So what in the Dark Tapestry is a Huay?
Introduction
Akasha Reshaped: The Huay is a short book by Moonhand Press. It includes a new class, the Huay, plus a couple of complementary material, most of it with a nature theme. Is it a worthy addition to the Akashic magic system? Let’s see! But before that, Huay is a Mayan word meaning sorcerer, and is another way of calling a Nahual, an infamous monster from Mexican mythology!
What’s inside?
8 pages of content (not counting covers, ads etc., and the 9th page only includes a racial trait) for 3 bucks, which include:
-The Huay Akashic class: The Huay feels like a hybrid class, combining the Druid and the Vizier. It has the Druid’s chassis (HD/BAB, Saves, skillpoints, even the weapons/armor proficiencies), with four more class skills. They also share the taboo of wearing metal armor or shields, since doing so hinders their powers. They can use ironwood armor, and even their metallic armor veils appear as “ironwooded”. Also, they start knowing the secret druidic language as a bonus. The final druidic abilities they get are Woodland Stride and a variant of Wild Shape (see below).
They are powerful, wisdom-based veilweavers. They start with the ability to shape 2 veils, one of them from their very vast veil list, and the other one from a small, thematic 4-veil list. This special one is called Veil of Nature, doesn’t count as one of their veils shaped (it appears under the veils as a #+1), and also doesn’t occupy a veil slot or, if sufficient level, a bind slot. Speaking of slots and bind slots, the Huay get ALL 10 slots and binds! I’m surprised by this, since the only other “core” Akashic classes (those penned by the author of Akashic Mysteries) that can shape and bind all 10 veils are the Vizier and the Nexus. If we read the Akashic Design pdf released by the author, we can find that a class that uses Wisdom as its veilweaving modifier “generates power through spiritual strength; typically not as good at veilweaving but with powerful and unique akashic class abilities.” If we compare the Huay to either the Radiant or the Guru, the latter two get up to 8 veils and 7 and 8 binds respectively. I think that their veilweaving is too powerful for a Druid-like chassis that is more powerful than a Vizier’s IMHO, and the Nexus is thematically-linked to their 10 veil’s lists. Anyway, like almost all Akashic classes, they also get the Improved Essence Capacity class feature 3 times, and the essence progression of Gurus. Their veil list appears at the end of the class, and it doesn’t mention where the veils come from. At first glance, they come from Akashic Mysteries, Akashic Trinity, The Stormbound, and Akashic Realms 1. I would add the sources for all non-Akashic Mysteries ones, though, which is a common trend for spell-lists. There are some strange inclusions though (Babau Skin? Demon Lord’s Hunger? Somen of Shadows? O… k?).
Their class-defining feature is “Skin Shift”, and it works very differently from a Druid’s Wild Shape, but counts as such. To use it, the Huay needs to invest 1 point of essence, which is bound until you return to normal and then it is “burned”, and has a duration of 1 hour per level, during which you can change into another form by taking a point of essence burn. Starting at 2nd level, this ability works as the alter self spell. At 5th level, and every two levels thereafter, the Huay gains a Skin Form slot. These slots are filled with Skin Forms, improved versions of their Skin Shift ability based on other spells (just like a Druid). With the exception of beast shape, a Huay need to progressively buy all instances of the same form to gain higher level ones, so to get access to undead anatomy IV, they need three more slots for the I, II and III instances. By the way, as a “nature” class, undead anatomy feels a bit off, and one I would have put behind an archetype or at least feat wall, as well as other, more esoteric forms. They get access to a lot of forms (giants, dragons, oozes), the most powerful needing an investment of 4 essence (5 if you count their capstone). Any special ability gained has a DC of 10 + essence invested in skinshift + Wis modifier, or its normal DC, whichever is higher. Finally, any weapon-like veil they have shaped becomes fused to natural weapons if the shape taken can’t wield it, similar to the Weapon Fusion feat found on Akashic Realms 2, but for veils instead of constellations. Later, you become more adept at changing to certain shapes, and can even change the shapes of other creatures and even objects! Their capstone is the ability to shapechange, as the spell, if at least 5 essence are invested in this ability. Some aspects that I liked of this ability are, that you can change your slots every day, just like veils, and you don’t have to invest and “bind” essence until you use it.
The Huay includes some favored class bonuses, including 2 for all characters, one for all shapechangers (cool!), one for every core race except half-breeds, plus the Orc, Mineralite and Sobek. What is a Mineralite? No idea.
-5 archetypes: We start this section with 2 for the Helmsman, an Akashic class found in the Arcforge book by Legendary Games. The first one is the Arcadian, who has a cool background, being a failed Daevic that manifests the daeva as a kind of a Spiritualist’s phantom, instead of a vessel or mecha. This one has some problems, since it mentions its own essence and veils, but since they lose their Natural Veilweaver ability, they don’t have any. The second is the Bewel, who instead of bonding to a vessel, bonds to an animal. The Enryolku is an archetype for the Stormbound class, get the false-veil psi-like ability and treat it as a title veil, and speaking of which they can give their Storm Veils the title descriptor. A cool villain archetype for a problematic class. By the way, I have no idea where to find false veil, since it doesn’t mention its source.
The last two are archetypes for the Huay. Melders are cool, shape-merging Huay that only gain up to 3 skin slots, but they can combine them. The Stormshifter change their Veil of Nature for the Storm Veil slot, add all Storm Veils to their list. Storm veils have unique properties that they all share, which are detailed in depth in the Storm Veils section of the Akashic Rules… but there is no such section in this document. While the Huay lose some other class features for this ability, the change is way too good, since the abilities gained are simply more powerful than the ones traded. Also, one of the controversial design decisions of the Stormbound is, that their Storm Veil doesn’t follow the convention of other veils, and doesn’t draw from the same resource. Most of the class features traded have essence costs or can be invested with essence, while the Storm Veil has its own essence. While I’m not a fan of the Stormbound, and neither a fan of the Stormshifter, if you liked the former you will probably enjoy the later.
-6 feats: Crawling in My Skin adds swarm skin to your list of options. Extra Skin Form Slot works as its name says. Improved Veil of Nature lets you add any non-special, non-weapon veil to your nature veil list, which you can change at each level you gain (WAAAAY too strong, if we take into account that the Huay has access to all binds). Shaping Focus is a feat for multi-classed Druids or Huayob. Tooth and Veil is a cool-named version of Weapon Fusion, but for veils. Veil of Balance is problematic, since it makes all aligned veils work against creatures not sharing your non-neutral aspect of your alignment, and against all creatures that are not true neutral if you are AND increases the DC. Why is this problematic? You cannot shape good veils if you are neutral evil, but if you are lawful neutral, you can use a veil to affect chaotic creatures… AND if you are true neutral, you can affect good creatures with good veils! With a bonus to the DC! Sorry, but no. Also, this feat will increase the flux of true neutral characters, since its benefit is a no-brainer, good veils affect three alignments, as do all aligned veils, true neutral should affect the 4 non-neutral alignments (LG, CG, LE, CE), not the other 8! An interesting idea that would be better as a couple of veils that include a new “neutral” descriptor, instead of stealing the toys of other alignments,
-1 trait (race): Blood of the Elements shares the name with a Paizo book. I would rename it to ESSENCE of the Elements, to avoid confusions. It is cool and thematic though, if a bit strong for a trait.
Of Note: The Huay is a cool class.
Anything wrong?: The Huay’s veilweaving is too strong. I don’t really mind their long veil list, but having all 10 veils and binds is too much for a class that need its essence elsewhere too. Their Skin Shift ability specifically mentions that it costs more at higher levels, but at least the first iteration costs the same as the base ability. The book draws from a lot of books but most of the time fails to mention the source, which is annoying. The archetypes, while cool, are for classes that are not “core” or draw from other books (like Rajah’s titles), which make it less attractive unless you have access to lots of resources. And some of the feats are too strong.
What I want: This books is fine as it is, but it would benefit from a little bit of polish. I would either get rid of the Veil of Balance feat to make space for the trait (race), or fill the almost blank page with a couple of neutral veils. This “neutral” theme has enough potential to warrant a new book, with a 10-veil set for Nexus centered on neutrality (maybe drawing from aeons and other neutral or partially neutral outsiders), the Neutral descriptor for veils, and so on.
What cool things did this inspire?: While I have never been a fan of shape changing for my characters, the way the Huay does it is cool and I could make an exception. I made a shifter totem rager enemy back in the day who shaped “wolfish” melds, and I could updated it as a Skinwalker Huay that changes to shapes like Hellhounds or Winterwolves. I also love fey that can change shape, so I’m going to make a Huay-ish monster.
Do I recommend it?: Yes if you are a fan of Akashic magic and druids or shapechangers, the Huay might be just your cup of tea, but be aware that some of it might be unusable if you don’t have at least the Arcforge book, since the Stormbound and the rules for title veils can be found in the Spheres wiki, but not the Helmsman. I would grade this book as a solid 4, but with the problems like not citing sources and some of the OP options, I think it deserves a 3.5, rounded up for just being a cool class. Nice work!
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(Crossposted from the reply on DTRPG) Hi Vladimir, thanks so much for the review! The Huay book is a bit unpolished, I'll admit, being my first book. Most things you couldn't find (including the Helmsman) can be found on the Library of Metzofitz, but here's the rundown. Mineralite is a race found in The Crystal Planet Player's Guide from Golden Glyph, a fun little race I really enjoy that definitely has no connection to an animated television show about polymorphic sentient rocks (please don't sue). False Veil is a power from April Augmented 2017 by Dreamscarred Press, a free book.
My process for the Huay was not to make a traditional wild shaping Druid, but use that as a base for something else, in this case the Huay-Chivo, a mythical shapeshifting mage who could take the forms of beasts, demons, and all manner of monsters. This is why you'll find demonic veils that you wouldn't normally expect to find associated with a "Druid" on the Huay's list. I have gotten some feedback recently regarding its... eclectic choices, but what's done is done. I do have some plans for the future of making archetypes that focus on a single skin form line, but that's a while away. Some of the oddness, like calling out the Akashic Rules page or getting all the binds, harkens back to when the Huay was just a google doc I shared among friends (it used to literally just have the Nexus list instead of its own list, lord almighty). No one really said anything about it, so it kinda just stuck.
A small correction to your bit on Veil of Balance, you're not actually restricted from taking a veil with an alignment descriptor counter to your own alignment. You can shape and use a [good] veil as an evil creature, it'll likely just be less useful to you unless you're fighting other evil creatures. My idea for it was to reward characters who were dedicated to neutrality, like an old-school Druid kind of thing, but I can admit I may have gone a bit overboard on it. When I finally get around to another book for Huay, it'll likely be erratacated. In the meantime, consider your proposed changes to have my stamp of approval!
For the Arcadian's daeva, they do still get essence, as the akashic subtype grants essence equal to your racial hit dice, which is what things like animal companions and phantoms use. I definitely should have put in some reminder text for that instead of assuming everyone would have weird little rules like that memorized, so that's my fault. And for veils, they share the Arcadian's veils like a normal Helmsman's mech would, and can select things like Shape Veil with their feats, if they so choose. I wish I could have made it a bit more elegant, but Natural Veilweaver just had to go due to the "shape and bind literally any veil from any list" thing.
Again, thanks so much for your thoughts, criticism, and enjoyment of the book! I don't know if you like Path of War, but if so, keep an eye out for my next book~ (It'll actually be notated properly, I swear)
You should really try to update with the sources if possible. Apart from that, I now get why the babau skin and the like, but I suggest some subclasses that shape celestials, fiends, fey, undead, aberrations etc. To make each Huay a little more distinct, and there are some shapechanging spells for fiends and aberrations IIRC.
Speaking about the Nature Veil, I suggest using descriptors and being able to add elemental veils; I don't remember if there are "plant" veils, or shapechange descriptor, but I think it's a good option.
I forgot to check the akashic subtype! Since I always add it ti races that don't have hd, U forgot it gives you essence. My mistake.
Anyway, it is a great class, I'm kind of harsh because I want it to be the best it can be. Like with the Kheshig, and there it is a heartbreaker.