In 5 BU, at the climax of the Twilight War, a thousand
Janissaries arrayed themselves against two opposing
armies; their force was outnumbered a hundred and forty
to one by the combined troops upon the field. In addition
to their formidable mental and martial prowess, the monks
brought forth various artifacts and weapons of power. The
Janissaries used these items with ruthless skill and sent
both armies fleeing from the field. Among these powerful
items were twin swords, wielded by the Final Arbiter who
led the victorious strike against the assembled troops and
creatures of the Confederate Army.
The Treasures of NeoExodus: Peace & Tranquility is created for use with your NeoExodus: A House Divided campaign setting home gaming for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. The Treasures of NeoExodus series focus on creating unique and interesting magical and mundane items that you can use in your NeoExodus home games that give you more a personal connection to the item. This PDF comes with a background and history of Peace and Tranquility, its special mundane and/or magical qualities plus magic item containing detailed information and blank versions of the cards. Everything you need to incorporate Peace and Tranquility into your character’s background and your gaming sessions is here making them even more appealing, special and personal.
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The latest installment of the Treasures of NeoExodus-line is 4 pages long, 1 page editorial/SRD, leaving us with 3 pages of content, so let's take a look!
Peace and Tranquility are a pair of two butterfly-swords originally wielded by the legendary Final Arbiter Shani Bakradze of the order of Janissaries in the final battle of the twilight war that resulted in the order of Janissaries shaping the political landscape of NeoExodus and creating the unification. The twin swords, on a crunch level, are a +2 ki focus butterfly sword and a +1 ki intensifying butterfly sword. When fighting defensively with both weapons, the wielder gets a +2 shield bonus to AC.
Additionally, the enchantments of the weapons (i.e. the ki-focus/intensifying qualities) allow the wielder to use ki-dependant abilities through the blades and may add two option for ki: Peace may, for one extra ki-point when channeling a stunning fist mute spellcasters for 12 rounds if they fail to save. Tranquility may instead paralyze via the same mechanic, though the +1 DC of the ki intensifying quality of course raises the DC.
The pdf, as always, contains item-cards for the weapon, though only one that contains both swords - I would have preferred one for peace and one for tranquility.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting this time around are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to LPJr Design's beautiful 2-column full-color standard and the original piece of art of the blades is beautiful to behold. The pdf comes with a second more printer-friendly version and both have no bookmarks, but need none at this length.
Peace and Tranquility rank as my favorite installment of the series so far - the weapons are interesting regarding their mechanics, have a cool background, are a too-rarely supported weapon-class and their crunch is concise and worded with precision - the only reason I refrain from adding my seal of approval would be that getting two item cards, one for each sword, would have been the icing on the cake. My final verdict: 5 stars.
"Treasures of NeoExodus: Peace & Tranquility" is four pages, including 1 page editorial/SRD, 1 page item-cards, and 2 pages for the item and its history.
"Peace" and "Tranquility are twin butterfly swords. "Peace" is a +2 ki focus butterfly sword and "Tranquility" is a +1 ki intensifying butterfly sword. In addition to their individual bonuses, a character fighting defensively with both weapons gains a +2 shield bonus to armor class (above and beyond the normal benefits for fighting defensively).
Each weapon also has special abilities specifically aimed at hampering spell casters. "Peace" can be used in concert with a stunning fist attack to cause a target to become mute by spending 1 ki point. "Tranquility" can be used in a similar way, but instead paralyzes the target by spending 1 ki point. Though the rules are not explicit, it seems quite clear the stunning attack is meant to occur through the weapon(s) using ki focus / ki intensifying.
The accompanying description offers a flavor history of the weapons along with theories concerning their uniqueness (one of a kind or not?). Although the history and names are specific to the NeoExodus setting, the provided information is vague enough that the items could easily be used in any setting. The items seem especially fitting for Far East themed campaigns. These effects last for 12 rounds.
Overall, I noticed no editing or formatting issues. Both a B&W and full color version of the PDF are included. The art is great and matches the flavor and description of the item nicely. With the included description, stat block, and item cards (with or without item info.) the PDF is a great value. This publication was exactly what I hoped it would be and more. 5 stars well deserved.
