I'd never noticed these products before.. Or rather, I'd hadn't looked. They're getting some awesome reviews.
Yeah Adam, did you help with this?
A good chunk of us that wrote the Great City Campaign Setting and the Road to Revolution AP returned to write the Player's Guide as well, so yes, Daigle helped with this!
Reviews are always appreciated!
Director of Narrative
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Giev ... table ... of ... contents ... or ... a preview ... or you might miss a customer ! :P
I totally would, but I am at work and don't have the book with me. Perhaps one of the other contributors might have it a bit closer at hand than I do. Otherwise, I'll post a TOC when I get home. I never want to miss a customer.
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Director of Narrative
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Alright, Table of Contents behind the spoiler button:
Chapter 1: Races 4
Human Ethnicities 4
New Races 6
Core Races 9
Chapter 2: Base Classes 12
Cultkiller 12
Ghostblade 15
Guttermage 19
Neopagan 26
Urbanist 30
Trinkets and Gadgets 34
Minor Trinkets 34
Major Trinkets 35
Minor Gadgets 36
Major Gadgets 37
Superior Gadgets 37
Chapter 3: Feats 40
Chapter 4: Professions 42
NPC Class: The Barrister 44
Chapter 5: Prestige Classes 45
Crossroad Guardian 45
Insurrectionist 48
Moon Warrior (Warrior of the Silver Lady) 50
Numismatist 52
Rooftop Runner 54
Sewer Runner 57
Shadow Mage of the Gray Consortium 59
Chapter 6: Organizations 62
New Organizations 67
Chapter 7: Tongs 70
Azindralean Peoples Front (APF) 70
Faded Jester 72
Guild of Ghosts 73
Hof am Gin Hall 74
The Mind’s Way 75
Chapter 8: Equipment 77
Weapons 77
Armor 78
Goods and Services 78
Gaslight Technology 79
Chapter 9: Magic Items 81
Minor Artifact 85
Chapter 10: Property 86
Establishing a Residence 86
Running a Business 89
Sales 89
Chapter 11: Astrology and Religion 90
Calendar 90
Constellations 90
Determining Your Star Sign 90
Deities 92
Chapter 12: Spells 95
Bard Spell List 95
Cleric Spell List 95
Druid Spell List 96
Ranger Spell List 97
Sorcerer/Wizard Spell List 97
Spell Descriptions 98
Chapter 13: Appendix 105
Conversion Guide 105
Alright, Table of Contents behind the spoiler button:
** spoiler omitted **
Thanks Adam, was just putting it up! :)
I just purchased all of the Great City material, and was curious how intertwined the base classes in this guide are to the road to revolution adventures?
I just purchased all of the Great City material, and was curious how intertwined the base classes in this guide are to the road to revolution adventures?
Actually, the RtR adventures were written before the Player's Guide, so the modules do not incorporate any of the rules in the PG. However, incorporating the rules should be a simple task.
What are the new races involved? A little synopsis of them too would be nice.
I just purchased all of the Great City material, and was curious how intertwined the base classes in this guide are to the road to revolution adventures?Actually, the RtR adventures were written before the Player's Guide, so the modules do not incorporate any of the rules in the PG. However, incorporating the rules should be a simple task.
Thank you for the information!
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Director of Narrative
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What are the new races involved? A little synopsis of them too would be nice.
In the book there are two human races (the two major ethnic groups of the city), gur and half giants. The Azindrelians are the indigenous folks. The Kortezians are the empirical ones who came over and took over the Azis. The Gur are goblin blooded, and can take the form of bugbear-blooded, hobgoblin-blooded, and plain ol' goblin-blooded humanoids. The half-giants are people who are descended from a long-lived race of protean giants in the lands.The half-giants are all cross-spawned halfbreeds who've only heard stories of their ancestors greatness.
Contributor
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What are the new races involved? A little synopsis of them too would be nice.In the book there are two human races (the two major ethnic groups of the city), gur and half giants. The Azindrelians are the indigenous folks. The Kortezians are the empirical ones who came over and took over the Azis. The Gur are goblin blooded, and can take the form of bugbear-blooded, hobgoblin-blooded, and plain ol' goblin-blooded humanoids. The half-giants are people who are descended from a long-lived race of protean giants in the lands.The half-giants are all cross-spawned halfbreeds who've only heard stories of their ancestors greatness.
PS For anyone wondering, Empirical is a deliberate play on words off of Imperial and the empirical fact that "we've been conquered." The conquered Azindraleans named the age of the the first Kortezian dominion the Empirical Age.
This is why Mr. Daigle -- word genius that he is -- only appears to misuse the term empirical.
Just sayin'.
In the book there are two human races (the two major ethnic groups of the city), gur and half giants. The Azindrelians are the indigenous folks. The Kortezians are the empirical ones who came over and took over the Azis. The Gur are goblin blooded, and can take the form of bugbear-blooded, hobgoblin-blooded, and plain ol' goblin-blooded humanoids. The half-giants are people who are descended from a long-lived race of protean giants in the lands.The half-giants are all cross-spawned halfbreeds who've only heard stories of their ancestors greatness.
Thanks for the scoop, Daigle! I may have to roll a will save on this.
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Daigle is from Texas, they misuse words all the time over there /ducks.This is why Mr. Daigle -- word genius that he is -- only appears to misuse the term empirical.
Just sayin'.
Did someone profane the Great Name of Texas?!? Don't make me go all Sandy Cheeks on ya.
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Director of Narrative
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In the book there are two human races (the two major ethnic groups of the city), gur and half giants. The Azindrelians are the indigenous folks. The Kortezians are the empirical ones who came over and took over the Azis. The Gur are goblin blooded, and can take the form of bugbear-blooded, hobgoblin-blooded, and plain ol' goblin-blooded humanoids. The half-giants are people who are descended from a long-lived race of protean giants in the lands.The half-giants are all cross-spawned halfbreeds who've only heard stories of their ancestors greatness.Thanks for the scoop, Daigle! I may have to roll a will save on this.
Anytime. And though I wish you no harm at all, I hope you fail that save.
Anytime. And though I wish you no harm at all, I hope you fail that save.
Well, knowing that this release is Pathfinder compatible will cause a penalty to be applied against my roll.
Anytime. And though I wish you no harm at all, I hope you fail that save.Well, knowing that this release is Pathfinder compatible will cause a penalty to be applied against my roll.
lol Nice!
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I got this in hardcover from lulu.com after seeing how awesome the Solomon Kanesque Cultkiller was in the free preview, and it's finally arrived. Well and truly worth both the wait for arrival and the money. Everyone that's been irritated at how the Pathfinder Alchemist is built really needs to take a look at the Urbanist from this: it's pretty much what you wanted the Alchemist to be. The guttermage is an interesting variant, and the Ghostblade is just a beautiful class. Well done all the way around. The material from this setting will be enlivening my campaigns for the foreseeable future. Even the support for the base classes and races are well done, especially the Moon and Vengeance domains. (My Moon Knight-based cleric thanks you!) On top of that, the awesomeness that is the actual setting material is incredibly engrossing... I'm going to have to hunt down the adventures that kickstarted this setting now. Good, good stuff!
I got this in hardcover from lulu.com after seeing how awesome the Solomon Kanesque Cultkiller was in the free preview, and it's finally arrived. Well and truly worth both the wait for arrival and the money. Everyone that's been irritated at how the Pathfinder Alchemist is built really needs to take a look at the Urbanist from this: it's pretty much what you wanted the Alchemist to be. The guttermage is an interesting variant, and the Ghostblade is just a beautiful class. Well done all the way around. The material from this setting will be enlivening my campaigns for the foreseeable future. Even the support for the base classes and races are well done, especially the Moon and Vengeance domains. (My Moon Knight-based cleric thanks you!) On top of that, the awesomeness that is the actual setting material is incredibly engrossing... I'm going to have to hunt down the adventures that kickstarted this setting now. Good, good stuff!
Woo! Thanks for the kind words, glad to hear them!
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Director of Narrative
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Thanks, man! I'm curious about something.
How does the lulu hardcover print look? I've considered getting it, but I've seen good lulu prints and I've seen crappy ones, and I wasn't ready to get the book from lulu unless I was certain it would be good. (Sure I wrote for it, but I only have the PDF.)
I'm really glad you are enjoying the book, and personally, I'm really happy that the guttermage was at least interesting to you, and I think you nailed it on the class being a variant. It's really something that won't work in every campaign, because it is a very niche class.
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I'd just like to congratulate whomever wrote the Guttermage class. It's probably the best mechanical adaptation of the Warlock class I've seen yet for Pathfinder, with a radically different theme and flavor. Crazy lunatic homeless guy that can transform into a swarm of cockroaches and gain mad insights from going off to rant for 10 minutes? I love it.
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Director of Narrative
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I'd just like to congratulate whomever wrote the Guttermage class. It's probably the best mechanical adaptation of the Warlock class I've seen yet for Pathfinder, with a radically different theme and flavor. Crazy lunatic homeless guy that can transform into a swarm of cockroaches and gain mad insights from going off to rant for 10 minutes? I love it.
You don't know how happy that makes me. When we were working on that book, we did a lot of brainstorming about all the different elements. Lou Agresta, though he ended up not having the time to write for it, contributed a bunch of ideas, and one of them that resonated with everyone was the idea for a crazy alley-dwelling caster or some sort. I gave it the name guttermage and between Lou, Tim, the mighty Willie Walsh, and myself we threw around some ideas for what I ended up writing for the book. I'm really glad you like the class. I'm fond of class features that give the player a bunch of options to choose from. That way, not every guttermage will be the same. Thanks again!
Okay, after reading that this might have to go on one of my lists . . .
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The lulu.com copy was VERY well produced. High marks all around for both it and the campaign setting book (I bought both... the cultkiller was a GREAT preview and totally sold me on the setting!) My only regret is that I've cut myself on the sharp corners of the cover. :) (No joke... thing could be used as an improvised weapon! I've stopped leaving it on the arm of the chair when I get up now...)
Please, don't get me wrong on the guttermage... I actually really love the class and think the flavor is out of this world... I only call it a variant because most of the spells are on another list. :) It's VERY urban, moreso than even the urbanist, oddly enough, but I can see a lot of fun with it just because the abilities are so flavorful. If only we could see a hedgemage done as well...
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Director of Narrative
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The lulu.com copy was VERY well produced. High marks all around for both it and the campaign setting book (I bought both... the cultkiller was a GREAT preview and totally sold me on the setting!) My only regret is that I've cut myself on the sharp corners of the cover. :) (No joke... thing could be used as an improvised weapon! I've stopped leaving it on the arm of the chair when I get up now...)Please, don't get me wrong on the guttermage... I actually really love the class and think the flavor is out of this world... I only call it a variant because most of the spells are on another list. :) It's VERY urban, moreso than even the urbanist, oddly enough, but I can see a lot of fun with it just because the abilities are so flavorful. If only we could see a hedgemage done as well...
Cool. That’s good to know about the print copy. I guess I’ll have to get me one.
About the guttermage, I wasn’t taking offense at all. I feel you 100% on your assessment, and really, really worried that it’d be too urban and too niche, especially with such a narrowly focused spell list, but I’m glad you guys are enjoying it. Hedgemage….Hmmmm, that gives me some ideas….
The lulu.com copy was VERY well produced. High marks all around for both it and the campaign setting book (I bought both... the cultkiller was a GREAT preview and totally sold me on the setting!) My only regret is that I've cut myself on the sharp corners of the cover. :) (No joke... thing could be used as an improvised weapon! I've stopped leaving it on the arm of the chair when I get up now...)Please, don't get me wrong on the guttermage... I actually really love the class and think the flavor is out of this world... I only call it a variant because most of the spells are on another list. :) It's VERY urban, moreso than even the urbanist, oddly enough, but I can see a lot of fun with it just because the abilities are so flavorful. If only we could see a hedgemage done as well...
Cool. That’s good to know about the print copy. I guess I’ll have to get me one.
About the guttermage, I wasn’t taking offense at all. I feel you 100% on your assessment, and really, really worried that it’d be too urban and too niche, especially with such a narrowly focused spell list, but I’m glad you guys are enjoying it. Hedgemage….Hmmmm, that gives me some ideas….
Adam, I got a print copy and it's [Borat]Niiiiice![/Borat]
Stark Enterprises VP, thank you for your generous take on the book! :) (ps. I just tested the corners and you're right! Those really are sharp.)
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I have a question about the Neopagan's Absorb Essence ability - how is "in excess of her daily pool" defined? If I have an essence pool of 12 points and I haven't touched it yet for the day, can I use Absorb Essence at all? Or is it that I can use it, but only to absorb up to a maximum of 12 points in addition to my daily pool?
Everyone that's been irritated at how the Pathfinder Alchemist is built really needs to take a look at the Urbanist from this: it's pretty much what you wanted the Alchemist to be.
As the author of that piece, I appreciate your positive feedback! I was concerned that what I wrote was too complex (or just plain sucked), so it's great to hear from at least one person that gives it a proverbial thumb's up.
I have a question about the Neopagan's Absorb Essence ability - how is "in excess of her daily pool" defined? If I have an essence pool of 12 points and I haven't touched it yet for the day, can I use Absorb Essence at all? Or is it that I can use it, but only to absorb up to a maximum of 12 points in addition to my daily pool?
The neopagan's essence pool represents the most energy she can hold at one time. So, she can use absorb essence to refill her pool only after she's spent some essence from it. If she tries to overfill her pool - intentionally or otherwise - the absortion automatically fails.
Aww yeah!
Aww yeah!
HUZZAH!
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Director of Narrative
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The couple of adventures I picked up where well done. So i imagine this would be as well. I have been debating picking it up to mine for idea's myself.
Just curious, did you ever end up picking up this book? I'm always a huge fan of your reviews and I never saw one from you, so I thought you might have skipped this release.
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The couple of adventures I picked up where well done. So i imagine this would be as well. I have been debating picking it up to mine for idea's myself.Just curious, did you ever end up picking up this book? I'm always a huge fan of your reviews and I never saw one from you, so I thought you might have skipped this release.
Sadly no, money is the issue. I honestly just can't keep up buying all the stuff I want to buy. While this is on my list of things to buy eventually it has just never made it up the list high enough to be bought. :( I want to pick up a couple of the other adventures in this setting as well.
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Ok I couldn't sleep so I finished reading this and finished the review.
The Great City: Players Guide by 0onegames
This product is 111 pages long. The cover, credits and forward take up 5 pages.
Chapter 1 – Races (8 pages)
There is 2 human ethnicity the Azindraleans and Kortezians. With three new races and information about each of the classic DnD races. It talks about the races role in the city and the general area's they live. The three new races are.
Gur – There is 3 variations, they are half blooded golbiniods. Bugbear, Hobgoblin and Goblin.
Half Giant – Large strong and tough race. They normally get psionic bonuses and abilities, but it has replacement abilities if you don't use psionics.
Roachkin – Humans that have for generations lived in the sewers of the city until they evolved for that environment.
Chapter 2 – Base Classes (28 pages)
Cultkiller – d10, 2 skills, 2 good saves, all weapons/armor, full BaB. A fighter with special abilities to track down and capture/kill cultist.
Ghostblade – d10, 4 skills, full BaB, light medium armor, all weapons. A fighter that taps into the ghosts of long dead warriors. A interesting class.
Guttermage – d8, 6 skills, medium BaB, 2 good saves, simple weapons. A variation of a sorcerer, max 6th level spells. Limited spell list. Special abilities deal with living in the city. Class would be weak if played outside of a city.
Neopagan – d8, 4 skills, medium BaB, simple, light weapons and bows. Light medium non-metal armor. 2 good saves. The have a power pool for casting spells, they can absorb more points by countering other casters, which blocks the spell and refills their essence pool a certain number of times a day. Limited spell list. A very interesting new class with a new magic system.
Urbanist – d8, 4 skills, medium BaB, simple/light weapons, light/medium armors. This class makes gadgets to use. They get X number of fuel points, there is 3 kinds of fuels, each with x number of energy points. The gadgets require X amount of energy to work each. Each day the Urbanist can remake their fuel so could power different devices or even just keep the fuel and only load items when said item is needed. Which makes the class versatile and very neat. I did find one part confusing the fuels and energy. I had to email the authors to get clarification. After I got it, it seemed obvious, but I recommend a very minor rewrite to make it more clear.
The chapter ends with a big list of gadgets the Urbanist can make and use.
Chapter 3 – Feats (2 pages)
11 new feats some generic and some tied to the new classes.
Chapter 4 – Professions (3 pages)
There is several city based professions the PC's can take, each one allows for something special to be done with a certain skill. Such as Bounty Hunter able to roll to determine likely places someone might go. There is also a new NPC class the Barrister aka lawyer.
Chapter 5 – Prestige Classes (17 pages)
Crossroad Guardian – d8, 4 skills, medium BaB. 5 level PRC, based on communing with spirits that grant them luck. They also get some of their old classes abilities as they level.
Insurrectionist – d10, 4 skills, Full BaB, all weapons and armor. 10 level PrC, this class is all about fighting those in power to over throw the government while staying hidden.
Moon Warrior – d10, 4 skills, 2 good saves, Full BaB. 10 level PrC, spell casting PrC that learns spells from 2nd to 6th level. Other abilities deal with the moon who they worship.
Numismatist – d8, 6 skills, medium BaB. 5 level PrC, +1 caster level each level. All their special abilities deal with money.
Rooftop Runner – d8, 8 skills, medium BaB. 10 level PrC, a cat burglar with bonus to climbing and running on roofs. They also learn a few low level spells as supernatural abilities.
Sewer Runner – d8, 6 skills, medium BaB, 2 good saves. 10 level PrC, they live in the sewers. Class abilities help them survive and fight in that environment.
Shadow Mage – d6, 2 skills, low BaB. 7 level PrC, +6 caster levels. Class abilities give bonuses to shadow magic and shadow based abilities.
Chapter 6 – Organizations (8 pages)
There is 21 organizations in this section. 2 of which are brand new to the setting with a couple of pages of information for each. The rest all get about half a page of information, as well as each one gets a trait. Traits are a optional rule in Pathfinder.
Chapter 7 – Tongs (7 pages)
There is 5 tongs or small groups in this section. It talks about each one with a list of about 10 missions for each group, they are likely to send PC's on seeking to join.
Chapter 8 – Equipment (4 pages)
This section has a few new weapons and armor. A section on some new equipment from bear trap to reversible clothing to rickshaw and costs for a few more NPC services.
Chapter 9 – Magic Items (5 pages)
This section has 16 new magic items and 1 minor artifact. They average fair to good.
Chapter 10 – Property (4 pages)
This section has cost for buying properties and minimum cost of living to live in them. It adds in modifiers for the type of area(slum, merchant etc). They included a random mishap chart of bad things that can happen to your property, each month there is a 5% chance something bad happens. If it does roll on the chart.
It also has information on running a business with modifiers for type of business and how to dodge taxes. I wish this section had been larger and more devoted to it. What is here is good but I would have loved to have seen more.
Chapter 11 – Astrology and Religion (5 pages)
There is 12 signs, with new rules for being born under the signs. When your sign is high you can reroll one roll per day, when it is new then the GM can ask to reroll one die. Interesting idea but seems like a lot of book keeping for a full group.
There is also 5 new gods and 3 new domains. The gods and domains are well done and interesting.
Chapter 12 – Spells (10 pages)
There is 30 new spells. A few spells to give you a idea.
City Lights - 2nd level spell that lets you focus the light into a ranged attack. 1D6 per 2 levels. It must be done in a area of normal light levels.
Broadside Spy - 6th level spell, allows one to scry on a poster or piece of paper you touch for a number of days. Any time you focus you can see through the paper as if it was a window.
Orphans Eyes – 1st level spell, Makes you appear weak and pitiful. Gain a bonus on social skills, breaks if you attack.
The spells are all very urban based, some only working in a urban environment. All and all I thought the spells was ok, some I liked a lot and some I was meh about.
Chapter 13 – Appendix (2 pages)
It has conversion rules for converting the rules to 3.5 DnD.
It finishes with OGL, ad, and back cover (3 pages)
Closing thoughts. All and all it is a good book. It's best strength is also it's biggest weakness. It is very urban focused, while much of the work could be adapted to any city. It is tied a bit to the default setting the great city. The PrC's was done well and for the most part not to tied to the setting though most are urban based. The classes are well done and also not really tied to the setting. I especially liked the NeoPagen and Urbanist. They are both interesting with a new take on magic. I would almost recommend the book on that alone.
Organizations, Tongs and religion was all well done but are all pretty tied to the setting so of only limited use for those playing in other settings. Though some of it could be adapted and I did like the added traits. Spells and magic items where decent. But what I liked about the book was the two classes and the section on property. Those was hands down the best parts of the book and nearly worth the price of the book alone.
The art work is fair to good, there was a few editing mistake and one fairly confusing part that I brought to the authors attention. So my ratings are as follows. If you play in the Great City setting then this is a 4.5 star product. If you plan to run a urban based campaign then this is a 4 star product. For everyone else this is a 3.5 star product, still some good stuff to mine and not bad for the price.
Very good review, DM and informative as always! This one is also on my review-list and once I'm done with my raging-swan reviews and HotJO-proofing, I'll see that I get around to it. :)
