Infamous Adversaries: Temerlyth the Undying (PFRPG) PDF

Infamous Adversaries: Temerlyth the Undying by TPK Games

This product is 23 pages long. It starts with a cover and credits. (2 pages)

Temerlyth the Undying (7 pages)
First is a full page piece of art of I suppose Temerlyth, though it doesn't say. Next we get a full stat block that is very complete it takes up over two full pages. Temerlyth is a Lich Alchemist 6, Loremaster 3, Wizard(Enchanter) 6, CR 16. Following that we get information about his Motives, Appearance, History, Personality, Resources, Lair, Tactics, Morale, Advancement Options, Quote, Plot Hooks, Lore and Companions. We next get full stat blocks for his companions which are below. It ends with a single new spell.
Anaya Loresse Loraethyan Female Ghost (Former Elf) Aristocrat 8, CR 4
Lorgan Forst Male Juju Zombie (Former Human) Ranger 2, CR 2
Aliza Loraethyan Female Wight (Former Young Elf) Sorcerer 2, CR 4
Arlyd Loraethyan Male Wight (Former Young Elf) Rogue 2, CR 4

It ends with a OGL and ads. (2 page)

Closing thoughts. The art work is black and white and pretty good. Editing and layout was very good, I didn't notice any errors. The main villain is very well written and very cool. He has well done stat block as does his companions and family. This is the best of the NPC books by TPK so far and sets a new standard for them that I hope they can keep up. The book is heavily book marked and it should also be noted that the villains lair is completely laid out in another book a short adventure by TPK games. So what's my rating? Well I honestly have nothing at all negative to say about this product, other than commissioned art would have been nice but would have drove the price up. So I am giving this a 5 star review.

Trust me, I'm a Succubus.

The latest installment of TPK Games' Infamous Adversary-line of NPCs is 17 pages long: 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page advertisement, 1 page SRD, leaving 13 pages of content for the Undying.

Temerlyth is the first of TPK Games' adversaries that fulfills my complexity criteria with regards to NPC-supplements, i.e. creating him would take some time, as he is an elven lich alchemist 6/wizard (enchanter)6/loremaster 3 and thus cannot be considered an easy statblock to create. What is up with this guy, then? Well, once upon a time an elven nation relocated to another forest, only said forest was already home to savage were-wolves. In a twist of their colonial arrogance and endeavors, the elves actually found themselves on the losing side of a battle they started themselves. Consumed by an ever-growing obsession of wanting to eradicate lycanthropy once and for all and save his people, the elven noble Temerlyth gradually descended down a slippery slope of evil and corruption. To the extent that his wife wanted to run off with a human woodworker. Finding out about her plans of abandoning him proved to be the final straw to break the by now fragile grasp the elf still had on his sanity. In a fit of vilest rage, he slew her and her lover as well as his children, reanimating them as his undead slaves. These minions all get their individual stats as well.

While his nation has crumbled to ruins, his people long-since forgotten, Temerlyth still roams the world, twisted into an undead monstrosity, forever seeking a way to eradicate lycanthropy once and for all and thinning the ranks of the shapechangers while conducting his amoral experiments in his dread laboratory SIlvermote. A new spell, Silvermist, is also included in the pdf to reflect the innovations of Temerlyth. The spell is a combination of concealment and damage against lycanthropes. Neat!

Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to TPK Games easy-to-read two-column standard and while I have already seen the b/w-artworks apart from the cover in e.g. Kingdom of Graves, I liked them.TPK games have hyperlinked just about any component that could confuse you in the statblocks to the Pathfinder-SRD, making looking up particular rules very easy. It should also be noted that Temerlyth comes with a special second 6-page version in b/w that is particularly printer-friendly. I already commented on how I liked that this adversary is complex, but I think I should also mention that his allies, i.e. his undead family and their stats do a lot to enhance the value of this pdf. Aptly written by author Richard Hunt, professionally presented, complex and somewhat relatable character with more than one dimension, the driven, sophisticated lich gets a final verdict of 5 stars!

Endzeitgeist out.

I expected that this PDF would give me the game stats for a lich to use in a Pathfinder game, and given the complexities involved in running a lich, that in and of itself would have been money well spent. However, in addition to the lich (who has levels in the alchemist, wizard, and loremaster classes, making it a very complex stat block indeed!), we also get stats for four other undead NPCs: an aristocrat ghost, a juju zombie ranger, and two types of wight, one with rogue levels and one with levels as a sorcerer. As their backstories are all interrelated, a GM can build a series of encounters with these creatures in an extended adventure or even over the course of several adventuring levels, as the NPCs range in CR from 2 to 16. (And if you're not one to create your own adventures, all of these NPCs are suitable for a related product, the 64-page adventure "The Sinister Secrets of Silvermote," written by Richard Hunt, the same author as this product - and a semifinalist in last year's RPG Superstar contest).

Besides the NPC stats, the product also contains a new spell developed by Temerlyth the lich (in his days before lichdom) which ties in with his motivation: destroying lycanthropes wherever they may be found.

There's some excellent artwork depicting Temerlyth the Undying, his ghost bride, and the juju zombie he created from the body of his wife's lover. Furthermore, links abound in the PDF, making this exceptionally easy to use in electronic form during a game session. This is the first TPK Games product I've seen to date, but count me impressed!

Temerlyth the Undying takes a stat block, that of an elven lich with fifteen class levels, and develops it into twelve pages of information. It supplies two and a half pages of stats and abilities, almost all of which are conveniently linked to the d20pfsrd. In addition, it has half a page for his motives, half a page devoted to his appearance, and several pages for his background, personality, resources, lair, network, and even a paragraph on his morale and and preferred advancement options. There are three plot hooks provided that allow Temerlyth to be dropped into almost any campaign, given a bit of work to tweak him for the DM's world. The last couple pages are devoted to Temerlyth's companions: his kids, his adulterous wife, and her human lover. The four of them are fully statted out and ready to go for any encounter. On top of that, a new 5th-level spell, Silvermist, is included as an early find from Temerlyth's lair.

Temerlyth is well-constructed, imaginative, and was honestly fun to read. I think that, with the background information provided, Temerlyth could keep a party busy for several sessions, depending on what plot hook you use. The only part that I didn't like, and the one thing that surprised me, was the lack of even a mention of Temerlyth's phylactery. Even his Rejuvenation ability, which should mention that the phylactery rebuilds the lich's body at the least, merely states that liches can return after a few days. While it's easy to make up--a small silver box inlaid with not only the standard magical phrases but also with anti-werewolf spells--it makes the lich feel slightly incomplete. Hopefully, the adventure promised on the back cover will include this information.

Temerlyth the Undying is a seventeen page "Plug and Play" style Big Bad Evil Guy(BBEG) that is built for any pathfinder game. TPK Games gives you, the DM, a well thought out, gorgeously drawn, and fully stated out Lich and his brood packed in a tightly done package. Let us explore shall we?

Temerlyth is an angry Elf, you wouldn't know this from the beautiful front cover by Eric De Mander, nor by the haunting pictures that ooze 'EVIL' by Kiss Marton Gyula. No, what you get is a very driven and obsessed Lich Alchemist/6, Loremaster/3, Wizard/6 (CR 16 for those that are keeping score) who wants nothing more than to wipe the stain of Werewolfdom off the face of your gaming world.

Through our detailed stat blocks of our wicked and well equipped Alchemist of Death and Destruction, ( which are hyper linked to D20PFSRD.com giving any DM who can't recall what exactly an ability, skill, spell, feat, etc. off the top of their head the exact information at their fingerprints) we see that our BBEG has a plethora of tricks and abilities to throw at almost any type of Party big or small. If you need a challenge for 12-16 party or an end Monster who is pulling strings behind the scenes all of this is provided for you, geared and ready to roll.

The two column layout is rife with information on not only how this Monster (and I use a capital M here as it is quite worth it) came to haunt your gaming world but how to properly use him and his undead family with all of their motives, descriptions, history, personality, and combat tactics ready in a pinch. One of the nice things you don't see often in monster books is the Lore section. Having a bard or someone who wants to know more about what they are up against gives the DM a chance to dish out some back information without having to design it themselves. Simple, easy to use, no frills.

We close out with Temerlyth's 'family' as it may. He can't let the bad wolf-kin take his family so he did the job for them. Righteous Vengeance or Sadistic Cruelty, you as the DM be the judge as they are all here for you to use with the same attention to detail as Temerlyth.

Total Party Kill games puts together a great package, simple to use, and with exquisite detail to not only the artwork but the stats and design of this BBEG. I can feel that by reading this over that ideas formed in my head on how I could easily use him and his undead family in my game if I so choose. TPK Games gives you the tools and let's your imagination run away with them.