Issue 2 of the Vathak Times finds a great deal of the familiar layout and themes from the first issue, which I was pleased immensely to see, as it is the look and feel of this being a periodical that works so well for it I think. Again we get 5 pages, with one being the OGL, with a dual column format primarily used throughout. Hooks, goodies and a critter. However, the editing this time does not live up to the standard set with the first issue, and there were times that the wording was off, never truly far enough to garble the reading so much as momentarily throw you a curve-ball.
Amusingly, and I failed to mention this in my review of the first issue, we get a weather report in each of these, telling us what to expect within the coming week, which is conveniently located directly above the date for the publication within the setting...yet another fantastic immersive tool for someone running this setting. I mention this as I have had a GM who ran a full calender for a campaign, literally. It hung on the wall of our game room, with weather reports and holidays, planting seasons, the works. It added a level of immersion to the game that was beyond deep, and this really is an excellent way that something very small can help make a huge impact.
We open this week's Vathak Times (as they are released “weekly” within the game setting) with another letter from the front lines. Within the setting there is a great war happening between the races of Vathak and the spawn of the Old Ones, and through this delivery format we are treated to stories from those who are in the trenches as it were. An excellent fluff piece, this one details the discovery of a phosphorescent flower discovered by the troops. Subtly giving us the game mechanics for the flower within the text, this is an excellent demonstration of immersive story telling.
Next up we get the Feat Eyeshot, introduced through the tale of a young rifleer demonstrating his talent. The interesting thing here is that we have now been given a new item in the flower and a new feat, and truthfully that is where a lot of folks would normally stop in noticing, but both were presented with names, locations and story ideas. NPC's presented as a function of the delivery of the main point of the section. An excellent way to flesh out a campaign world, and one that has me wondering if Jason is running a file keeping track of these names for further usage, as to see familiar faces (as it where) showing up in later publications would really help tie the immersion and world together.
The section featuring News Across the Lands again supplies us with an assortment of interesting hooks to inspire and tantalize. The discovery of a time lost temple hidden below the surface of the ocean, a murder of crows being possibly controlled and used to target specific groups, spontaneous combustion of citizens falling under investigation and a cannibal family of humans living an isolated life away from the world in an attempt to retain their believed racial purity...just to name a few. Like I said, a handful of cool hooks to spark the creative juices of any GM out there, or possibly to tease at what is on the table still to come.
An excellent fluff piece had me very excited as I read through it, detailing a playwright and his plays coming up for auction. Tragedy and depression led the playwright down a dark path, leading to the end of his life. Presented here are the game mechanics for the book containing his final play. Now, this ended up disappointing me, and I think it was because where I thought it was going to go, reading through the flavor text, was not where it ended up. The story builds you up to expecting to find an excellent item based haunt, which truthfully, fits this story so well. What we get is instead a book of low level spells. A well designed and described book, but in the end a spell book none the less. No where in the story did I get the feeling he was a spell caster, nor that this particular book of spells fit into the story of this playwright. There is a random dice roll for sanity loss due to studying the book, but I can't help but feel this book would have worked so much better as a haunt.
A new feat for the dhampir, Shadow Stalker, offers up pretty nice bonuses for dhampirs using their stealth skills from the cover of shadows. And directly after this feat is where I hit what might be my biggest problem with this PDF. Far be it from me to ever discourage a company from advertising their product, I understand how important it is to do such a thing. But when dealing with a product that is so heavy in the concept of immersion as this is, presenting game material as if to the characters more so than to the GM or players nothing breaks that immersion and suspension of disbelief faster than an advertisement for a real world item, complete with a full text line for the web address. Now, the advertisement is for a PDF of dhampir feats, and yes it makes sense to stick this right after the new dhampir feat from this issue, I just wish it had been done in such a way that it fit the theme and feel of the rest of the material from this PDF...it felt like reading a newspaper from a Victorian time period and finding an advertisement for Radio Shack. I know, harsh, but it really stuck out, and if nothing else that should help explain how well the rest of the material really pulls you into the setting and story feel of the material.
An article on tattoos, their pricing ranges and DC modifiers, as well as a Tattoo Kit to add to your gear. Other companies have done extensive rules covering tattoos yes, but what is presented here is not enough to compete with any of them, and certainly works very well as a go to guide for covering cost and such. Not to mention the idea that just like a thieves kit, no two tattoo kits are entirely identical so there are no issues as I see them with another tattoo kit being added to the lists of available gear out there.
Sir Timothy Charles's Emporium offers up the Bhriota Razor Whip as its item of sale for the week, a rather cruel whip embedded with sharp stone and bone. Accompanied by illustration just to fully convey the wickedness of this weapon.
A rather interesting variation of undead closes us out this week, the Masked Ghoul. Perfectly able to look as it did in life during the daylight hours this ghoul infiltrates communities and cities, sometimes doing such in employment to more powerful undead lords. Even with the setting of the sun as long as the ghoul can make its DC checks it can maintain the illusion of life and virility. On top of the standard Ghoul Fever and its Change Shape ability this CR 3 critter comes with a hideous Laugh ability that it unleashes like a hyena as it closes in for the attack. Victims of its laugh ability find themselves shaken for 1d4 rounds.
Wrapping it all up...the editing was not as good as the first issue, but not so horrible that it was a massive problem. The spellbook was a low point for me, and felt like it could have been so much more design wise. And then there was the break with immersion.
On the other hand, an excellent assortment of hooks, two feats, a weapon well within the flavor of the people its flavor text attributes it to are all high points. The story of the flower, the presentation of the feat Eyeshot and the uniqueness of the Masked Ghoul all add some serious weight back to this product.
In the end, I am settling at a 3 star for this product, as there is some good material here, and it is worth picking up, it just missed on a few points that could have made this PDF truly cool.
