I recently purchased the archetype over the last weekend. After careful deliberation and study, (and contact with the creator), here is my review.
First off, we have the layout.The document itself is 40 pages long. first three pages are Cover, Credits, and OGL documentation, and the last two are advertisements for a couple other Rite Publishing articles, which leaves 35 pages of Faerie goodness.
The page layout follows a standard two-column format, with the headings of individual sections done in a different font than the body text. Each heading is followed with a short story, told from the viewpoint of "Melusine, Autumn's Whisper," who is the as-of-yet unstatted iconic masquerade reveler. Real nice stories that capture the mood of the archetype well, as serve to introduce the topic of its section very handily. Then the crunchy bits are introduced.
Art is interspaced throughout, and, though some of the pictures look out of place, they are nice visuals. My favourite picture is that of the Jabberwock Mask - I think it best captures the main gimmick of the archetype - masks.
I found only one issue with the formatting. In the Masks sections, first we have the sub-heading Fey Masks, and in the middle of the descriptions of said fey masks, another heading for Gremlin Masks, of which several are introduced before reverting back to more fey masks. The Gremlin Masks should have been introduced following the complete listing of the Fey Masks. Minor, but could have been corrected before release.
there are a couple instances where the term Intricate Masks is used rather than Elaborate Masks. This is merely a typo.
As for the content,Rite Publishing's "The Secrets of the Masquerade Reveler" is an expanded version of the archetype of the same name originally introduced in "Convergence Paths: Fey Archetypes". Included is the full reprint of the archetype, as well as a vast selection of pre-generated masks, and a plethora of new reveler-specific evolutions, keyed to Fey powers.
One detail missing in the archetype abilities is how often can a reveler change masks during the masquerade, as well as what kind of action this mask change would be. In the example story provided for the Masks (pg. 4), it seems masks can be changed at will and as a free action, but nowhere is this clarified in the rules.
The masks themselves follow a Fey theme for the most part. There are several "Theme Masks," masks that follow a certain theme, and show you some ideas of what can be created using the standard eidolon evolutions. (I particularly enjoy the Mask of Roots, finding it to be very well-crafted, balanced, and flavorful.)
However, the greater balance of the pre-generated masks following a distinctly Fey theme, allowing the reveler to adopt powers and abilities found on various fey creatures, including gremlins.
There are a couple Forbidden (read Undead) Masks available, tied to fey-related undead, such as the Dullahan. Awesome!
Then there are the Beast Masks. These masks literally allow you to change your shape, from Biped to Quadruped to Avian to Aquatic, gaining a set of powers related to specific Fey-type beasts, such as the dweomercat and the skrik nettle.
Then we come to Mythic masks, for those of you who like Mythic things.
Following this are the Tane masks, masks that allow the reveler to adopt the form and abilities of Tane creatures. Who are the Tane creatures? Get the archetype and find out!
Following the masks themselves, are a vast collection of reveler-specific evolutions, which duplicate fey powers. Abilities such as the Pugwampi's Unluck Aura, the Norn's Snip Thread ability , the Ankou's Shadow Doubles, or the Redcap's Stomp. It's mostly all there. Descriptions are provided, well-written and easy to understand.
The only exception being the Fey Cantrip and Fey Magic abilities. The one line in the power decription for both reads, "She may only activate Fey Cantrip while wearing a number of different masks equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1) each day." This should read "She may only activate the Fey Cantrip power of a number of different masks each day equal to her Charisma modifier." Having spoken with the writer as to what his intention with the power is, I believe this wording is closer to the original intent.
Also missing is the Spell Link evolution, the signature ability of the dweomercat, and the corresponding Dweomercat Beast Mask. This will be corrected shortly, I believe. The author (and the publisher) has sent me the missing text already.
Certain of the powers' names seem dull (like Chill 2, Corrode 2, Shock 2) and could use renaming, it doesn't detract from their usefulness, and can be overlooked quite easily.
While some of these powers may seem over-the-top and over-powered, the fact that they are limited by masquerade rounds (equivalent to rage rounds) does limit their sustainability, and provides the necessary balance.
Next comes the Feats. These feats are reveler-specific, and very tied into the masks concept. They are all useful feats. None seem to be just added as filler. I can see each and everyone of them being useful for a reveler character. All are very well-crafted and well-written.
Wrapping up the archetype are several magic items that are tied to the reveler. All are very unique, flavorful, and thematically rich. I don't want to divulge any more than this, because I want readers to enjoy discovering content.
All in all, Mark Seifter has done a masterful job expanding on the Masquerade Reveler archetype. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.
Content: 5/5
Format: 4/5
Overall: 4.5/5, rounded up to 5.
