Introduction
So, Hall Kennette is a prolific author that has been kind of focusing on Akashic magic supplements. He has made several new classes, with the Stormbound and the Volur being the most prominent. In this book by Lost Spheres Publishing, he presents us a new akashic class, the Promethean. Is it as good as the Volur? Let’s see!
What’s inside?: Not counting covers, table of contents and legal stuff, 48 pages for 9 bucks, which includes:
-Introduction: Here the author talks about one of the areas not really explored in akashic magic before, basically talking about Lovecraft-y kind of occult and alien stuff. Great way to start the book!
-Promethean Base Class: Before I get into the class, the name comes from the titan Prometheus, who gave the forbidden knowledge of how to use fire to humans, which is a nice name for a class themed around occult knowledge.
Anyway, the Promethean is a veilweaving class, with a cleric-like chassis (medium BAB/d8 HD, good Fort and Will saves, simple weapons and light armor proficiencies, plus bucklers), with 2 skill points to fuel 20 class skills. They have 3 main abilities.
Veilweaving: Promethean have strong intelligence-based veilweaving abilities (good, since most recent veilweavers have defaulted to charisma), going from 1 to 8 veils shaped during their progression and having all 10 binds (one at every even level); they have their own veil list which includes veils for all 10 slots, even if some slots have only a few options; their maximum essence capacity also increases thrice, another common aspect of akashic classes. To empower these veils, the Promethean gets 1 point of essence per odd level, and 2 each even level, ending with the same essence of a Vizier but getting more at lower levels. It is worth mentioning that their veilweaving is not their only class feature that depends on essence, the other being Forbidden Knowledge (read below).
Promethean Obsession: The “archetype” of the class, each obsession grants the Promethean an ability at levels 1st, 5th, 9th, 13th, 17th and 20th levels. 4 are included in this book (in its own section after the rest of the class is presented). Adaptationists can mutate their forms to have natural weapons chosen from a big list, they fight and endure like a warrior class, and get some “adaptations”, which are unique talents of the subclass that makes the character evolve. Doppelgängers are shapechangers who can sneak attack (up to +7d6), steal faces from corpses and making them unidentifiable, consuming bodies of corporeal creatures and even undead and gaining some of their abilities, to the point where they get to wear what their victims were wearing! Their shapechanging abilities improve, gaining more abilities of the chosen form and being able to become bigger or smaller (up to huge and diminutive), and startling those whose shape they have taken. My favorite obsession from a player perspective!
Fleshsculpters might sound similar to the previous two, but whereas the Adaptationists mutates and the Doppelgänger shapechanges, these mofos instead disfigure and impair those who they touch! They gain a melee touch attack as a standard action that deals 1d6 per Promethean level of supernatural, irreducible damage, that also has a rider effect if the victim fails a save, for 1 round plus 1 more for every 2 levels. The penalties are varied, and increase every few levels, to the point where the victim can get, as an example, up to -5 to attacks or AC after a failed Will save. This are curse effects, and while they don’t stack with themselves, the Promethean can apply different penalties each time they use this ability against the same target. They can also use fleshsculpting to buff their allies. At the start of each day, they can sculpt their flesh to give them a special ability from a long list. Later levels unlock more abilities, and they can give their allies more than one, or even make changes permanent! And at 20th level, those they fleshshape permanently become immortal! Since permanent fleshsculpting has a monetary cost, rules for buying such enhancements are given, which is beyond cool, and it also includes the possibility to buy temporary fleshsculpting. While not my favorite, this subclass opens up tons of possibilities and has incredible world-building potential!
We end the subclasses with the Thoughthunter. Like the others, they have a base offensive ability where their arms become a mass of tendrils, which they can use to attack and grapple and even mentally damage those grappled by their tendrils. They can also hear the surface thoughts of those near them, and by concentrating they can focus on the thoughts of one creature. Later levels warp your mind in a way that it makes them more difficult to attack mentally, and those who try to read their minds get damaged. Later levels improve both abilities, but at 17th they become an illithid-lite, having to consume the brains of sentient beings to survive. Eating a brain gives them access to some of the owner’s memories and knowledge, unless the creature was immune to mind-affecting effects.
Forbidden Knowledge: The final ability of Prometheans is a kind of class talent gained at 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th and 18th levels, chosen from a list of 11. Almost all of them are essence receptacles, and some of them include up to 10 points of essence empowerment! Also, some have side effects. As an example of some of them, Abundance of Eyes makes them grow numerous eyes throughout their body, making them more difficult to flank and also getting bonuses to Perception and Sense Motive checks, which are increased with essence. Glimpsed the Infinite burns their eyes, but lets them see clearly within 30 ft (more with essence), and every point of essence increasing what you can see, from magical auras, to alignments, to intents and finishing with a kind of x-ray vision. Seeds of Life lets them prepare a vessel similar to the clone spell. I didn’t find a single useless one, nor did I find a must have, which is difficult from a design perspective.
All in all, the Promethean is a weird, dark veilweaving class that will work wonders in the hands of both players and Game Masters.
-3 new feats: Esotery Sculptor is open only to Fleshsculptors, improving their damaging touch and also opening magic-item crafting. Essence-honed Flesh is useful for those who fight unarmed or with natural weapons, can give enhancement bonuses to both with essence, but has its own, unique maximum essence capacity of up to +5, so it is great for low level Gurus, essence-using Druids and of course the Adaptationist Promethean.
-3 magical items: Cloning Vat is an item that improves the Clone spell and the Seeds of Life forbidden knowledge. Elixir of Fleshsculpting come in many prices, and each tier can change or enhance the imbiber in different ways, all tied to the Fleshsculptor obsession. Finally, Forbidden Tome is an item that can improve your Forbidden Knowledge class feature as if it had more essence invested (up to +3), and you can benefit from more than one, but each affecting a different FK.
-Veilweaving: This section gives you the basics of veilweaving, which almost lets you use this book without Akashic Magic. There is no mention on suppressing veils though. However, it includes a new veil descriptor, Fleshwarp, that states some differences from other veils, mainly that they don’t act like supernatural abilities and more like extraordinary, which make them very difficult to affect.
-19 new veils: After the veilshaping section, new veils are unceremoniously spewed to the reader, which kind of feels thematically fitting to the book LOL. They come divided in several veil sets (though there is no mention if only these veils are in the sets), an important distinction since there are some abilities out there, most of them by the author, that deal with veil sets. Since there are too many, I will present the veil set and describe one of the veils:
Dreams of Power is a 3 veil set focused on dreams. Nightmare’s Eye is a headband veil that includes the [sleep] descriptor, which while I couldn’t find as a spell descriptor, is useful to have and know that elves are probably immune to it. Anyway, it lets you cloud the minds of those you focus on, making them drowsy for 2 rounds, with essence increasing the duration, and the creature can even fall asleep. The headband bind damages those who fall asleep.
Shapes of the Primordial is a 5 veil set focused on changing the veilshaper’s form, so all the veils in the set have the new descriptor. Leaping Gait is a feet veil that improves your jumping, to the point of jumping so fast that only part of the distance counts towards your movement for the round.
Trappings of the Old Gods is a 5 veil set, with a Lovecraftiang myth theme. Embodiment of the Gate gives you the ability to project a 5 foot aura, and you can decide where you are in that aura for the purposes of your attacks and attacks of opportunity, and if you provoke an AoO, the attacker must succeed in a Will save to be able to attack you (not a fan of adding extra rolls, it would have been better to improve your AC). Essence increases both the Will DC and the aura’s area. Shoulder bind makes you aura difficult terrain, and you have the option to roll to see if you are there or not there, losing your action but becoming very difficult to hurt, and the body bind makes that mandatory (although you can still make AoO).
Warsculpter’s Menagerie is a 6 veil set, focused again in changing your chape, with all veils having the new descriptor, but this set makes you better at combat, with all of them open to the Promethean and Daevic classes (some of them are open to others too). Behemoth Flesh is a chest veil that makes you denser and thus have greater weight, but this gives you improved bullrushing and overrunning capabilities, to the point where you can hurt those affected by your maneuvers. Essence improves your density, becoming even more apt at said maneuvers and improving their damage. The Chest bind has a glitch, mentioning the body bind in the text (chest is mentioned in the veil and the veil bind name, but body is mentioned in the text); anyway, it makes you actually bigger, with size bonuses and all (+8 size bonus to strength? GREAT!)
Appendix: Here we can find information about the Dimension of Dreams, one of the new places added to the game in Occult Adventures. Another guest is the Fleshwarping item creation feat, coming from Horror Adventures, and coming with two sample items, also from the book mentioned. After this we have 7 pages of legal stuff, which after many books I have become immune to them LOL.
Of Note: The marrying of crunch and fluff is strong in this book, something that is missing from other akashic releases that feel more general. The class is very interesting, serving as a kind of dark reflection of other akashic classes.
Anything wrong?: Apart from some misspellings here and there, and glitches like the one in the last veil I described, some of the abilities feel really strong. Untyped damage should not be that common, even if it has some caveats.
What I want: More information of the class and its place in the world and uses of its rules. Secret societies, monsters, NPCs, more of everything! And maybe an anti-promethean organization!
What cool things did this inspire?: Imagine a less futuristic Cyberpunk-like setting, but instead of cybernetic enhancements, you get warped flesh… It sounds effin AWESOME! I would love to play/narrate a campaign like that! FLESHPUNK, HERE WE GO!
Do I recommend it?: This book is gross in the best possible way. Creepy veilweavers is something that akashic magic sorely needed, and here Mr. Kenneth delivers in spades. IMHO, this is the best book penned by the author to date! Even with all the problems mentioned, I think this book deserves no less than five lightless stars from this reviewer, plus a tentacly hi 5 to the author!
