I like dark stuff, so I'm highly considering one of the following:
Heroes of Horror
Libris Mortis
Book of Vile Darkness
Can anybody who has one of these books tell me which is best or will update to Pathfinder best? I am interested in new core and prestige classes and monsters, and I also like new spells and class variants. I have no interest in new dieties or creatures of the outsider subtype (I don't use outsiders in my campaign very often. I prefer native threats.).
The one thing I like more than dark stuff is sailing, so I very badly want Stormwrack, but the price tag has me nervous.I would LOVE extensive sea combat rules and lots of new sea monsters to fight. Can anyone tell me if it's content is worth shelling out the money?
I can only get one book right now, and it'll probably be a long time before I get another, so I want to get something good.
Of those three, Libris Mortis is by far the one I've found most use for. It contains a wealth of new Undead creatures, as well as feats and prestige classes for Undead creatures and for those specializing in creating and commanding Undead. Highly recommended.
Book of Vile Darkness was originally written for 3.0, so it will be somewhat more difficult to update it to Pathfinder than the other two. In addition, it primarily consists of the things you have no interest in; Most of the new monsters in it are Outsiders, and there are also new gods.
I have Heroes of Horror, but I haven't used it much yet. The book introduces a "Taint" system (a mechanic for determining how corrupted characters become due to their experiences), and most of the content in that book utilize that system. Which means that if you don't use the Taint system, the rest of the book is nearly useless. I would suggest borrowing this book from someone and check the system out before purchasing it.
I like Stormwrack a lot, and it has a lot of new aquatic monsters and prestige classes and other character options geared towards sea-life. I'm not sure how good its naval combat system is, as I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. If the book is significantly more expensive than its original price, I would recommend waiting until you've either had a chance to look at the book or until you can find it cheaper.
I'd give a nod to Lords of Madness. Not exactly horror exactly, but I've found a lot of use from the content in that book. The fluff is pretty top notch, giving a DM a lot of info to work with but also letting the races have a lot of mystery and intrigue to them.
LM gives advice on how certain undead monsters work, and I think it has the Cyst spells also, which I have always wanted to use. HoH only has the archivist, and dread necromancer which has a few editing issues. BoVD only has the lords of the nine and demon lords statted out, but it is not worth the money. Lords of Madness is pretty cool. I really like the mind flayer section.
I would vouch for LoM, and LM(mostly for the flavor).
I think I'm going to go with Libris Mortis, because Undead is by far my favourite monster type and my local library has a copy of Heroes of Horror that I was able to place on hold.
Thanks for warning me that the Book of Vile Darkness is mostly divine. I'm fine with religion, but I prefer making my own dieties, not getting them from a book, and as I said before I do not like using Outsiders.
They will *all* update to Pathfinder. I've yet to find anything in 3.5 that doesn't. For example, I'm currently playing a Scout (Complete Adventurer) in a Pathfinder campaign. I suspect that was one of their design goals...
They will *all* update to Pathfinder. I've yet to find anything in 3.5 that doesn't. For example, I'm currently playing a Scout (Complete Adventurer) in a Pathfinder campaign. I suspect that was one of their design goals...
I know anything from 3.5 can be updated to Pathfinder, but some books are easier to do this with than others.
I did Pathfinderize some monsters in Libris Mortis, and I can say that was at least fun.
I don't remember how the rest would work (I borrowed the book and gave it back to its owner).
|
For the record, I ran a PF Game on Pirating, and stormwrack was pretty much plug and play.
Only things I remember as complications:
Encounter tables: They refer to monsters in 3.5 books, and if you dont have the 3.5 mms with you at the table you may have a hard time finding the monster in the PF books. I recommend getting som sticky notes, and putting them in the book next to the tables, to tell you where to find the monsters in PF format.
And finding relevent sections in the book was slow going as well. I recommend sticky notes on the edges of pages to help you find the important bits.
I paid $55 for mine in 2009, and it was well worth it.
|
|
Heroes of Horror
Libris Mortis
Book of Vile Darkness
I own all three.
BovD is useful for fluff on demon lords and the hierarchy of the hells, but if you have or can find Fiend Folio and Fiendish Codex 1 & 2 I think it covers everything and then some.
Libris Mortis: I disagree with the other posters here. I didnt care for the book much. There were a few useful fluff bits on undead, and a whole bunch of undead monsters I couldnt see myself having that much use for.
HoH: Some useful feats, some good spells, a few ideas for making a darker campaign world. I didnt care for the taint system though.
I'd recommend HoH over either of the other two, but I'd recommend the 3 Fiend Books I mentioned over all of the above. I have paizo's Demon and Devil books, and I only see them as good supplementary material to Codex 1 and 2, and thats even with the fact that all the monsters havent been updated.
There is a 3pp demon book and a 3pp devil book that are really good too. One of the two was written by Erik Mona IIRC.
|
There is a 3pp demon book and a 3pp devil book that are really good too. One of the two was written by Erik Mona IIRC.
I assume you mean Green Ronin's [url=http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/g/greenRoninPublishing/byProductType/roleplayingGames/otherD20/v5748btpy73g6]Legions of Hell[/rul by Chris Pramas, and Armies of the Abyss by Eric Mona.
|
|
I assume you mean Green Ronin's [url=http://paizo.com/store/byCompany/g/greenRoninPublishing/byProductType/roleplayingGames/otherD20/v5748btpy73g6]Legions of Hell[/rul by Chris Pramas, and Armies of the Abyss by Eric Mona.
Those are the ones!
Some of the stuff in there is Damn Cool. And I wish it was updated to PFRPG.
|
|
I assume you mean Green Ronin's Legions of Hell by Chris Pramas, and Armies of the Abyss by Eric Mona.
Not sure how I messed that link up so bad without noticing it.
Book of Fiends puts those two together, adds daemons, and is updated to 3.5. Still available through print on demand. I highly recommend grabbing that version.
I ended up buying Libris Mortis, and I am very pleased. I also borrowed a copy of HoH from the local library, and I have to say I think Libris Mortis was the right choice. I personally like the Undead fluff and new monsters. Undead are by far my favorite monster type to use.
Book of Fiends puts those two together, adds daemons, and is updated to 3.5. Still available through print on demand. I highly recommend grabbing that version.Havent seen that one.
PoD only? or can you get Searchable PDFs?
I don't think they sell it anywhere but Green Ronin's webiste, but it is available via PDF. (I didn't find it when I searched Paizo's store.)
Edit: I forgot how expensive the print version was. It was the last GR book I had been hunting for, so I found it worth the price. In fact, I used the hunger daemons just last week against my party.
All of the monster names, stats, and combat sections are designated Open Content, so somebody could convert them for Pathfinder. (I wouldn't be surprised if Paizo has used one or two on occasion, but I'd have to double check.)
|
|
I ended up buying Libris Mortis, and I am very pleased. I also borrowed a copy of HoH from the local library, and I have to say I think Libris Mortis was the right choice. I personally like the Undead fluff and new monsters. Undead are by far my favorite monster type to use.
Ah. I find I can only use so many types of undead.
Vampires, Liches, Zombies, Skeletons, ghouls, Wights, Ghosts, Wraiths, and variants on the above.But I can never have too many types of demons, Devils, and Daemons.