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![]() Rage of Demons is probably one of the best fan supported adventures. You will find all kinds of information on how to run it, how to add more random encounters or side quests, how to run NPCs, and even a number of play reports (either actual play or written). That said, the mark of a good adventure is one for which the DM is most excited. I'd pick whatever premise you like best. The rest should fall into place. ![]()
![]() Hi there, I made an order of Reaper Bones Miniatures recently. It was Order 4043075. One of the miniatures I received (an "Oxidation Beast") came with a missing leg and damage to his underside. I sent an e-mail with pictures to the Paizo Customer service address, but received a reply. I only say this because I have pictures, but I can't post them here. Anyhow, my main question is whether I can get a replacement from you, or if I should go to the Reaper Bones customer service to see if they can replace it, or if neither company would do such a thing. Please let me know in either case. -Ismael Alvarez ![]()
![]() I don't think you are technically ever supposed to build an NPC with class levels. At least not in the way that Pathfinder or 4e did. As for eye beams, that is rather interesting... Although he isn't immune to non-divine weapon attacks. A fighter with a magical weapon is still doing normal damage to him. On the OTHER hand he is a spell caster and even those guys are meant to be squishy. So I think it parses out. This is a really neat writeup. ![]()
![]() Aren't the Proficiency Bonus by CR charts in the MM pretty solid? I don't think there is a monster that deviates from this. Also, giving a monster spellcasting really makes CR calculations difficult, since you are doing so much (giving it crowd control, suck or die, and high damage output) that a spellcasting monster will map as way lower. Sadly, that is the one difficult to gauge CR calculation that there is no real math for (or just lots of it that doesn't make sense to do the work for). So I can definitely see why Aku is built the way he is. However, I would still probably give him more hit points if nothing else, unless his bag of tricks and spell list gives him lots of defensive options. ![]()
![]() Broken Zenith wrote:
Well played. Well played... ![]()
![]() Disclaimer: I received a copy of this product as part of a kickstarter. This review is for Deep Magic: Dragon Magic, which by premise alone seems rather impressive. And immediately upon flipping to the first few pages, it is clear that this product contains some amazing dragon themed character options. First off is the Dragon Mage arcane tradition, which allows a wizard to emulate the powers of a dragon in various different iterations. You start out being able to wear an illusory dragon mask that gives you a bite attack, and eventually get things like wings and a tail that give you an amazing ability to affect the battlefield. While this is a departure from other wizard archetypes in that it isn't as spell focused, these dragon powers offer an amazing variety of options to a wizard, but keep it interesting enough that they don't necessarily compete with spells, though the effects do use spell slots to power them. And while the dragon mask ability at level 2 does make you choose between offensive spells and viability in melee, the choice is an interesting one that is especially important at the low levels when a wizard may feel less useful (and probably more vulnerable) until they get a wider array of spells. Speaking to the various dragon based powers that you can select from at higher levels, the implementation was inspired. I was very impressed at how the archetype gave you more powers, but made them distinct, and with a very limited exception, made them exclusive to each other. This does not give a significant boost to the wizard over other archetypes, and instead grants an amazing toolbox that speaks to the nature of wizardry in D&D. There are a number of feats that supplement the powers of the Dragon Mage specifically, while also giving a number of feats that are not tied to the arcane tradition and instead are just darn good well balanced feats. As a slight departure from the other 5e deep magic products that I have reviewed, the spell section is NOT directly tied to the wizard archetype, and instead offers a plethora of spells that dealt with dragons as a theme. There are spells that mirrored some dragon abilities, spells that are antithetical to dragons, and spells that just plain evoke a draconic theme. This was a refreshing change, in that I love variety in spells without dedicating myself to a specific archetype. The balance for the spells is excellent, and I did not notice any glitches. This product complements the Deep Magic line perfectly, and is a robust and amazing addition to a wizards arsenal that will go in my list of must haves for future reference. 5 stars and the royal seal. ![]()
![]() Disclosure: There is no need for disclosure this time! Elven High Magic is a wonderful and short product that discusses the magic that elves weave to create amazing effects. The books is 11 pages, with 2 pages for the front and back cover, 1 page for OGL, 1 page for credits, and 7 pages for content. The book is conveniently bookmarked, but hardly needs it. First off, this book is gorgeous, and the art is in harmony with the content of the book. Despite this, the spell section is sparse, but I know enough about publishing to know that it would be a pain to do even a few pictures for a spell section when the product is supposed to be small like this product is, so no worries there. Plus I imagine that an eventual spell compilation will have much more art. As for the content, this book seems to be less a treatise of elven magic and more of a showcase of a specific wizard archetype. Although the spells within are interesting and balanced, they are really meant to be used by a wizard school to get the maximum benefit. While this is a great concept, it doesn’t feel like a robust entry into the Deep Magic product line. Most of the other products we have gotten come with things like feats and alternate methods of entry into a given subject, such as the Angelic Seals product. That said, it only makes the scope of the product slightly more narrow than I would have liked. On its own, this is an amazing product, and I just happen to love Elven Wizards very specifically! Would I take this and use it in my games? Most assuredly! This Wizard school, for admittedly selfish reasons, is tied for first place on my list of wizard schools I’d like to try! And as for the spells themselves, they are amazing. The mechanic that keeps them from being completely broken allows them to be even and reasonable, but I do have to question if they are TOO amazing when used with the included Wizard School. Some of the effects are simply amazing, and although I’d love to have access to them, the GM in me would be remiss to allow it. That said, I would probably personally tweak the spells in question to require specific an expensive material components in addition to their current requirements. Ultimately, I love this product, and I can see how it fits in well towards the greater scope of Deep Magic. It inhabits a special space that can be tweaked and prodded by a cunning GM to create a number of amazing stories. The tools provided by this product are a wonderful resource that might fill a niche, but fill it quite well. Save for a few matters of preference, such as a feat that might let you access the special magic in this book, I heartily recommend Deep Magic: Elven Magic 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.
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