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First things first … I would like to thank Flying Pinchushion for the review copy.:)

Secondly, apologies for this being incredibly late. RL has been rather insane lately which has delayed my review.

For this review I will not cover each and every bit of information contained within. Instead I will concentrate on what I liked.

The first archetype which I wanted to play immediately is the Fate’s Edge. The changes the normal magus into more of a more adaptive warrior that uses divinatory magic to help him in combat. In particular I really appreciated the Prescient Combat ability. This power allows the character some much needed versatility in combat by providing a bonus to defense or attack and damage. As he progresses he is able to spend prescience pool points (this replaces the magus’ normal arcane pool) and is able to reroll a single attack roll or saving throw as an immediate action! Very awesome indeed. Taking this a step further they are also able to force an opponent to roll twice and take the lower result.

The second archetype which really grabbed my attention is the Mistblade. These unique individuals can create duplicates of themselves! As they progress their ability to manipulate these duplicates increases and expands what combat options are available to the character. For instance; the clones created by this ability can be used to flank as well as counting as having the same teamwork feats the character possesses! This is just a small fraction of what they are capable of doing with their illusory duplicates. An excellent archetype that is both flavourful and very well written with clean and precise explanations.

The Spell-Torch Savant would be another fun archetype to play. I have always loved the idea of a torch wielding dungeon delving hero and this archetype fits the bill perfectly! The abilities help to enhance the flavour of the archetype but also opens up some interesting options for the character. Of note would be the addition of divination spells. However, these additional spells are only available when holding a torch. I love this idea. Fits the theme perfectly as a torch is used to “illuminate” your path. They also gain the ability to spend an arcane pool point to light a torch with an arcane flame that ignores non-magical wind and weather.

The last archetype that really makes me all fuzzy and warm inside is the Waystrider. This archetype grants the character the ability to spend arcane pools in order to … teleport! Yes, teleport! You are even able to combine this ability with spell combat for even more awesomeness. Additionally he gains evasion as well as the ability to “follow” individuals if they use a teleportation spell or effect. Overall the archetype is very well done and extremely well executed. It offers some more goodies but I don’t want to spoil that for you.:p

I would rate the overall product as a very solid 3. There are some things which I believe are somewhat superfluous (i.e. prestige classes as I’ve always thought that they lose too much to make them a viable option), while other things are rather excellent in their execution (i.e. smoking spell - a metamagic feat, and the spells). In closing I would recommend this resource for those looking to add a little something extra to their magic wielding armor clad warrior. Although your mileage may vary.

A caveat before I start; I was given a copy of Into the Breach: The Inquisitor for review purposes. Now it's time for our regularly scheduled program.:p

Into the Breach: The Inquisitor adheres to The Flying Pincushions usual two column layout. Aesthetically pleasing formatting choices make for an easy and pleasant read. The selection of artwork is evocative and very well suited for the content found within.

As far as crunch is concerned there is a lot. It opens with a selection of new archetypes. The first one is the Circuit Judge which trades out the usual domain for a mount. Thematically this is an excellent archetype and is something that I thought has long been missing as an option for inquisitors. Mechanics are also very clean and well done. The Stain of Guilt ability is rather slick and an awesome ability to throw at enemies! Finally the Circuit Judge can share it's judgements with his mount. Overall this is a perfect example of a themed archetype that of the traveling judge meting out justice in all of the rural and frontier villages and towns.

Next up we have the Duplicating Accessor. Have to admit that this little diddy took me by surprise as the concept isn't something that I normally associate with inquisitors. However, after reading it I have come to the conclusion that it is fitting. In a nutshell the archetype allows an inquisitor to create copies of himself. This is an illusion (shadow) effect which improves as the character progresses. The illusion summoned is sort of like a phantasmal proxy sent from the character's god to help her out. Only one bit of confusion is the wording used to describe how the ability does not inflict cumulative Wisdom damage. You see, a duplicating Accessor can take Wisdom damage to further enhance her duplicates. This is the only part of the archetype that I believe should be cleaned up. The other abilities granted are both unique and very flavourful.

The lineage master is the next archetype we have and involves the use, and control, of an opponent's blood. The archetype grants the inquisitor a blood pool which is used to activate certain abilities after a successful attack. Some interesting choices are offered which makes for some unique combat options. The archetype itself is alright, but I feel as though it’s a bit out of place. I am not so sure about how/why it fits in with the inquisitor nor why it’s called a lineage master. I would have thought that a Crimson Arbiter or something similar would have more suited as a name.

Ossuary Chaplain follows on the heels of the lineage master and is … great. All that I have to say is gun and bullets made of ground up bone!

The Relic Seeker is next up and offers us a slick relic hunting inquisitive archetype which also gains trapfinding. Really like this option as it mixes enough rogue-ish tricks with the base class to make it both effective and fun to play.

The Revelator archetype grants an inquisitor oracle mysteries while also inflict upon the character an ever increasing negative to will saves. This I am not keen on. I do not think that it is a good idea to incorporate negatives such as these into a class/archetype. Saves are usually critical in higher level play, especially will saves, and can prove detrimental if one is unsuccessful.

A Righteous Assassin, as you can well imagine, is the blessed killer of his clergy. They gain sneak attack as well as the ability to summon forth a one-handed weapon. As the character levels he is able to enhance his blade similar to a soul knife. However, they give up spellcasting to gain these abilities. The idea of a sneak attacking inquisitive assassin is awesome but losing out on spellcasting is not something that I would be willing to do as it’s one of the hallmarks of the inquisitor (besides bane and the judgements of course).

Sacred Commander is next on the rooster and offers us an excellent group buffing inquisitor archetype. They gain the ability to use a much improved aid another as well as sharing teamwork feats and bolstering an allies saves if adjacent to them. An excellent addition to the book! I enjoy characters that can bolster and buff their teammates and the sacred commander does it with style.

The last archetype is the Varying Verdictist, which brings the weight of their judgement down upon the guilty literally as they can alter their size from tiny to … gargantuan size!

That's it for the archetypes, next we have a new base class; the Vengeant. The class is based on the 4E Avenger and I have to say that it’s a very well done conversion to Pathfinder. For those that do not know it’s a non-armored full BAB class that has good Reflex and Will saves as well as martial weapon proficiency. However, the real “awesomeness” comes from the special abilities; oaths and censures. Oath strike allows you to roll twice on your first attack versus an enemy while the censures are baneful effects that can be applied to a target that is currently affected by the vengeant’s oath. The class also has access up to 4th level inquisitor spells. This is an extremely well done version of the 4E class and is a very pleasant surprise.

Next up we have a couple of prestige classes; the Infernal Enforcer as well as the Soul Arbiter. The Infernal Enforcer is somewhat monk-like and combines divine spellcasting and monk ability progression. It also incorporates “Circles” which are specialized areas of expertise. The Soul Arbiter progresses both psionics as well as divine spellcasting. This one can be be summed up as a spy that enforces the will of the church via subterfuge and mental prowess.

The product is rounded out by having an assortment of new inquisitions as well as gear. Both are written up nicely and expand the options which the book provides. I didn’t notice anything that really stood out, as far as my own tastes are concerned, and most are what you would expect.

Overall I rate this product as a solid 3.5 with some some misses and hits. I will round this one up to 4 as most of the material is well done. Although the real super star, at least for me, is the Vengeant. It’s clean mechanics and well done execution make for a great addition to your game.

Into the Breach: The Alchemist is a source book dedicated to the alchemist. The tome has a plethora of options, archetypes as well as discoveries which brings some new and exciting options to an already awesome base class.

Layout adheres to a really slick and simple two column setup. Font choice as well as formatting is crisp and clean. Illustrations are simple yet appropriate for the overall theme of the book.

The first archetype, the Arcanist, offers us a more academic version for the base alchemist. The changes made to the class allow for an interesting take on a bookish type alchemist with a focus on knowledge related skills and abilities. Specifically the archetype offers insightogen instead of the normal mutagen as well as modifying bombs with the ability to set and remotely detonate traps(bombs). I especially like the insightogen ability as it allows the alchemist to easily fulfill the same role as a wizard or bard when it comes to making knowledge checks.

The Botanist is probably one of my favorites. This archetype replaces the normal bombs with organically grown explosive vegetation. Yeah. You read that right. Explosive fruits.:p The archetype also grants the character an altered mutagen which grants the character plant-like qualities. On a side note the mutagen can also be applied to the character's plant companion which
in turn has additional affects which can be applied to the companion. The archetype also has an expanded formulae list which adds in appropriately themed plant/nature spells.

The Humoralist offers the alchemist the ability to imbalance his own humors. This allows him to associate his being with one of the elements which in turn grants the character access to domain spells(only elemental domains though). This archetype is probably one of my least favorites due to the archetypes ability to imbalance multiple humors at once. This would mean that the character, could potentially gain access to roughly 36 (or more) spell-like abilities. The archetype does incorporate drawbacks in order to offset the gains. However, I would like to know what the playtest results show when/if a player attempts to imbalance multiple humors at the same time.

The Kiln Crafter is a neat little archetype that allows the alchemist to create clay weapons and armor with one caveat; weapons have the fragile property. As the archetype progresses the alchemist can add special glazes to the items he creates. These glazes have a number of special properties such as inflicting additional damage on sunder attempts or adding armor spikes to armor.

The Natural Transmuter allows an alchemist to create bombs, extractors, and transmutagens. Extractors allow the character to capture a spell cast upon them and later use that captured energy to release the spell back onto any appropriate target. I rather like the mechanic and wording on this ability. Pretty straight forward and loads of potential fun! Next we have transmutagens a rather awesome ability indeed as it allows the alchemist to transform a substance into another or turn existing materials into weapons, armor or other items. The ability clear and concise in its execution and makes for a very versatile ability.

The Pyrotician is a perfect addition to any group sporting a bunch of bards and would make Till Lindermann proud! As the name implies this archetype allows the alchemist to use and create pyrotechnical weapons. Only issue I have is that the archetype doesn't grant them the ability to make a certain amount of fireworks per day. This is important as the ability Big Finish allows them to bundle together a number of fireworks (max 10) which they must have already purchased.

Next up is the Supplementum. Think of this archetype as a metamagic or "meta-mixer" master which, instead of boosting and manipulating spells, instead changes/enhances abilities associated with the alchemist class (bombs, potions, poisons etc). Some really great options are offered by this archetype.

The Venom Bomber as you might expect wields poisonous bombs! This archetype is an excellent example of tweaking a base classes mechanics and making something truly unique. Yes at it's core it is similar to the normal alchemist running around tossing out bombs ... but these are poison! Thankfully The Flying Pincushion took the extra time to incorporate alternative ways of allowing their poison bombs to affect normally immune targets. This made me giddy. Although they don't stop there, there are several additional effects that you can apply to your poison bomb. This is accomplished by spending points from your Venom Modification pool. This is a really great mechanic here simple, straightforward and well written. Oh and they can, at 4th lvl, apply their poison bomb to their weapons! So awesome.:)

The final archetype is the Viscous Arcanist, a rather unique alchemist as they rely on oozes and gels in order to deliver their bombs and spell effects. The archetype goes into detail on how the two different methods function as well as basic stat blocks for the animate oozes they can create. An interesting mechanic and excellent wording make for a fun archetype although I wish there was more to it. Possibly an ooze familiar, instead of having to select the discovery, or the ability to animate their own blood as a gel-like construct. Nonetheless, a solid addition to this tome.

Next we have prestige classes. Both are theurge like in that they combine the alchemist with another class. I have never been a big fan of such things as I believe that the end results do not offset what was given up in order to take the prestige class. That's not to say that the prestige classes are not well done. Both offer an interesting option for an alchemist looking to broaden his (or her) repertoire. Of note is the exochymist which combines the alchemist and summoner. I picture this fellow as an excellent Cthulhu-esque BBEG which sought out and delved to deeply into forbidden lore and knowledge.

Last but not least we have a number of different plant companions as well as discoveries. Again, writing is straightforward and well done offering up discoveries that are both fun and useful. One of the best is the Alchemical Revivification. This handy little gem allows you to animate a corpse with your ooze familiar! Awesome. Another excellent option which is present are Contaminants. These allow an alchemist to create offensive extracts which he can also apply to his weapon.

Conclusion

Overall, I like the book. If offers up some really excellent options to an already versatile class. The writing, fluff, as well as mechanics are easy to understand and well written. There could be some potential hiccups if a player decides to abuse the archetype (such as the humorist's attunement ability), thankfully, most of the options have caveats or drawbacks which make abuse unlikely or impossible. I rate this product a solid 3.5, which becomes 4 when rounded up. There are some options that I am not a fan of, however, this does not diminish the fact that the book offers some really excellent ideas as well as character options. It definitely is worth the price of admission.:)