let it be known that I (a male) sport a pony tail - I would've lost a lot of money betting this