"I'm sorry; I have no idea. I asked, but he wouldn't tell me. I don't think he told anyone. Maybe if you could find his journal he might have written it down there."
Brinya looked embarassed.
"Well, when we got engaged, we traded hopeknives to symbolize our union, and had Sara Morninghawk engrave them with our love notes.” Pulling at her heavy silver necklace, Brinya reveals her own hopeknife
dangling from the chain. “See? This was Rodrik’s hopeknife. It says, ‘For Brinya, my love.’"
Brinya goes on to reveal that Rodrik lost the hopeknife she had given him in the course of his investigation.
When she learned of the loss on the night of Ruby’s hopeknife ceremony, Brinya was furious, and she told Rodrik she didn’t want to see him again until he found it or otherwise made things right.
If she had known that night would be the last time she would see her beloved, Brinya laments, she would have acted much differently.
With Rodrik’s death, Brinya’s anger at him quickly transformed into overwhelming grief, and she unfairly blames herself for his death.
DC 15 Knowledge (local), or who is a native of Trunau:
You know that engaged or married couples exchanging hopeknives is a common tradition in Trunau.
At Grobradon's statement of admiration, Brinya smiled fondly.
Perception DC15:
When she speaks of Rodrik, she touched the hopeknife hanging between her breasts.
Brinya talks at length about his beautiful poems (which initially attracted her to him), and about how Rodrik was always writing something. She confides that Rodrik kept a journal as well, and suggests the entries he wrote up to his final night might provide insight into his murder. Unfortunately, she has no idea where the journal might be.
Obviously, there’s his room in the Ramblehouse, but Rodrik also frequently went to Trunau’s Sanctuary with his writing.
According to Brinya, Rodrik said he had a “thoughtful muse” there, but he never elaborated.
Brinya had always just assumed her lover was finding solace in devotion to Iomedae, but now she wonders if there really was someone at the church—someone who might know more about what happened to Rodrik, or worse, betrayed him.
She nodded; then gathered herself together and started talking about Rodrik.
She explained that the couple had been seeing each other for months, and Rodrik finally proposed to her using his mother’s ring.
Even once they were engaged, Rodrik was careful to keep the relationship hidden from his father, who wouldn’t approve of the match. Decidedly not.
Brinya grudgingly respected her beloved’s wishes for privacy, though his cowardice inspired no shortage of annoyance as well, and was a source of contention between them.
It didn’t help that Rodrik soon became preoccupied with some sort of investigation, what he called “his greatest work”—the details of which he refused to share with Brinya.
To make matters even worse, Rodrik’s father, Jagrin, did finally find out about the couple’s relationship, and repudiated his son for betrothing himself to a “filthy half-orc.”
"Sorry again! Father Noelan hid us in here while he... tried to rescue the Chapel." She said sadly.
"Sir, what are we going to do? Sooner or later they're going to come for us; a lot more! What do we do now?" She pleaded to Big John.
This is Father Noelan's Assistant in keeping the Shrine in order, Rhyna.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She said. Realizing she had been hitting Ghosteye with a chair, she dropped it immediately.
"It's just... we saw what happened to Father Noelan. I thought that this was our only chance..." She said, almost in tears.
One of the small servitors ran past Elandra on the second floor down to the stairway.
"Miss Jet! Miss Jet! Those southland merchants won't come out of their rooms!" She piped.
Jet, who was not just the barkeep but the owner as well, shouted out; "OK, we're all escaping! I'm gonna need help carrying supplies! Come on!"
She threw open the doors to the kitchen and stormed through.
"I gots some shine I din't put in me chest." She proudly holds out a coin that she's produced forwards for inspection.
While the coin is obviously and evidently made of gold, exactly what country or even vintage is obscured by the barnacles and other verdigres that things long left beneath the sea accumulate with time.
The woman reaches out and takes it.
"Wha... This is an Azlanti Florin! It must be worth a hundred and fifty crowns at least!" She said, wonderingly.
She looked back to Sunny.
"Are you sure you don't have anything sma..." She said, then stopped suddenly.
She blinked.
"Why are you naked? And wet?" She asked, her eyes looking at Sunny oddly.
Then she reached out and touched Sunny gently.
"Oh honey, are you in trouble?"
"Hey-YA there! M'name be 'Sunny' in'a speakin' of tha' peoples." She exctends a tanned arm towards the girl then blinks and tilts her blond head. "Wots a 'tick-ette'?" (^_^)
The girl turned to Sunny with a confused smile.
"Oh, hello! Um, do you want a ticket? We're set to voyage to Sargova. It's thirty crowns, but you need to decide now as we're about to cast off." She said, gesturing towards the ship.
"Sorry Ghirrak," Annie said as she mopped her forehead. She tugged at her blouse, which had adhered to her body from the sweat.
"I don't know any magic like that. I can let you breathe underwater, but that's it."
Kendra gasped as Skiia's potion and Ereviss' wand heals her leg enough to snap the bone back into place and knit together again.
"Thank you Skiia, and thank you Ereviss!" She sighed, just leaning against him in relief of the pain. "That thing... It lured us into that cornfield!"
Suddenly there is a metallic *SNAP* and Kendra screamed in pain as she fell down. You see that her leg is caught in a beartrap, and, due to the unnatural bend, obviously broken.
Kendra retreated, along with the others, back to the overgrown pathway. There they were able to breath easier, out of the stench of decay under the giant cornstalks.
She gulped and nodded north towards the abandoned farmhouse nearest to their position.
"So. Check that spooky farmhouse out?"
Taking her cue from Ereviss' dramatic placement of the planchette on the ouiji board, Kendra gasped and looked around wildly.
"They're here. THEY'RE HERE! The spirits of the murdered children! Can't you FEEL the cold breath of death on the backs of your necks?" She intoned excitedly.
Diplomacy:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22
Rhia:
No there aren't.
Although...
That planchette. It fascinates you. It draws, no, demands your attention like nothing you've ever seen before...
It has a power, a resonance with yours.
Nodding, Kendra started.
Fixing the sisters with a look of desperate urgency.
"I know this is a painful memory for you, and I'm sorry. But isn't there something you left out, perhaps because you didn't think it had any connection? This is perhaps the last chance we have to gain something like justice..." She said cajoling.
Diplomacy:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
She booted Ereviss under the table, signaling him to help her.
While probing around the edges of the old campfire with her staff, you all heard a *clink* of metal-on-glass.
"Ereviss? Do you know what this could be?" Kendra asked with a puzzled frown on her face.
Kendra made her way delicately around the areas where the creepy looking fetishes dangled down from the trees, wringing her hands and saying 'Ew' when she had to brush by them in any way. Going over by the old fireplace, she poked about with her staff.
"Thank you your honor. My father spoke fondly of you as well.
"As you may already know, we are here in accordance to my father's last will and testament. The delivery of this book." She said, motioning for Christoph to give the book over.
Kendra patted the mans hand in reassurance.
"Of course, think nothing of it.
"I must tell you professor, I am curious as to what happened to your classroom. It looked like a whole wall had collapsed!" She asked, curious.
Kendra smiled and reassured Professor Crowl.
"What he meant was you shouldn't hold things back, such as to protect me." she said, simultaneously driving an elbow into Ereviss' ribs.
Turning around sharply with her lamp; Kendra gave a sharp gasp and threw herself backwards, crashing into Ereviss and sending them both sprawling. The lamp flew twenty yards over your heads, blinding you for a moment, before dropping into the reed filled bog and winking out with a hiss.
Perception DC20:
You noticed a bulky, misshapen figure that was right next to Kendra; but looking back, its gone now.
Kendra shrugged at Rhia.
"I don't really know the route myself; it has been years since I came here as a baby. Perhaps our coachman knows."
Spotting Councillor Hearthmount trundling up to the carriage in his overcoat, she charged up to him.
"Young lady, I..." He got out before she kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you for looking after the house Vashian!" She said brightly as she handed him a small ring of keys.
He turned a bright red and tipped his hat as she ran back to the coach and boarded.
Kendra accepts a picnic basket and puts it aboard the coach.
"For lunch." She commented.
She accepted a lesser one wrapped in news sheets and gave it to their driver.
She looked at you all.
"If you are ready, it's time." She said, motioning towards the open door of the coach.
"Ereviss!" Kendra called out as she ran up to him and took his hand. She was now clad in her travelling dress and cloak.
"Did you get what you needed from Father Grimburrow?" She asked all of you.
Kendra smiled at Christoph's concern.
"You need not be concerned. The neighbors will gossip no matter what you wear. Feel free to wear something more comfortable, but..."
Her face turned serious.
"Do not go unarmed. Even if it's only a staff or walking stick. Those Whispering Way people are still out there, somewhere." She said, remembering the fate of her father.
Nodding, Kendra said;"I agree. We depart tomorrow morning."
She rose.
"I must to bed now, if we are to get up early enough to find the good Father before the stage leaves. Good night all!"
She takes a taper and goes to her bedroom.
Val was boggled at the claim that Cheshire and the tiger were brothers, but was distracted at Celest's entrance.
Wrinkling her nose, she walked over to the rogue as she helped herself to a bottle of fine liquor.
"Miss Celest it is good to have you back. Might I suggest a dip in the horse trough out front before tracking that vile smelling goo all over the tavern, which I just cleaned?"
When Flynn arrived, Val shot across the floor to tackle/hug him.
"Master Flynn, you're back! Shall I draw a bath and launder your soiled clothes?" She asked eagerly.
Flynn wrote:
"Val, I need a good bottle of wine, a couple of hot lemon scented towels and Lily here needs some serious bandages."
"Right away Master Flynn!" She said, and bustled off to find said items.
The swinging half-doors creaked open and bootsteps echoed as a figure entered. A short figure.
The barkeep lit the lanterns in the dusk light, showing a cute girl in blacksmiths' clothing and smudged face. She glanced over the sparse crowd to light on Variel and Cheshire and hurried over to them.
"Hi! I'm Val, and I run this place until Master Khonnir comes back. Are you guys here about the ad?"
She nodded.
"Master Flynn will be by to look you over with his assistants. His rescue party needs more hands after the last attempt, the poor souls. Let me get you a free drink while you're waiting! What'll you have?" She said brightly.
Lisandra whispered; "Thank you my friends. Gods willing, we will meet again. Now gather together..."
She makes you stand in a ring as she Channels Positive Energy on you all thrice for 3d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 3) = 15, 3d6 ⇒ (2, 5, 1) = 8, and 3d6 ⇒ (5, 4, 1) = 10 points of healing.
With that, she drinks her potion of invisibility and departs through the front door.
“What happened? Should we expect interference on the road to Lepidstadt?”
Kendra shook her head.
"No, no. We managed to banish the spirits that had haunted Harrowstone and the whole province. At a high cost." She said with a sigh.
"It is these cloaked men; the whispering men who trapped the spirit of the Warden and killed my father by crushing his skull."
She shuddered.
"They're still out there. Somewhere."
She dashed the tears from her eyes.
"So yes; I am grateful and accept your offer of escort to Lepidstadt."
There is a knock at the door.
"Oh! Here is our supper finally." She said.
Rising to her feet, she accepts a couple of large baskets from a boy and brings them to the dinner table.
She quickly serves out an excellent stew, with hearty black bread, butter and honey.
Kendra Lorrimor hugged Christoph, Skiia and Rhia tightly.
"Thank you for coming anyway. I know my father would appreciate it...
"But come! You have come a long way, and you will stay with me at the Lorrimor house tonight. I won't hear of an Inn!" She said imperiously.
It is clear to the newcomers that the Professor's daughter had changed since they had seen her last. No longer a callow youth, she seemed older than her years. And that white streak in her hair...
She led the way to the house, recruiting whatever help is needed to shift luggage. He unlocked the door and bustled about relighting lamps, reopening doors and windows and righting tables and chairs from where they were in storage mode.
Soon they sat around a fire in the living room, a glass of a nice chardonnay in hand.
"I've asked the Inn to send over a meal for us all, but it will be twenty minutes or so."
She hesitated, unsure as to how to explain what happened clearly; it was all so muddled when she thought back.
She begins by describing the Funeral, which had been briefly interruped by fear haunted villagers trying to drive off the 'necromancer' and his henchmen (you) before being run off by your display of arms.
She then described the reading of the will. A transcript of which is in the Campaign Info tab.
A lovely young woman with a white streak at her temple looked startled. She set her trunk down and approached Christoph.
"I am Kendra Lorrimor, Professor Petros Lorrimor's daughter. I am afraid you are too late. His funeral was last week."
She sniffled at that point and quickly swiped at her eyes.
"I'm sorry. You've come a long way and must be tired. Since the coach won't be repaired until tomorrow, you can come to my f... My house."
She turned and remembered her companions.
"Oh yes, this is Ereviss and this is Agrimar, both friends of my fathers who were also invited to the funeral and the reading of the will. What was your name again?"
Still bleeding, Kendra realized the danger and leapt in front of the rat and Ereviss.
"No! Just take cover behind me and keep firing! He can't get to you now!"
She spoke sharply and wove her arms in a subtle pattern. A transparent shield formed in front of her.
Kendra moved to (K,6) and cast Shield.
Val comes up and serves Flynn a heavily laden platter for dinner.
"Is there anything else I can do for you... Flynn?" She asked anxiously.
You can practically see the hearts pulsing in her eyes...
"Oh, sorry!" She said, helping Flynn up as if he were an old man. "My name is Val, Val Blaine. I'm Master Khonnir's apprentice." A PORTRAIT OF VAL BLAINE.
She stepped over to the monster and kicked it. It responded with a *KLONG*.
"'Inert' my ASS!" She swore, shaking her fist.
Limping slightly, she turned to you.
"THAT was a little something Master Khonnir picked up from an expedition to some caverns he found under Black Hill." She explained.
She looked at you skeptically. Then snapped her fingers.
"Hey! You guys must be the heroes contracted by the Council! Miss Dolga said she'd send you this way."
She ushered you into the hillside manor, where she showed you around.
"As long as Master Khonnir is missing, you can use this as your base. I've made up the ground floor rooms of his manor here for your use. There's two single rooms with actual beds, and two double rooms with hammocks. They're all clean and fresh as I can make 'em. Don't go upstairs, that's Master Khonnirs private sanctum. There's a bathroom out back, hot and cold running water, a steam room, there's room at the foundry to make stuff, if you've a mind to, and theres free food and beer at the tavern when yer hungry."
She cocked her head.
"So, who are you again?"
The tinder box behind Flynn popped open with a *BANG*
"Is it over?" Called out the smudged girl in the leather apprentice clothing as she emerged from her hiding place.
"Oh praise Cayden!" She exclaimed as she tacklehugged Flynn hard enough to knock him to the ground.
The editorial warns us the issue covers poisons. And the issue does deliver poison in spades.
The first article, by Steve Russell, is the walking wasteland creature template, bringing poison and putrefaction to an adventure near you. I really like the degeneration aura to shut down fast healing and regeneration. Not much of a fan of the putrefying aura. Cool ability, but a bit wonky in the mechanics. Does it putrify every round or what? The other abilities are appropriately themed and make any creature with this template a conundrum for the party to deal with. At the end of the article, a blink dog is given the template and I feel sorry for the poor creature. Trying to warn of its destructive nature, but blighting the area around it.
The second article is by Mike Welham and presents 18 alchemical items. Most are alternatives to spells with minor drawbacks that help make them unique additions to a healer's handbag. The Miracle Pill is an obvious nod to The Princess Bride. Cauterizing Agent is pretty nifty against bleed. But the real gem here is the [optional] side effects charts!
Next by Creighton Broadhurst are 20 descriptions of chests. No, not the burly man or shapely lady kinds, but storage chests... 1, 9, 13, and 17 were my favorites.
Followed by 20 things found in a vermin infested dungeon by Creighton Broadhurst. 6, 9, and 18 are especially noteworthy.
Fifth on the line up, is a list of quirks by Jonathan McAnulty. Traits that are more powerful than average, but with drawbacks. Each as a result of being poisoned by something in your past. First off and my favorite was the Abuyssal Affinity, grants detect evil, but the character always detects as a little bit evil. So many shenanigans to be had! Ten quirks in total.
Sixth article details gillmen as having a Polynesian flair. This article by Elton Rob ended up being my favorite in this issue. Well thought out and pretty detailed. My only complaint is the racial variant for the gillmen were once again created by aboleths. Also, glance over the Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting to understand the the variant gillmen.
This issue's interview is with Jacob Blackmon (no mon, he's not Jamaican). I read this article first, as I like his art and he's pretty humorous on Facebook. Pretty good, had a couple giggles reading it. He also does the comic at the end and it reminds me of my niece a little...
And finally, the issue ends with reviews. I never read these for some reason.
General plot = okay except as spoilered below. A bit predictable, but while I knew the knife was coming, the direction it came from was not predictable.
Characters = well done and consistent. Not a fan of the classes used.
Plot vs Rules:
The rune on the summoner's head should have been visible, removing the only suspenseful part of the novel. But that would have ruined the plot, so instead, the author ruined the story for me.
Classes:
Summoners and gunslingers are supposed to be rare outside of the respective areas they hail from. But both are found far from home, coincidentally, in a speck of a town in the River Kingdoms.
I am also a "no guns in my fantasy" type of guy, so that is a mark against the novel for me.
And why are there so many summoners in PF Tales all of a sudden? I swear if there is a summoner in any upcoming PF Tales, I am canceling my subscription. So prolly the next Dave Gross novel featuring Radovan, the synthesist summoner (another class I dislike in general).
Enemies:
Climatic battle: 15th level summoner, 9th level witch, 6th level pack lord & misc low level rangers = How did so many of the party survive? And the enemies tactics sucked for the preparation time and knowledge of the heroes they had.
I had written a longer review, but it was consumed by the post monster and I have calmed down a bit...
Content: 4/5
Nine pages of content and pages with other stuff.
The foreword is well written and is resplendent with a few bad jokes.
The first chart has 100 interesting physical details for a zombie. Pickled zombie (#97) anyone?
The second chart lists objects found on or carried by a zombie. I felt a bunch of the items were inappropriate or just silly. Take for example the "potato; overgrown with eyes all over" (#59). I placed it on a zombie during a PFS scenario. After 15 minutes of trying to figure out what the deal with the zombie was, the players were pissed that it was just a plain potato. "Why did the f---ing zombie have a potato?" was yelled by one upset player.
Table C (which wasn't really a table) has 6 zombie templates and stats for a human and fast human zombie. I had a "D'oh" moment when I saw the legless zombie and wondered why I had never seen it before.
Table D has 20 adventure hooks to transform a zombie encounter into something more interesting during a campaign. My favorite is the zombie cat lady!
The last page is a "Understanding Statblocks for Dummies." Good introduction for new GMs.
Crunchitude: 3/5
I don't think enough effort went into the zombie templates. The frozen template listed a base speed rather than a modifier, the grinning template seems underpowered, and the zombie swarm needs alot more work in my opinion. It seems to assume a Medium sized creature, no speed change, and a few other quibbles.
The zombie stat blocks were not done in the standard fashion, which I believe detracts from their usefulness. I am used seeing a statblock in a certain way and varying from that is distracting. Also there are a few minor mistakes, but the stat blocks are still useable.
The zombie pet template is kind of a stretch and would make more sense for an archetype or a variant Improved Familiar styled feat.
Flavourocity: 4/5
I disliked the chart for what the zombie is carrying. Hauling around a dead baby is pushing the line for some people. Quite a few items make no sense for a mindless creature to carry with them.
Also, a head is not a limb (zombie swarm template)...
Last Words: This was a well done product. I will be using a few of the templates in my home game and definitely the zombie descriptions.
I feel the author missed a chance with the zombie stat blocks. The human zombie is already presented in the Bestiary and providing a different zombie would have been more useful. And instead of a fast zombie, apply one of the new templates to the standard human zombie.
Content - 5/5
The meat and potatoes is 7 pages; 1 page foreword, 6 pages of trapiness, and a bunch of other pages with stuff on them.
Many people tend to skip the foreword, which is a shame. The author, Creighton Broadhurst, does a good job outlining the product and I had a giggle at the line “that was never a CR 1 trap”.
The product begins with a list of 13 pit traps, CR 1-13. A nice variety of different depths, damages, and the occasional inclusion spikes, some with poison. And an accompanying wall Climb DC chart for easy reference.
Next is a d100 chart with descriptive details for the physical appearance of the pit. 44 different descriptions and 2 re-roll possibilities.
The third chart is a d100 with 98 flavour bits, some of which have mechanical impact on escaping the trap, and 2 re-roll possibilities.
And the content finishes up with 4 fully detailed traps, a sidebar about falling into various environmental hazards, and a sidebar about creatures appropriate for placing in a pit trap. On a whim, I tossed the detailed CR 4 trap on my party and hilarity ensued. "A trap within a trap is just evil" and ended up spawning a 2 hour detour for the group.
Crunchitude - 5/5
The content was very well done in this regard. One glaring thing that stuck out to me was the addition of disease to a pit trap would increase the DC (in my opinion). A minor nit-pick is the Disable Device on the trap chart stayed at a constant DC 20.
Flavouricity - 4/5
Art - Two standard holes in the ground, one spiked and one not.
Word Dressing - Well written descriptive text was included for all the tables, but I was a tad disappointed the detailed traps did not include much of it. The second table was unlabeled, which wasn't much of a flaw, but was a bit distracting for my OCD. And the third listed table isn't a table, but rather just 4 traps. BLARG!
Last Words
Two things I would have liked to have seen is a small sidebar on how to lure your players into a pit trap and trigger variations for a pit trap.
Art: One of the things I like about Wayfinder is the large variety of artwork. The change in styles found throughout are more apt to grab my attention. The cover was really well done, with amazing detail on the weapon and the blur around the boat on top of the water lending itself to how it may seen from below the waves. Ulygun (pg. 2), the Cannibal's Maw map (pg. 5), and the Ulat-Ashad (pg. 79) ended up being my favorite pieces. I found only 3 pieces I did not like (2 were in ads) which is pretty good considering the amount of art found within.
CONTENT
As with every prior issue, the quality of this fanzine keeps increasing.
Foreward Rob McCreary opens with a nice mixture of personal background, professional observations, and drum-up of the current issue.
Weal or Woe 3 articles.
Ulygun and the Sea Crow - Presents 2 a father and daughter combo. Well written flavor, hooks, and boon and drawback. I found it odd Ulygen has low Con and Fort save with no spells to protect her from the cold.
Outside Influence - Presents 2 outsiders playing very cool, unique roles. The drawback on Grtezin seems minor compared to the boon granted by Fyoriel.
Bountiful Troubles - Presents 2 crewmembers of the ship Bountiful. Paul Malaise (woe) lists a boon instead of a drawback.
Adventure 1 article
Into the Cannibal's Maw - This adventure uses the NPCs from the first Weal or Woe article and presents the Bleached Whale which is detailed in another article. I think the adventure is interesting. I liked the variable encounters that react to the PCs actions. The only pat that did not flow well for me is needing to activate the Bleached Whale. It activates for 1 hour at a time by Ulygen, but she is held captive down the hall. It does explain why she is kept alive, but not why she isn't enslaved herself.
Magic Items 3 articles
The Bleached Whale - An artifact ship created from a whale. I am not sure I like some of the choices made for the ships statistics, but it is very well done.
Magic Hoard from the Sea - A very good mix of items for use in waterborne adventuring. My favorites are boat shield, ink compass, and the terrifying squid helm. The two magic weapons presented both pretty powerful and should not be handed out on a whim.
Stacking the Decks: Enchanted Figureheads for Ships of the Inner Sea - 2 figureheads, 1 used to track a target and 1 to protect a crew from the heat.
Gazetteer 6 articles
Black Ice Bay - A small trade village along the coast in the Land of the Linnorm Kings that survives only via a vile deal with a merrow.
Outer Islands of the Ironbound Archipelago - A series of islands found off the coast of the Land of the Linnorn Kings. The map does not quite match the one presented in the ISWG, but that is not a major flaw. Of the 3 islands presented, my favorite was Asgault's Isle.
Halfen - An island on the southern part of what used to be Azlant. I really like the imagery of this article, but I feel the location names could use more work.
An Island, a Beach, and a Wreck - A spider themed island, beach for hatching dragon turtles, and a series of wreck on the bottom of Absalom's harbor.
People and Places of Totra - A coastal city in Osirion, detailing a variety of locations and places.
Caller's Rise - A small, creepy coastal village on the coast of Varisia.
Character Options 4 articles
Prestigious: Ulfen Sea Captain - 10 level prestige class. I am not a big fan of this PrC. Weapon Focus does not make much sense as a prerequisite and Acrobatics wasn't included as a prereq. The class does not receive a full BAB, but it makes up for it with 2 good saves and a good slew of abilities. Sea Prowess grants A 1/2 lvl bonus on 3 heavily used skills which is a pretty big bonus, giving it to Acrobatics doesn't make sense since it wasn't included as a prereq. I believe the war commander and weather reader abilities are meant to be Commander Knacks.
A Crew to Defend Her: Seafaring Archetypes - 2 cavalier and 1 fighter archetype. The first is the argonaut (cavalier) which doesn't seem balanced in my eyes. The sure-footed and argonaut tactics abilities give much better abilities than those that are traded out. The second is the commander (cavalier) that also details 2 new orders. The archetype is well done, providing new options that make ship and personal combat more interesting. The marine (fighter) finishes up with a few cool abilities. I believe the sea legs ability is too powerful a replacement for bravery.
Shoal Runner: A Ranger Archetype - A scavenger archetype. Normally an archetype follows the gender used in the normal class, but this one does not. The class is is a scavenger and does a good job of representing that.
Archetypes of the Blessed Isle - Presents a magus and summoner archetype. The waveblade (magus) seems a bit of a misnomer as the class grants a whip made of water, but is very well done. The deepcaller (summoner) provides a water based aberration eidolon. The living water ability confuses me a bit and I think needs clarified.
Aboleth-Tainted Ancestry: Feats of the Deep - 7 feats based on the character being descended from a creature altered by an abolteh.
Tales of the Arcane Archaeologists: Plundering the Secrets of the Inner Seas - Introduces a few NPCs and a collection of various info they have collected. New spell, feat, magic item, and creature.
The Colloquium of Abendego - The article describes it best, "a unique school to train sailors, officers, and spellcasters". Three disparate schools fall under the name of a single institution.
Esoteric Order of Dagon - It seems odd a demon would have an order in their name. It implies following of rules... I really like the thought and explanations that went into this article.
Bestiary - 9 creatures, 1 template, 1 haunt
Variations of Vegepygmy - an article doing an ARG style write-up for vegepygmies.
Boarding Ships for Fun and Profit - A supplement guide for running boarding actions.
Curse of the Coral Throne: Crimson Throne as an aquatic campaign - Exactly as the title states. Well thought out, but may not be easy for a beginner GM to implement.
Realm Building My article. New rules for water hexes, buildings, kingdom events, leadership roles, settlements, and kingdom navies. If you're interested, I did more sea articles in A Pirate's Life that came out last year.
Fiction 7 articles. I am not much of a fan of fantasy fiction, but I prefer sci-fi. So I am not a good person to evaluate.
The Wreck of the Cayden Cailean: A Legend of Meatclaw the Reefclaw - A song about a giant reefclaw that hunts in the Jeggare.
Words from Many Seas: The Shackled Isles - 4 sea inspired poems.
Ads: I have to say something about the ads. Quite a few caught my eye. Clockwork Gnome Publishing, Dungeonlands, and It Came From the Stars stuck out the most. Well done artwork and color is more likely to catch the eye. On the reverse side of the coin, the stark ad by Raging Swan Press stuck out all the more due to a simple black and white presentation.
I ran about 12 games for 20+ people at the FLGS. We had varying levels of boardgame experience, from none to heaps. Only 3 people did not enjoy the game. And 6 of us plan on buying the game upon release.
None of us had played the 1st Edition so we decided to learn as we played. The first game took about 1 hr and 15 minutes to play the introduction scenario, learning as we went. The next scenario (chosen from the middle of the quest list) took 50 minutes to play with about 10 minutes of looking up rules for new options. By the end of the night we played using the campaign rules which unlock more abilities and options. The rules seemed daunting at first, but they made sense and were presented well.
We replayed a few of the scenarios and discovered there is no value in replaying a quest with players that have run it before. They easily won without much of a problem.
But the box has enough materials to create your own scenarios. I created a couple myself easily. I think that is the main draw of this game.
The only rules question we had:
- Can the necromancer's minion activate the first turn it is summoned?
The player complaints:
1) Too easy (experienced war-boardgamer)
2) Too hard (player had problems keeping track of abilities, even though cards with abilities on them were provided)
3) Not enough classes (only 8)
A quick search reveals the previous edition had expansions, which I can't wait to see for this game!
