LotsOfLore's page

I am running this for my friends, we are almost at the end of book 1, but I have already read ahead: it's a very cool and interesting adventure. The setting is it's biggest selling point, given that it's rare for an adventure to be so strongly themed. I'm all for tight and strongly themed adventures, instead of long meandering ones which inevitably end up full of "filler episodes". In this case, because it's as lean as a tundra hunter, you get all the good and almost no fillers!

One aspect that I didn't love was the excessive one-dimensionality of most NPCs. I am guessing this is because the these products are supposedly for young teenagers. So, if you are playing with adults, you will want to do what I did and flesh out the NPCs in order to not make it extremely obvious who the bad and good guys are, and make it all a lot more nuanced.

This is just to cancel out that disgusting troll. I will write a proper review as soon as I read it, but I have a feeling it's another great hit! :)

I don't write reviews often because, to be honest, I find Paizo products to be always pretty good so there's not much I can say besides "great job", but this time I'm here to specifically say: this is the BEST, most original and most fascinating setting book for Pathfinder that I have had the pleasure of buying.
In my opinion there was a very strong need for something like this book, and I am super happy that you went ahead with it. Having the rules to make epic battles is important, but having the resource for immersing oneself in the life of a Golarion citizen brings my love for the setting to a whole new level. It goes from "this is a cool high fantasy ttrpg", to "this is a ttrpg where I would love to live in".

I particularly loved the climate and trade map, the monster hot-spot map (I see you just gave us a taste, how about an entire manual on that!!), the magic and lore from the perspective of the common citiezen part and the fashion and food part...

BRAVI!

I ran this for a couple of friends, on the fly, while we were on holiday. Had to change and rearrange the challanges to make it doable for 2 players + a friendly player "bot" (healer). We had a blast. Very classic ancient tomb exploring action, short and sweet. I'm giving it 4.5/5 because I would have loved to have a bit more story woven into the delve, instead I had fun filling the blanks of the backstory with some horror/mystery elements to help drive the scenes forward. Loved the traps and the monsters!

I ran this scenario as a normal adventure (as we don't have a society chapter here in Granada, Spain) for my friends who were new to the game and we had a really good time. It took us two online sessions, because we weren't in a rush. The sandboxy character of the main task makes it so that you have to prepare it well in advance, but it's worth it for the solid, engaging and original storyline! I Loved the NPCs and the setting, although ignored the mechanics of the treasure rewards (bundles) because it felt forced, so I simply redistributed the treasure payments as they would realistically be delivered/found in a non-organized scenario adventure. Well done!

Just finished GMing this for my friends. It's a spectacular short adventure! Well paced, original, very flavorful and exciting. I particularly loved the various musical references and the characters (and their backgrounds!).
The whole thing plays like a great episode of a cowboy bebop style story but for musicians. Absolutely super!

Yesterday I ran this adventure for a group of 4 friends, 2 of them complete novices (never touched any TTRPG) and the other 2 experienced. We had a LOT of fun! I prepared it on Foundry VTT, as I always do, but I changed a few things:

- PCs were: Tengu Rogue, Leshy Oracle, Fleshwarped Barbarian, Elf Alchemist

- lowered it to 3rd level (not to overwhelm the 2 beginners), and let them create their characters (there's no mechanical need to use the pregens, apart from what it says in the intro about weapon types)

- added tons of pictures and added a map of Golarion ready to show to the players, in order to nudge them to the solution of the first puzzle (even if you explain to them what are those names, unless they see them on a map they won't get it, and just telling them where the places are is a bit lame imo)

- added a couple of hazards, so that the rogue had something to use their thievery with

- started with the characters at a tavern in a nearby island, so that they could reunite around a mug of beer and plan the trip. Then roleplayed a quick exploration mode challange to get hold of a ship and provisions to reach the island (This added less than 20 min to the length and I think it was well worth it, because otherwise the adventure has no social encounters of any kind!)

The puzzles are just GREAT, the feel is very piratey and the mechanical parrot is a perfect NPC for comic relief and guidance. The only thing I dind't love was captain Renlocks underlying motivation for bringing them to the island. I feel that the players really wanted to go back being pirates, not change their life! So I turned the story around a bit: **SPOILERS** made it so that the shipwreck was NOT the Bronze Bird, but some other older ship that Renlock made look like his, and attached the wheel to, in order to trick the Andoran marine into thinking it was destroyed... While the REAL Bronze Bird was the ship that he kept as treasure for the players at the end of the adventure!

This is my first negative review for a Starfinder product and it pains me to do it, but I have to say I strongly disagree with the design choice of making the rule set fundamentally different than that of the full game. I find that unacceptable, as I fear it might even have had a detrimental impact in the promotion of the full Starfinder game, which is what I care about.

I don't recommend picking up the beginner box if you are looking to learn how to play Starfinder, because you won't, and that's a complete non starter for me.

However, if you are looking at the box as a standalone tabletop game, then I am sure in that regard it would be a prefectly fun Starfinder-flavored experience aimed at players who are either fine with having to forget everything and learn the game all over again once out of the beginner box, or players who are not looking to continue on to the full game.
As a further note, I am extremely happy to see that Paizo did not commit the same mistake with the Pathfinder 2e beginner box!

I loved this first book of Against the Aeon Throne! I ran it for 5 friends of mine from Spain and we had a really great time with it.
This module has quite a bit of combat but it's all well blended within the scenario of reclaiming an invaded colony from within, guerrilla-style! The setting, far out mist-covered forest of the planet Nakondis, is one of the best parts of it. The maps are also outstanding. The hook is pretty good, but the possibility of expanding the players' stay in case they want to dive into the forest looking for trouble is much appreciated.

I'm not giving it 5 stars just because it seems forced to me that 1st level characters could go against the Azlanti Star Empire, even if it's mostly cadets. I would have preferred it if the adventure at least hinted at their reputation being somewhat exaggerated, or found some other way to justify how easy it is to kill these baddies. Also I had to add quite a bit of stuff to make the occupation more credible to my players, namely patrols, signal jamming devices, curfew rules and pump up the general power of the baddies, in order to incentivate creative play versus outright "let's frontal assault everything" :D

I was so hyped for this manual, after the playtest all I wanted was to see what else they would add beside the 3 new classes, and I am happy to say: it's freaking awesome!
There is a TON of new options, alternatives, archetypes, items, SPELLS (thank you!!), you name it, it's there. They crammed so much useful and interesting stuff into this book that I started to think they must have put an extradimensional pocket for the text.
The new options for space combat were very much needed and much appreciated! I particularly love the open actions that anyone can perform at the start of the round. That's exactly what my players wanted to have, more stuff to do, basically.

Buy this book now, I guarantee you will not regret it!!

P.S.: I still think space combat needs more tweaking on the playability, that's why in my games I let PCs perform minor actions on unused weapons or consoles on top of their normal round action, otherwise they get bored with just 1 and then wait.

It's your tried and true bestiary, with an absolute ton of creatures. What's different? Every little detail!
The monster stats are now more legible, easier to use, shorter and yet incredibly more interesting than before! Almost all of the monsters I've seen have been improved to have fun and intersting new actions and abilities! They are all well described and include interesting sidebar textboxes with lore about them.
I love it!

P.S.: it goes without saying this is an absolute must-have, especially if you homebrew.

I was not very excited with the state of the rules during the initial state of the playtest. I can now confirm they took all of the feedback to heart, changed what needed changing and came out with an absolutely spectacular final version.
Rules-wise it is far superior to Pathfinder 1: the action is streamlined and simplified (especially on the players part and in the way the book teaches you how to learn and play the game), while not only keeping the depth of the pathfinder game and setting, but even adding to it quite a lot. As an example, classes are now modular, which means you get to choose exactly how you build and progress through them. This brings a mind-blowing amount of customization potential which guarantees an impressive longevity.
Furthermore, the tools in the hands of the GM have been greatly improved, making it easier to tell the story the way you want without sacrificing either roleplay or game mechanics. I like to support storytelling with quick and interesting mechanics, especially around the use of skills, and that's exactly what they have expanded in this edition, among other things. The amount of work and polish that went into this is evident in every paragraph.

In conclusion, I cannot overstate how much I love this edition! In my opinion, this is now the best fantasy roleplaying game out there, and my new standard of reference.

My girlfriend bought these for me because she knows I like to collect them even though we almost only play via VTT nowadays, for obvious reasons (I don't live in the US). They look amazing, I love the supernova/magical design, it conveys a unique feel of powerful and cryptic alien technology, which is the main focus of the Adventure Path. The crit hit (and maximum number of each die) is a cool stellar explosion. The colour combination is also extremely appealing to me as I like contrasted combinations and I want the results of my rolls to really pop out, not hard to read from across the table.
They seem to be sturdy and they are lightweight. Unfortunately I can't review how well they will withstand the test of time because I don't think I will make an intense use of them, however I can say that Q-Workshop products are good quality, in my experience.

Setting books are absolutely crucial for rpgs, in my opinions, it's what defines exactly why you love what you are playing at. For a sci-fantasy game such as this, a rich setting book is even more essential, as you are breaking new ground, and you need to do it in an epic, memorable way. This books does it in spades. The world building, the player hooks (arguably some of the most valuable content of this book), illustrations, playable options, starship travel and types (oh my the starships are gorgeous!), NPCs, factions, equipment, spells... this book has all you need to make the Pact Worlds your home and make them come to life in your mind. Even if your campaign takes place in the Great Beyond, you will still enjoy this book and find its exciting lore, and beautiful narration very useful. It's true that it might not be as rich as Pathfinder's Inner Sea setting book, but I find this one more than fulfilling. Looking forward to expansions for the Great Beyond or even a deep dive into the Drift!

It's the real deal, this book fulfills the definition of "core" to perfection.
First the only couple of "bad" things: 1) the monsters are missing, and that is surely due to the fact that it's already a huge book, so it's understandable. Besides, you can download "First Contact" for free and use those to start you off, or you can adapt Pathfinder monsters very easily with the guidelines provided in this book.
2) A few corrections were done to the part about starship combat, for which you will have to look-up the errata page online and mark down the modifications (mostly to DCs of actions in space). But to be honest, that doesn't bother me.
Apart from that, this book does a fantastic job explaining the game and quickly teaching you how to play it with lots of examples and pre-made combinations of choices for characters to guide you, should you need it. They managed to cram so much in this book that it's in itself a notable feat, but more than that, every topic is presented with enough depth to not leave you wanting too much.
The section on starships is both bold in scope and very welcome!
The value for your money alone would warrant 5 stars, let alone the fantastic layout, illustration, narration and convincing world-building.
Oh, I almost forgot about the game itself, how shall I put it... it's extraordinarily good! Exciting, fun, easy to play, sufficiently original without being weird, a bold start to a cosmic saga that continues the enormous lore of Pathfinder and opens it up to stellar proportions.
My new favorite tabletop rpg!

A ridiculously huge amount of equipment of all sorts! Very well illustrated and polished. The expansion this book adds to the game is incredible. The Armory is both much needed AND a very welcome addition, as the core rule book had just enough to be acceptable, in this specific regard, I would say. I can find absolutely no reason not to buy this book. This will give you material to chew on for years to come!

Better than Alien Archive in every aspect. Better illustrations, more content (also due to the fact that the monster creation rules were already presented in the previous book) and more polished. The addition of the polymorph spell and mechanics is amazing and super fun. You have bought AA1 because it's good but mostly because you need it... Then, I promise you'll buy this AA2 because you will WANT it!
5 stars!

Beautifully illustrated, rich with monsters and playable races options. The part about how to create monsters is fantastic and absolutely needed. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I found a few errors (mostly missing stats) which bring down the polish of this product quite a bit. Furthermore, due to the complexity of the equipment side of this game it makes for a decent amount of cross-referencing the core rule book in order to find what you need, and that sucks.
An F.A.Q./errata is needed, please!

This is a classic sci-fi adventure, with a modern twist towards the end, and perfectly crafted. We just started it and I am enjoying preparing it thoroughly as a GM. My players are loving it, will wait to hear their final impressions on it.
Starfinder is looking daaaam good.

P.s.: I've seen a number of low ratings... I don't understand most of them, they seem to have very weird unmet expectations.