An Endzeitgeist.com review

This Player's guide for the massive Northlands Saga Player's Guide clocks in at 50 pages if you ignore SRD, advertisement, editorial, etc. My review is based on the dead tree version, which comes as a nice softcover. I was a backer of the Northlands Saga kickstarter, but other than that not involved in any way with this project.

So, how do we start? We start by contextualizing the Northlands and their myths - inspired by real life mythology from Scandinavia, a central leitmotif and proposition of the series was to get the feeling of the Northlands right - and, indeed, flavor-wise, the pdf begins pretty much from the get-go to do just that, presenting us with an angle that is certainly inspired by the traditional myths from our very own world, but which, at the same time, takes a different approach, putting the cultural implications and ramifications into a fantastic context, namely that of the Lost Lands, Frog God Games' evocative own setting.

This process is achieved by first discussing mentality and races, or rather, ethnicities: There are two basic human ethnicities within these realms, the Northlanders and the Seagestrelanders. Beyond these, a quasi-Inuit theme is transported via the race of the Nûklanders, the elves of the frigid tundra, who also have their own traditions and culture - from religion to daily life, the realities of the life for people in these harsh climates are explained to the players, their stances towards adventuring, religion, etc. generating a sense of familiarity while at the same time estranging the reader from them. It should be noted that the strong emphasis on theme and culture, on the roleplaying aspects of the game, is very much crucial for the enjoyment of the series. In the case of e.g. Nûklanders, we have minor variations of the racial abilities the race would otherwise receive.

Once we take a look a the new races, this aspect becomes immediately non-optional. The first would be the giant-blooded, who gets +4 Str, +2 Con, -2 Dex and Cha, is Large, has a movement rate of 40 ft., low-light vision, +1 natural armor AND a reach of 10 feet. This makes them, in particularly in the gritty playstyle championed by the environment, utterly OP. The troll-born share a similar fate, gaining +2 Str, +4 Con, -2 Cha, gain ferocity, 2 1d4 claws and the ability to eat anything, which can be rather potent in sch an environment. Sure, they take +1 fire damage per die, but yeah. Compared to the standard races, they share the fate of being lopsided, geared towards martial traditions and exceeding the power-level of the base races by quite a bit.

Now, don't get me wrong - I understand it. Our very own lore is saturated with beings, ostensibly of these bloodlines, committing great deeds and their themes are deeply ingrained in the cultural context. Similarly, it is made very clear that they pay for this power by simply not being accepted by regular folks; by being ostracized and stigmatized. And that can work to reign them in. At the same time, what would usually balance these guys is simply less pronounced in the frigid north, namely a prevalence of casters. You see, this PG does an amazing job of establishing a cultural context and as such, does not shy away from banning some options, from telling groups what its intended feeling was supposed to be. Paradoxically, these limitations actually help reassert the potence of these two racial options.

That being said, if you're playing the saga via Swords & Wizardry-rules, that won't be a problem. Why? Because the pdf does not provide OSR-stats for them, which is a somewhat unfortunate oversight in my book.

Where races are that important for the flavor, the same holds true for character options, and thus, we get 5 new archetypes, two of which are intended for the barbarian class. The first of these would be the bearsarker - on an aside here: Nomenclature is following the lead of our own world as well, but, once again, spins it slightly, creating a sense of familiarity and estrangement at the same time, breeding the same sense of the fantastic. The common language of the north, for example, would be "Nørsk" - one umlaut away from Norwegin, or "norsk", as we know it. In fact, that is perhaps how I'd sum up the whole feeling of the culture and lands - very close to our own, but distinct - an umlaut away, if you will.

But I digress, back to the class options: The Bearsarker and Ulfhander barbarian archetypes, the skald bard, the huscarl fighter and the spear maiden paladin, as well as the cunning woman sorceror bloodline have three things in common: 1) They represent the social and cultural norms of the respective environments, representing the default variations of the professions in question. 2) They thematically provide perfect fits for the respective campaign environments and 3), froma pure crunch-analysis point of view, you should not expect too much from them. While not bad per se, they do not radically change the playstyle of any of the classes they modify...and could even be considered to be somewhat subpar in some instances: The skald archetype, for example, loses spellcasting in favor of some bonus combat feats and the very limited ability to grant allies affected by bardic performance some feats instead of inspire competence. Similarly, the spear maiden loses spells and mercies in favor of better spear-fighting. From a min-maxing point of view, you probably won't consider any of these archetypes worthwhile, but to an extent, that's their goal - if anything, these class options are in service of the theme and aesthetics the saga tries to evoke, which kinda makes this okay for me. Kinda. I still wished the options were a bit more mechanically interesting.

I am significantly less divided on the subject matter presented where it comes to the variety of traits presented - these include more votes at the Thing, latent taints in the bloodline, local tricks by region, etc. - their potency and benefits generally make sense and add a nice narrative angle in most cases. The book also features 7 feats and sports some interesting modifications of spear fighting, allowing for the 1-handing of longspears, breaking Shield Walls and the like. While not necessarily mind-blowing, these feats add some combat options to the campaign that make sense, even if their ruleslanguage is not always pitch-perfect. The book also sports the greathammer weapon, the sunstone recently popularized by the TV-series Vikings and rules for trodnheim ponies.

Beyond these, we also are introduced to concise rules for death speeches...and fate. The latter can only be invoked ONCE PER CAMPAIGN by a player, but it basically guarantees an epic blaze of glory, including final death - not even the gods can prevent that! These variant rules fit the tropes and theme perfectly and receive a big thumbs up from yours truly.

Now, the player's guide also sports a selection of pregens, all of which come with nice b/w-artworks and complete stats for both OSR and PFRPG-gameplay. A total of 8 such pregens are included in the deal and their character angles and general build strength once again fit the vision of the campaign rather well. In case you were wondering, 1 pt.-buy is the way to go here, and I personally welcome the characters following this more down to earth fantasy approach.

This, however, is not where the book ends - quite the contrary. Instead, we begin what you could consider an absolutely awesome way of introducing players to the themes of the north: That mordbrand is not something to be tolerated, that good and evil, valor and foolishness are not always clearly separated, and that fate is...you get the idea. We basically receive short stories set in the campaign world, which further elucidate the respective aspects - the background story of certain characters, world-building - you name it. Each story is prefaced with a GM warning that allows the respective GM to determine whether or not to hand it out to the players, with potential spoilers being clearly depicted as such.

Now that being said, even in the one story that is somewhat spoiler-heavy, it does not wreck the module per se, just provides the exposition of the tragedy that kicks it off - using it after the introductory scenes is very much something I'd encourage. But what are the stories about? In Jeff Provine's "Harsh Wyrds", we can witness a mortal challenging Donar, taking his first step upon a path determined by will and wyrd to power. Kenneth Spencer's "The Brothers of jarl Skur Skulisdottir" helps highloght the prejudice towards the giant-born and also mentions the slåtten, a horrid beast bred from the madness of a bearsarker. Kevin Wright's "Fadr" deals with a humble man's quest to save his kith and kin...a humble man who once was a great hero, who also happened to have several quasi-mythological and extremely powerful females at his side. The aforementioned spoiler-heavy story would be "Ten Cowards" by John Bennett, depicting the horrid impact of a mordbrand, a vindictive hall-burning. Nathan Shank's "Endless Ice" is an amazing tale of one of the Nûk, delving into the tradition of shamanistic visuals and symbols and arctic horror, whereas the final tale, Kevin Wright's "The Sword of Kings", depicts a well-known legend, of how the sword of kings, Kroenarck, was won, adding a subdued fisher-king resonance to the whole proceedings.

These stories have multiple things in common: They are expertly written, compelling reading material, highlight and further emphasize mentality and mythology, should make fans of low fantasy and sword and sorcery grin and do an amazing job of further showcasing the wonder and splendor of the north. Those wishing for crunch in a player guide may dismiss them, but personally, I adore their inclusion in the book - they are inspiring from both a GM and a player-perspective.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good on a formal and rules-language level - while both sport minor hiccups here and there, the material, as a whole, is professionally presented. The b/w-artworks deserve special mention: Chris McFann, Terry Pavlet and Artem Shukaev did an amazing job visualizing the harsh beauty and majestic nature of these realms. In fact, I was pretty surprised to see three artists credited, for while there are variations in individual artstyles once you look for them, the book still manages to evoke a concise visual identity. As mentioned, the softcover is of the usual high quality we expect from Frog God Games.

A look at the authors shows us why this book is worth getting: With Kenneth Spencer, Jeff Provine, John Bennett, Nathan Shank, Kevin Wright and none other than Greg A. Vaughan, we have assembled a number of authors that are great story-tellers here. Whether you'll enjoy this player's guide, then, hinges on your personal priorities. If you expect a series of specific, crunchy tidbits that drastically change the playing style, then this will probably leave you underwhelmed. If, however, you're looking for a book that takes the exposition aspects, the explanations of mentality and the like off your back, that establishes a firm cultural and thematic baseline and ensures everyone's on the same page, then this is pretty much what you want. The stories are fantastic and worth the asking price, as far as I'm concerned, at least.

That being said, I can't really rationalize away the fact that the new races only work with copious social penalizing by the GM, particularly considering the otherwise low power-level of the 15-pt.-PCs. Similarly, OSR gamers get a bit less out of this book, sometimes unnecessarily so, so that may be a downside for some of my readers as well.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore this booklet. I love its flavor and how it "gets" what makes Northlands tick; I like its defiant, old-school style, its courage to say "NO!" to totally inappropriate characters. I like that it says: "This is supposed to be gritty!" In short, I like that it emphasizes a believable component and doesn't try to depict "superheroes with a viking coating" - sure, you can play that way, I don't judge. Personally, I very much adore that plausible, more subdued fantasy this presents. How to rate this, then? See, here is where I encounter the big issue as a reviewer. The crunch, frankly, left me less than impressed and...I don't know, thing-mechanics for players, a reputation system (cough Bard's Gate cough Rhûne/cough) and the like would have added some serious oomph here. In fact, I'll be scavenging from both of these sources.

At the same time, the short stories have entertained me significantly better than the last 4 sword & sorcery anthologies I've read, drawing me perfectly into this harsh and majestic realm. As a person, I'd say "Substitute the crunch you don't like, scavenge and enjoy the amazing prose!" As a reviewer though, as much as I LOVE the flavor, culture and stories, I have to take into account that the book comparatively falls slightly short of its own promise. Rhûne handled tying the Norse flavor/reputation to rules better in my book - don't get me wrong, that setting's crunch (Rhûnes class options aren't all that amazing...) isn't perfect either, but honor, runes etc.? Heck yes, I consider them to be better.

Thus, even though I love this as a person, I can't go higher than 4 stars here; if you're looking primarily for crunch, you may have to detract one more star. Similarly, OSR-groups may be disappointed that they don't get giant/troll-blooded characters or variations of the base classes/kits and should detract half a star. At the same time, I try to rate books for their intent, and the intention of this book clearly is to establish the region, the culture - to provide the lore to the players. And here it excels, which is why the 4-star-rating remains my final verdict, in spite of the book's flaws.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of Frog God Games' Lost Lore-series clocks in at 8 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 5 pages of content, so let's take a look!

Gods in pretty much most fantasy games loathe directly interposing their will on the mortal world; there is, for the most part, a good reason for that from a narrative point of view. While I loved the gods coming down to Faerûn as much as the next guy, the fallout of direct deific intervention opens up a lot of questions: Pertaining the importance of mortal free will, of why the deities don't fix all the issues themselves, etc. The Scarred Lands back in the day, with their post-apocalyptic, dark nuances did a great job and depicting the aftermath of divine struggles and deities with a more hands-on-approach, while in the vast landscape of ridiculously powerful characters in Faerûn, the impact of deities frankly wasn't as pronounced due to the sheer number of quasi-demigods stalking the lands. At one point, one of my players observed that every second town seemed to have its own archmage...and while I don't concur with that assessment, I do understand the sentiment.

Anyways, in the Lost Lands, deities do have their agents to send after mortals that really annoy them (and don't (yet) warrant a herald or full-blown crusade. These beings, the divine hunters, are called nel'barzoth, formed from the very stuff of the planes and upon being destroyed, they evaporate into a nauseating fume...an information that can only be found in the flavorful introduction, but oddly not in the respective entry. The hunters are divinely customized to match the alignment of their deity. Similarly, damage reduction relies on alignment: Good nel'barzoth receive DR/evil and vice versa. Neutral nel'barzoth instead receive DR/silver. As an aesthetic nitpick, the wording here slightly deviates from the usual nomenclature - "gaining evil DR" is not appropriate rules-language last time I checked. All nel'barzoth are immune to cold and poison and has resistance to acid, electricity and fire, determined by their power level, i.e. 5, 10 and 15 for lesser, intermediate and greater nel'barzoth respectively. They also gain SR equal to 11 + CR and may 1/day cast atonement and 2/day plane shift, but only to arrive at the target's location, with both being cast as an SP. Finally, the spell-like abilities of these critters include healing options, with their relative strength being determined by the power of the divine hunter. Nel'barzoth gain the domain powers of one of their deity's domains - conveniently pre-chosen, yes...but frankly, to avoid the skipping of books, actually including the domain powers granted in the statblock would have been nice. As written, I must, for example, look up the precise effects of bleeding touch. Granted, it's a minor inconvenience...but still.

The weakest of the nel'barzoth would be the xillix at CR 4; quinbacs clock in at CR 9 and Ziphnas at CR 15. All of these creatures have in common that they have access to the smite infidel ability, which means that they add +5 Cha-mod to atk and + HD to damage versus the target creature. They also gain a deflection bonus equal to Cha-mod to attacks versus the foe and +1 to atk and damage versus those helping the infidel in the case of the xillix. More powerful nel'barzoth receive more significant boosts to their attacks and damage and may more easily confirm crits or a more devastating nature versus the target. This ability is a bit weirdly named, considering that smite usually implies an activate choice absent in the ability - the creature is created to hunt down the trespasser/heathen and thus, the target is pretty fixed. Though, again, this is primarily an aesthetic nitpick. The Ziphna also adds his Charisma bonus to AC and CMD as a sacred or profane bonus (I assume neutral ones to have a choice of either, but am not sure) that is even maintained while flat-footed. Weird: The Ziphna has this cut-copy-paste glitch: "At 8th level, as a swift action.." - they don't have levels, which make the weapon master ability a pretty obvious cut-copy-paste glitch of the domain. Yep, oddly, here the domain ability has been copied in.

This is not the end, however - the pdf does provide notes on the option, at the GM's discretion, of 3rd tier mythic characters with the divine source universal path ability gaining the limited ability to create these beings, though doing so, ultimately, is very taxing. Speaking of the mythic: The Ziphna is not the most powerful nel'barzoth - that would be the CR 22/MR 9 mythic ziphna, who do not automatically miss on natural 1s. Unfortunately, we once again have pretty obvious cut-copy-paste inconsistencies - the ability employs the 2nd person singular, directly speaking of "you." Additionally, 1/round, they may compare an attack roll with an attack that hit, negating it on a successful roll - not a fan there, considering the swingy nature of such rolls. The domain ability suffers from a similar cut-copy-paste hiccup as that of the Ziphna...and I couldgo down through the abilities of the monster, one by one, and determine by how they are worded the type of context they were originally taken: "You", "The monster", reference to non-mythic ziphna...and no truly unique ability. You may not care about one ability talking about "you" and another using the 3rd person - I actually do, not when it's one hiccup somewhere...but if it is persistent...well, then I do. It's a simple thing to catch and there is basically no reason for this to be here, apart from "was cut copy pasted and never edited."

The pdf concludes with advice on creating your own nel'barzoth and 1/2 a page empty.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are not up to par to the standard Frog god Games has set - from cut-copy-paste remnants to non-italicized spell-references, the pdf has a couple of inconsistencies that should have been caught. Layout adheres to Frog God Games' two-column full-color standard and the pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length. The b/w-artwork provided is excellent.

Gosh darn it. I like John Ling's nel'barzoth. I would love them to come with a selection of unique abilities by domain and more customization options, but I enjoy the concept and the execution is generally solid. However, it does show that John also doubled as editor and developer. Editing and developing one's own writing is SIGNIFICANTLY harder than taking care of the material of others. Believe me, I'm speaking from my own experience. I understand how this has happened, though the extent of obvious cut-copy-paste glitches goes beyond what I would consider understandable.

Don't get me wrong...the nel'barzotha re functional as presented...but the glitches make this feel rushed. And frankly, the anger over such glitches somewhat soured the pdf for me. Let me reiterate: This is not a bad pdf...but considering the awesome critters out there, several penned by John Ling himself, I can't help but pronounce the divine hunters as presented wanting. They could have been good, but as presented, I can't go higher than 2 stars for these guys.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This massive hardcover clocks in at 166 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC/product overview, 2 pages of SRD, 1 page of back cover, leaving us with 160 pages of pure adventure...so let's take a look!

This book was moved up in my review-queue due to me receiving a print copy for the purpose of a fair and critical review.

"Welcome to the Borderlands. You'll probably die here." - Ari Marmell's first sentence of the introduction of this book is pretty much amazing...and it makes clear from the get-go that this book provides old-school modules, in the slogan of FGG: "Modules worth winning!" - i.e. challenging, hard modules that test your mettle and not just CR-appropriate hand-holding exercises. As such, this massive book obviously represents a collection of adventures, all new ones, I might add - so even completionists with a huge NG-collection like me get all new material here...

...and since this review covers said adventures in detail, I strongly encourage players who want to play these to skip ahead to the conclusion. From here on, the SPOILERS reign.

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All right, still here?

The first module presented herein would be "On a Lonely Road", penned by Anthony Pryor, intended for 2nd level PCs...and it makes perfect use of the Borderlands and the notion of travel/sandboxy nature of the region: Situated in the city of Troye, the PCs are contacted by Professor Sarrus Togren to act as muscle during an important journey: The scholar weaves a yarn of the fabled Ancient Ones and their civilization, lost to the ravages of time and the reputedly dangerous Yolbiac Vale - it is for this expedition that the PCs are hired by the professor and his research assistant, one half-elven beauty named Nymea Goswynn. Obviously, there will be more people on board: Wilderness-experienced Maissee Tlivant and arcane student Gedney Foulkes as well as several other students are supposed to accompany the troupe - which coincidentally may be a nice way to replace PCs that have met their ultimate fate, but that just as an aside. The adventure proceeds, on a daily pace, to set the mood - there is plenty of time to allow the PCs to become invested with the NPCs - the journey is fraught with peril, obviously, with bandit ambushes and the like, but it is the slow escalation that makes this module work:

Slowly, but steadily, distrust is sown; weird dreams haunt the participants and the proof seems to accumulate that not all is as it seems - and when strange beings, white claws and chaos erupts, when people are going missing and the PCs have to explore a concisely-presented, thematically consistent dungeon to prevent a rite most foul...you could actually mistake this for one of the better CoC or LotFP-modules, as its blend of the fantastic, weird and horrific comes together in a truly fascinating experience that makes ample use of the grand sense of antiquity suffusing the Lost lands. More importantly, the module's pacing, crucial to anything horrific or darker in theme, as well as the read-aloud text, are impeccable in their effects. A superb, unpretentious genre-piece of a module and certainly one that deserves being played.

Illusion and Illumination by Rhiannon Louve, for characters of 6th level, is a completely different beast and frankly, with its whimsical tone, it very much is appropriate for play with younger players. A pair of fey from the city of Mirquinoc, has been troubling candle-maker Yannick...and everything is confused due to the pixies getting horribly drunk and confusing the orders bestowed upon them by their queen due to somewhat magical, local beer! The candle-maker's a good person and can fashion somewhat magical candles, 7 of which are provided. Alas, the rules-component of these candles is pretty messed up - lack of CLs for spell-duplicating effects, minor deviations from the rules-language - while only tangentially-relevant to the plot, I was pretty disappointed by this sidebar. On a plus-side, unraveling the chaos is pretty fun, since it becomes slowly apparent that the pixie's pestering is supposed to make the candle-maker confess to sins he has not committed. In order to fix this situation and prevent innocents from getting hurt, Yannick beseeches the PCs to help him embark on a quest to talk to the fey queen Twylinvere. On the way towards the queen, through the wilderness, the pixies and their stealthy antics as well as the original target of the pixies, one nasty fey called Oromirlynn and the thralls need to be defeated to clean up the misunderstanding.

The Mountain that Moved by Gwendolyn Kestrel is written for 9th level characters and takes place within the Cretian Mountains, which have a nasty reputation for in-bred settlements, cannibals and strange disappearances. And indeed, within the settlement of Yandek, strange mutations abound among the folk there and various angles provide for different means of entering the module. If you take a look at the Yandek folk template, you'll note an angle not unlike the flavor of the horrid ogres of the Hook Mountain - a Hills have Eyes-vibe suffuses the module. Hilarious for me: The inclusion of a character named Blind Piet...I don't seem to be the only GM who has a recurring theme of a rogue of that name... The deadly and pretty nasty cannibalism-angle suffuses the wilderness-section of the module, but there also would be a mine to explore, one that features a very strange property of the place....oh, and have I mentioned the mountain that walked's secret, which is, indeed, very evocative and makes for a potentially brutal showdown...just sayin'.

The Two Crucibles by C.A. Suleiman, written for 8th level characters, is something completely different and blends deductive investigation, social politicking and dungeon crawling in one evocative combo: The Vanigoths may seem like barbarians to the more civilized folks of the Borderland Provinces, but they do have several intriguing traditions: During the crucible of blood, a kind of moot/Þing, there is a very real chance of an election of a Warhalac, a warlord independent of the overking...which may mean war among the vanigoths and with the kingdom of Suilley. The PCs basically stumble into becoming honored guests - and potentially, participants among the savage customs and games associated with the crucible and the adventure also requires the PCs to deal with a powerful adversary in his dungeon, undermining mystical power and dealing with a capital letter ARTIFACT of nasty proportions. This module drips flavor and its focus on roleplaying and cultural tidbits make sense. Amazing module.

The War of the Poppies by Eytan Bernstein, for 10th level characters, is a pretty freeform investigation scenario and takes place in Mana, capital town of Suilley - where blue poppies are swaying the taste of local addicts and shadow wars to retain control of the opium trade still abound. It is here that noble scions, fresh from the grand tournament of the lilies, have vanished after partaking in the novel, blue opium...and it is up to the PCs to find the truth, as magical means seem to fail to properly locate them. Here, the module excels with a significant array of flavor text, clues to unearth and people to interrogate, as the mystery of the blue poppy and the truth behind it beckon ever more...though the module goes one step beyond and actually talks about dealing with the addicts, helping rehabilitation, etc. - sample Q&A-sections help the GM run the module and render this yet another full-blown winner.

A Most Peculiar Hunt by Ari Marmell is intended for 12th level PCs and takes place in the unclaimed lands as such, it makes perfect use of the region: Three communities (Avrandt, Corvul and Vath) not particularly far from the Aachen border have went to war - which, in itself is not remarkable. The solution proposed, though, was: Instead of wasting resources and lives, the 3 quasi-lords have agreed on a competition to solve their difficulties by trophy collecting of exotic animals...read: Monsters. Unfortunately, this competition has had untoward consequences: Hiring several adventurers has caused a kind of monster migration towards Aachen. In order to bring peace to the region and stop the potentially dangerous migration of monsters towards more populated areas, the PCs will have to explore the region and unearth the truths behind the motivations of the three "lords." Beyond uncovering intrigues (and a particularly cool BBEG), the PCs will have to deal with both a dragon and a very powerful group of rival adventurers...making this definitely one of the most challenging modules in the collection...and that's saying something! Still, an amazing sandbox indeed!

Ectarlin's Last Ride by Scott Fitzgerald Gray would also be intended for 12th level PCs and takes place at the coast of Eastwhich and more than one vessel has recently gone missing there, the holds ransacked and crews massacred. So far, so common - the region is not haunted by the usual issues with pirates and cutthroats - instead, the matter at hand is far more complex. In order to unearth the truth behind this mystery, though, the PCs will have to take part in a salvage operation (cool!) and a threat that may well steal memories, making for a truly amazing experience when presented to experienced roleplayers...and beyond a flow-chart, the PCs may actually witness the deadly threats duke it out with ghostly riders, potentially participate in the massive battle for literally the souls of a village, explore ruins, understand the fractured nature of the eponymous spirit lord drawn back to the mortal spheres and finally, defeating the powerful evil behind the horrid happenings.

After a brief appendix, the book provides a TON of maps - and all are prevented in proper, full-sized versions for both GMs and players, with the latter purged of secret maps, etc. - which is awesome for going the extra mile.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are almost perfect, great on a formal level, with some minor hiccups on a rules-language level, but not enough to drag this down. Layout adheres to Frog God Games' elegant 2-column b/w-standard and the book comes with a ton of amazing b/w-artworks, all new and shiny. The pdf iteration comes fully bookmarked for your convenience....but the true beauty if the dead-tree hardcover, which is bound in the usual, high quality we have come to appreciate and love in our Frog God Games-books.

Eytan Bernstein, Soctt Fitzgerald Gray, Gwendolyn Kestrel, Rhiannon Louve, Ari Marmell, Anthony Pryor and C.A. Suleiman have written an amazing compilation of adventures. This is, quality-wise, all killer, no filler - each of the modules in this book has its definite strengths and distinct narrative voices, while still retaining the consistency that the Borderland Provinces book established. More importantly, while the module here should definitely provide ample fodder for fans of old-school dungeon-crawling and aesthetics, I was positively surprised by the emphasis on smart players, on roleplaying and unearthing information - this is very much a ROLEplaying compilation that featured a ton of gorgeous scenes and truly astonishing vistas to explore. Cloak and dagger intrigue, deception and politics provide a level of investment for PCs and players alike to set this book apart from other compilations.

In short: When used in conjunction with the massive sourcebook, this book provides one of the most immersive sequences of adventures I have witnessed in a while...while still, thankfully, losing none of its plug-and-play-components. Suffused with the fantastic and the weird, a sense of fantastic, Gygaxian realism and some angles I have not seen before, the modules herein MATTER. They affect the lives of the people of the provinces and the diversity of challenges is amazing; I was positively surprised regarding the interaction of cultures, investigations, politics - all modules herein have the theme of indirect storytelling in common and use it perfectly. The book is amazing and very much represents the best of the Frog God Games that has transcended and surpassed the legacy of Necromancer Games. My final verdict will clock in at 5 stars + seal of approval and yes, this is a candidate for my Top Ten of 2016.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This massive book clocks in at 269 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page advertisement, 2 pages of SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with a colossal 262 pages of content, so let's take a look!

This book was moved up in my review-queue due to me receiving a print copy for the purpose of a fair and unbiased review.

All right, so we have been to the Sundered Kingdoms and taken in all the sights and cults...but this is something different. While situated in the adjacent region to aforementioned adventure-collection, we actually have a massive setting sourcebook. As such, the tome begins with a breakdown of the history of the region as well as massive timelines denoting the respective years in the different means of counting the timeline. The general overview provides a myth-infused and concise take on the ethnicities and races found within this region; from the savage vanigoths to the supposedly river-born Gaeleen and the Foerdewaith, the notes provided here already exhibit a level of detail and care that makes more than sense: The book talks about how the respective ethnicities see themselves or depict themselves in these tumultuous times, for they indeed are.

Even a cursory glance provides some rather intriguing notes of cataclysms past: Beyond the obvious collapse of the Army of Light, the end of an empire in a magical conflagration that consumed vast stretches of land, 10-year-lasting rains that resulted in famine and failed crops - these lands have indeed seen their fair share of evocative and inspiring catastrophes, but still the lands stand. Fans of the Lost Lands will consider the timeline to be a truly inspiring and chockfull with notes: From the founding of the metropolis of Bard's Gate to Endhome's history (the city of "The Lost City of Barakus"-fame), notes that acknowledge some lesser known modules (like "Mires of Mourning") or the influence of Razor Coast - for veterans of Frog god Games/Necromancer Games, this book pretty much can be considered to be the very glue that pulls everything together; or the skeleton of the body of the region, if you will. Wait, that does not evoke the proper connotation, since it implies being somewhat basic - and nothing could be further from the truth here. Different technology levels for the respective ethnicities and people add a feasible and evocative tone to the subject matter. But how to give you a proper insight into the leitmotifs of these borderlands? Well, for one, let me talk a bit about nomenclature: In case the names of ethnicities were not ample clue, the provinces and stretches of land, from a linguistic point of view, do something smart: With names like Aachen, Exeter and the like, they employ our dormant knowledge of medieval ages and a palpable Old Europe-style aesthetic. With crests and everything, the presentation of the respective countries further enforces this. So flavor-wise, we'd be looking at a place that feels distinctly more like the end of the Middle Ages than most settings.

On a formal criteria, within the details of the powerful individuals noted, the book sports a sufficient array of powerful people mentioned...but never becomes bogged down in them. You do not have the Oerth/Faerûn issue of an archmage/demigod in every second town - capable folks exist, but ultimately there are barely enough to maintain a sense of cohesion. The general scarcity of truly mega-powerful individuals mean that there is ample potential for PCs to act and shine without thinking that the "big players can't be bothered". On the other hand, some setting have fallen prey to the inverse issue: You know, where the super-powerful forces of darkness only don't seem to win because they are damn stupid. The Borderland Provinces do not fall prey to this trap either - instead, a general level of threats suffuse everything here, providing ample need for adventurers without threatening an apocalypse at every corner. This balancing act emphasizes further as sense of the believable: We can imagine the darkness lurking, but we do crave people and places worth saving, and making the PCs the only capable (or not ignorant) characters is generally an approach that undermines this. Hence, while there are capable NPCs, at least in my mind the chief achievement for this component lies in painting a picture that is believable.

The aforementioned history, nay historicity, evoked by the book is further underlined by the political leitmotif: You see, the nomenclature and catastrophes echo some real life disasters for a reason: The political landscape of the Borderland Provinces is not unlike that of the trials and tribulations and collapse of the Carolingian Empire, which ultimately gave rise to the Holy Roman Empire. Much like these historic empires, the once powerful empire of Foere is within the process of dissolution and decadence; nobles think of secession, provinces are not properly defended and when even the loss of tax revenue is deemed acceptable, you will note that something is going wrong big time...meanwhile, the kingdom of Suilley has won its independence and is going through the growing pains of the rapid expanding empire - growing pains which may cause it to collapse yet under the issues inherited from years of mismanagement...if external forces don't do the job for the young kingdom. Similarly, the discrepancy between these two major players feel like bookends of the cycle to me - but that may well be due to my Nietzschean leanings when it comes to the structure of the history of mankind. On a less pretentious note, one could construe the political landscape as one that provides pretty much the maximum of adventuring potential: With the threat of war looming, political infighting and shifting allegiances all provide a rich panorama of inspiring metanarratives to develop...and that is before free cities and city states on the rise and the pseudo-colonial angle Razor Coast provides are entered into the fray.

The book, then goes on to underline yet another widely component that is a crucial glue often neglected in fantasy gaming: Religion. What's Endy now talking about, you ask? Well, beyond the presence of clerics, palas and the like, the function of religion for societies as a unifying thread is often neglected in gaming supplements - not so here: In the decline of Thyr's worship due to ever thinner margins and thus, possibilities of making an impact on the daily lives, Mitra's worship is gaining ground amidst the folk, adding another sense of Zeitenwende, of a radical change of the times to the social and political powder keg that is the Borderland Provinces. Conversely, this does echo similar proceedings in Europe - from Lutherans and Calvinists, a crucial component of their success ultimately can be attributed to the entwinement of the Catholic Church with the political establishment of those days, resulting in a disenfranchisement of a significant part of the body politic.

There is another component I feel obliged to mention, for, by the above, you may fall prey to the erroneous assumption that this book offers basically only a repackage of historical occurrences, when nothing could be further from the truth. After all, we are playing fantasy games and thus, the aspect of magic is deeply entwined with themes like religion: Beyond escalating the aforementioned cataclysms that have haunted these lands, magic also is firmly entwined with the aspect of religion - for, in a world where demon lords ever plot the ultimate collapse of civilization, a heresy suddenly becomes more than something to stamp out in order to maintain control over the doctrine and its narrative. Instead, heresy can range from the harmless to the soul-damning and as such, the task of the ever fewer agents of the organized religions traveling these lands is one of prime importance, as smart and devious cults operate beneath a veneer of respectability.

Which would bring me to the shadowy forces, whose threats are less obvious than warfare, racial conflicts, barbarians and monsters - namely, the leitmotifs of heresies. Whether benevolent or willfully incited by demonic cultists, the organized religions are having a tough time to maintain supremacy over their own teachings, considering the diverse challenges the lands face. In an age of flux, it is in the cracks left behind by the failures of the respective nobility and governments that darkness thrives. Which would bring me to the component that I have not yet mentioned: For up until now, I have mainly talked about the themes of this book and less about its actual use as a gaming supplement. You see, each of the areas introduced herein not only features notes on religion, major players and settlements - instead, the regions also provide monsters to be found within this area and a plethora of partially interconnected quests. Not content to simply depict hooks, the book goes into an almost-adventure-level of detail, with some statblocks and evocative quests there; to retrieve the train of thought associated with heresies, a whole village has fallen prey to false teachings and is thus doomed - unless the PCs can find a way to save their souls.

Beyond the monuments that litter the landscape and the traditional, exceedingly evocative indirect story-telling that comes together here, the book also is defined by a massive array of different random encounter-tables at the beck and call of the GM - and yes, the pdf does make a difference between regions, roads and the wilderness. Indeed, it should be noted that the narrative impulses contained herein blend all concisely; In an age where printing is not yet common, the appearance of potentially madness-inducing pamphlets, for example, would make for a unique angle. Have I mentioned yet the fact that this book also introduces a demon prince who may be one of Azathoth's Pipers, somehow turned sentient and...different, providing a long overdue thematic and innovative connection for the themes of the creatures of the Outer Dark and the forces of the Abyss.

Of course, there is more to the aspect of the fantastic than just an abundance of monstrosities haunting the wilderness; there would be the occurrence of a kind of truce between an archmage and the most powerful dragon of the region; there would be dangerous locales; neutral ground taverns at the intersection of no less than three territories...and there are places where the chivalric ideal still lives, with jousting and the means to rise in the social hierarchy. Numerous settlements in detail and a plethora of shrines and sacred or profane sites await the exploration by the PCs...and the sense of realism is further enhanced in its logical consequences: There would be, for example, a mighty city that has come to an understanding with a foul-tempered black dragon: The dragon defends the city...and who better to defend versus adventurers...than a whole city loving the creature, worshiping it...including the more powerful small folks? The component of the fantastic, from spells to the presence of creatures like ogres or worse, are not just simply slapdashed on like a thin fantastic coating - the internal consistency bespeaks careful and thoughtful deliberation and is baffling in its panache. Have I mentioned the region that uses giant ox beetles for beasts of burden?

Now the aspect of the fantastic even extends to some extend to the unique nature and economy that can be seen in parts of the borderland provinces; these lands are NOT just Europe-rip-offs. Quite the contrary, for e.g. the opium-studded fields of Pfefferain, originally introduced in the criminally underrated 3.X module "Vindication!" by Necromancer Games and the truce between ferry-operators and river giants - all seems to be connected in a tapestry of myriad colors and tones that nevertheless generate a concise whole. The level of deliberate care and internal consistency extends beyond the basic - MASSIVE name generators by region for both males and females, massive place-names by region (similarly ridiculously detailed and a colossal amount of stats for ready-made 109 encounters can be found to supplement the numerous adventure locales that are interspersed in the write-ups of the respective regions. Exceeding this, the book also features hazard generators and stats for aerial traveling - for example wind whales. Aforementioned heresies are similarly depicted in lavish detail...and the book provides a gigantic index that features pronunciation guidelines for the respective places. The book also features the previously released FREE "Rogues in Remballo"-scenario and an impressive array of b/w-maps alongside player-friendly iterations - the inclusion of these just adding the icing on the cake this is. The physical iteration also has a gorgeous full-color hex-map of the regions.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good - while I noticed some minor hiccups like a superscript "B" that was not properly formatted, as a whole, this book adheres to FGG's high quality standards. Layout adheres to an easy-to-read b/w-2-column standard and the book sports numerous gorgeous b/w-artworks. The electronic version sports numerous bookmarks for your convenience...but frankly, if you can somehow afford it, get this in print: With high quality binding and paper, this book's physical version is just so much more awesome to hold in your hands. The b/w-cartography is nice and the presence of player-friendly maps is amazing.

Matthew J. Finch, with additional content by Greg A. Vaughan and Bill Webb, has created something special here. When I heard about this book for the first time, my reaction, to some extent, was bewilderment. While I could see e.g. Rappan Athuk and Endhome occupy the same general geographic region, while I saw the more conservative aspects working in perfect unison, it is the weirder, the darker and subtle aspects of the modules that stumped me as to how this could ever work as a whole.

You see, setting-books of this size face an almost impossible catch-22-situation. Too much detail and you wreck their adaptability for a given round; not enough and the thing becomes too opaque and some jerk like yours truly starts complaining. If you add the excessive canon this unifies, you have another issue: Bastards like yours truly that have too much fun contemplating and considering the ramifications of the presence of creatures, the political landscape, etc. - i.e., sooner or later, unless you REALLY think it through, internal discrepancies will creep into the game and someone will find them and have his/her game ruined by them, as immersion comes crashing down. On the other hand, if you take the reins too tightly, you only generate a free-form adventure with a restrictive metaplot, not a sourcebook. You need to maintain consistency, yes - but if you overemphasize it, the book becomes a dry enumeration of facts and densely entwines facts - and not everyone wants to read such a book.

It is against these challenges that I have read this massive tome...and it holds up. More than this, however, the achievement this represents lies within not only succeeding at maintaining internal consistency and fusing a gigantic array of disparate files into a thematically concise whole - it also maintains its efficiency as a gaming supplement: Much like the Judge's Guild books of old, certain wildernesses and city states, this very much represents a sourcebook that does not require preplanned adventures or the like - instead, you just throw your PCs inside and watch them do whatever they please...and if you do want a module, well, the region provides a vast array of mega-adventures that gain a lot from the proper contextualization within the region. In fact, I frankly wished I hadn't played some of them, since their context herein adds significantly to their appeal.

I have not even managed to scratch the surface regarding the number of things to do and experience within the borderland provinces and that is intentional, for I have so far failed to explicitly state the biggest strength of the book: Perhaps it is the internal consistency of the book and its lore...but I experienced something while reading this tome I have only scarcely encountered: A sense of Fernweh (think of that as the opposite of being homesick), of a wanderlust for a realm that does not exist, of a world so steeped in lore, vibrant and alive that this book managed what only a scant few have accomplished - I actually managed to dream lucidly a journey through these fantastic realm in a sequence of dreams of several days. This peculiar experience is usually reserved for books of the highest prose caliber, books that manage to generate a level of cohesion that is so tight my mind can subconsciously visualize it. A prerequisite for this, obviously, would be some desire to do just that, meaning that ultimately, the book in question must have caught not only my attention, but provided a sort of intense joy beyond the confines of most books, let alone gaming supplements.

To cut my long ramblings short, the prose herein is absolutely superb and exhibits the strengths of the exceedingly talented trinity of authors, making the reading experience of the book a more than pleasing endeavor. Moreover, the significant attention to detail regarding the actual use of the book as a gaming supplement ultimately also deprives me of any complaints I could field against it in that regard. While this review is based on the PFRPG-version, it is my firm conviction that even groups employing systems beyond the 3 for which this has been released, will have an absolute blast with this book -even without any of the book's gaming utility, this is an excellent offering and hence receives the highest accolades I can bestow upon it - 5 stars, seal of approval and nomination as a candidate for my Top Ten of 2016 - This makes the Lost lands truly come to life and I can't wait to see the next massive sourcebook of the world. if the Frogs can maintain this level of quality and consistency, we'll be looking at my favorite fantasy setting among all I know. Get this - you will NOT regret it!

Endzeitgeist out.

Love it so much I funded the 3rd edition on Kickstarter. Soon I will have a hardcopy in my hands :D

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Lost Lore-series clocks in at 10 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page of SRD, leaving us with 7 pages of content, so let's take a look!

The headhunter as depicted herein is a 10-level prestige class that grants 3/4 BAB-progression, 1/2 Fort- and Will-save progressions, d10 HD, 4 + Int skills per level and can be qualified for at 5th level. The first important aspect here pertains the fact that carrying carrion heads around does not really always go over well - a sidebar deals with the cultural implications and what happens when you e.g. carry a foe's head to a creature. After severing a defeated foe's head, the headhunter may select one of the creature's class or special abilities, extraordinary or supernatural abilities, feats (regardless of prerequisites), but sans spells "growth points" or abilities that summon creatures. This ability may be used once as a standard action and if an ability has an indefinite duration, it instead lasts character level rounds. A total of 1/2 class level (minimum 1) heads may be carried around. Weird - the ability suddenly mentions a Craft (taxidermy) check, when no such check was rolled upon harvesting the head, making me thing that something went wrong here - the ability should specify making the roll not only in the example, but also in the ability itself before suddenly mentioning it. 2nd level nets Cha-mod times /day gentle repose. 6th level unlocks ant haul as an SP.

Starting at 3rd level and every other level thereafter, the PrC may take a headhunter secret - these include a +1 bonus to Intimidate checks per head carried. Others unlock undead heads as viable targets or the option to make use of spells or SPs as if a scroll or use it in conjunction with spontaneous are prepared spellcasting, which can be pretty powerful. Using the head as a bane weapon versus the social group associated (table by size included) or gain a severed head familiar. Weird: The class is generally spell-progression-less, but mentions the head acting as a familiar sans specifying the familiar-progression. Also odd: Formatting is different for that secret when compared to the others. The head is created by applying a template included in the pdf (including sample head). Head-weights are btw. provided.

At 4th level, the headhunter may carve (with another Craft-skill) primitive bone rings that grant CR temporary hit points to the wearer. 8th level nets the ability to make skull masks that duplicate skull masks. As a capstone, the Craft (taxidermy)-result no longer depicts the number of days a given head lasts. At 10th level, the headhunter may share the benefits of heads with allies via skull cups.

Really odd - the class features a total of 7 abilities that I think are headhunter secrets - oddly, though, they have a different formatting than the first secrets provided. These include transferring heads to animal companions or cohorts and another one has a bardic performance granted per head. Also odd: A secret that allows the headhunter to use a "Skill as if it was a class or racial ability" - what is this supposed to mean? Oh, and one secret makes heads last as long as they do by the base ability, longer when kept dry and vermin-free, making the secret useless at 10th level.

The pdf also features archetypes: The face-marking warrior is broken as hell: "When a barbarian would normally gain a rage power, he may instead select the abilities of a foe slain within the last year that does not require an action to activate and gains the ability during rage." ARGH. This is so horribly broken, I'm not going to dignify the archetype with anything else. Broken. Next.

The Head-taker archetype replaces the 2nd level bonus feat with the option to incur a -4 penalty to atk and incur an AoO to perform an attack that deals 1d4 rounds of sickening; on a crit, the ability also deals 1d6 points of damage to ALL mental attributes AND staggers the foes. WTF. Next.

The Mystery of the Head's revelation has some abilities that could use an activation action, but also has the extremely evocative trick of removing a victim's head, keeping the head alive...which is pretty awesome. Also cool: The capstone lets you take off your head! Yes, this, while having only limited use as a player, is a cool ability to scavenge. The head-shrinker shaman can use shrunken heads to counterspell, with the slain foe's CR acting as caster level for the dispel attempt and gains a severed head familiar. Torques of Blade Turning prevent decapitation and head-severing effects...but does that extend to granting immunity to vorpal weapons? No idea.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are uncharacteristically jumbled for Frog God Games - there seems to be something seriously wrong with the head hunters formatting, to the point where it impedes the functionality of the PrC. Layout adheres to FGG's two-column full-color standard and the pdf has a neat b/w-art. The pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length.

Jeff Erwin's headhunter, alas, is a mess. In case you haven't noticed - the PrC and the mechanics herein are based upon the deeply flawed called shots system, but lack the mechanical precision and scope to make the content really work. The material isn't horrible and in fact, very flavorful, but it is all over the place. Synergy with classes exceedingly unlikely to take the PrC (per se nice, but only when the bases are all covered!), internal balance between secrets all over the place, flawed formatting, confused presentation. And then there would be the fact that, beyond the called shot-based issue, the pdf also falls on its face regarding the balancing and proper codification of abilities stolen from vanquished foes; one-use makes them potentially OP and the pdf fails to specify how that works with feats. Additionally, the sheer wide-open nature sans detailed notes of codifying abilities render this wide open to PGing and GM ruling. This does not mean that it doesn't work - it just means that it doesn't work even near the level of precision I expect from a crunch-supplement, no matter how flavorful and cool the abilities are. It is the ambition and flavor of these abilities and the scavenging potential are the saving graces of this pdf. My final verdict clocks in at 2 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Lost Lore-series clocks in at 12 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 9 pages of content, so let's take a look!

So, domains - in theory, they are supposed to depict a certain theological focus for the respective deities and their servants; in practice, that does not translate too well, though. There are subdomains and Rogue Genius Games' exalted domains as a means to further emphasize particular concepts. This pdf features a different, multi-pronged approach to the subject matter - in short, there are 3 feats: Domain Affinity grants you an at-will SP as part of preparing a given domain spell. As soon as you cast the respective domain spell, you lose the SP, rewarding players for not casting the domain spell at once - which is a pretty cool idea, considering how these spells usually are pretty powerful when compared to the standard list. Here's the thing - the options gained actually are pretty intriguing! Characters with the air domain, for example, can, for as long as they retain the ability to cast obscuring mist, cause a creature within 60 ft. to move to an adjacent square on a failed save, potentially moving allies or foes - but, to retain balance, sans provoking AoOs. Generating an arbitrary symmetry in the actions of opponents, heating the feet of foes. The effects here are varied, creative and cool.

The second feat would be Domain Channel, which provides a variety of effects - unlike e.g. Rite Publishing's Divine Channeler or variant channeling, the respective benefits are more varied: For one, a domain has an automatic benefit: E.g. divine channeling by clerics with the Fire domain lets you suspend ongoing fire damage or fire/heat damage for a number of rounds equal to the channel dice. Now here is where the abilities get awesome - not only does the general framework manage to keep the complex rules-operation flawless, channelers with this feat may exchange channel dice for effects - each of the domains features effects for 1, 2 or 4 dice to be exchanged. Good clerics could e.g. make all evil targets glowing evil for one die as though seen through detect evil. For 2 dice, you can generate an anti-evil somewhat sanctuary-like bubble. For 4 dice, you may add a bonus to atk and checks made against evil targets, with bonus depending on aura-strength. The benefits provided here add fun flexibility and resource-management to the channel mechanic beyond anything I've seen so far and does so with panache, elegance and no fear of complex concepts.

Finally, Domain Loyalty allows you to gain a unique benefit governed by the domain whenever you only prepare domain spells from the domain. These include airy rivulets that can carry objects and keep them in easy reach, gaining minor benefits (with a flexible choice) when provoking an AoO and similarly unique tricks.

These feats are NOT the end, though - the pdf also sports 3 spells: Fast Favor (1st), Borne for Battle (2nd) and Battle Benediction (3rd). The first two spells are personal, while the third can affect a creature touched. Like the feats, each of these spells has a completely unique effect for the respective domains: Fast Favor for the air domain, lets you blast with agile jumps around, while borne for battle adds bull rush to attacks. Finally, battle benediction even nets you an extra 5-foot-step and manages to get the complex rules-operation required right.

Oh, but that's not all: The domains featured here also have a variant holy/unholy water included - earth, for example, nets a gunk that causes those that step inside to treat any terrain as difficult terrain. Patient coals wherein the embers still smolder can also be found here alongside black and white standardized sand.

But what domains are covered? Good, Evil, Chaos, Law, Air, Earth, Fire and Water.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no significant glitches. Layout adheres to Frog God Games' two-column full-color standard for the series, with nice, original b/w-artworks. The pdf has no bookmarks, which is a minor comfort detriment.

Uhrgh, another domain-book? To say that I was not excited for this would be a serious understatement. Well, guess what - this is absolutely glorious. Hal Maclean's eminent domains are precise, varied and add whole new tactical dimensions to the domains, rendering them more distinct and exciting - the options provided are varied, fun and brilliant. They do not cut corners, use no cookie-cutter designs and use rules in a creative, fun manner.

...and my one complaint here is that we need more. In fact, I want ALL domains covered with this simple, elegant and fun system. This is an unexpectedly awesome pdf, well worth 5 stars + seal of approval. We need sequels. That's right: Plural.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Lost Lore-series clocks in at 12 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 9 pages of content, so let's take a look!

So, what is this? In short, these are wizard schools, not organized by spell school, but instead by theme; they otherwise work just like the regular arcane schools, including opposed schools that need to be chosen, etc. The schools thus introduced would be commercial, court wizard, entertainer, hedge wizard, investigator, lord, mentor, mystic. Beyond the spell-lists provided for the respective schools, there is some guidance for GMs to integrate spells in these schools, which include the rule of fun/pun - the associated spell-lists, thus, do make sense and generally are rather well-constructed.

The schools follow interesting paradigms - one would be one that can be explained via the commercial school: The base ability allows you to use detect magic to determine the value of items. Starting at 5th level, the school allows for the suppressing of magical item abilities - as a minor complaint, the mechanic here uses an opposed caster level check, which is uncommon for PFRPG and not something I fancy too much due to the swingy nature of opposed rolls. Said suppressed spell may be prepared by the mage, with higher levels unlocking progressively more powerful magical items to be thus manipulated. Intriguing - the school can generate a slow bolt that becomes faster if the target does not keep his distance and 8th level allows you to booby trap items. The abilities, even in cases where I do not 100% love the specific execution, the abilities are not lame, boring or uncreative - they utilize complex tricks and let the wizards do things not otherwise possible, which is a big plus for me.

Court Wizards let the caster add aid another to the recipients of spells, even at range and another one, allows the respective wizard to use his magical force to move targets out of harm's way and, at 8th level, exalt allies with flexible bonuses. Entertainer wizards can generate magical, nonlethal damage causing streams of rotten fruit or, at 8th level, generate a kind of illusory spotlight, which is pretty cool. Hedge Wizards are problematic - you can prepare spells with random numeric variables and affect them to deliver minimum results...but with a Spellcraft check, the spell is not expended. I am not a fan of this one, since it allows for infinite spellcasting of petty spells. An increasing DC would have helped here, as would a check that is not as easily maxed as a skill. That being said, I do like the option to enhance cantrips or endow magic in mundane items for other characters to use and while I disagree with the particular rules-solution here, it at least is precise.

The Investigator school is cool, allowing for better interrogation of targets or the addition of trailing acidic paint to targets is cool. Oh, and the school has the means to capture foes alive and bind them into nonmagical items that then grant bonuses to the wizard! Yeah, that can be spun in really nasty or really benevolent ways...cool!

Lords are all about controlling targets, coaxing them into action and leech power off them -you get the idea. Mystics of 8th level can suppress mind-affecting effects and, as a whole, I really like the creativity the respective schools did exhibit here, from the teacher's role of the mentor to the other ones - there is merit to be found in all of them -so kudos!

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any significant glitches. Layout adheres to Frog God Games' two-column full-color standard and the pdf sports nice, original b/w-artwork. The pdf has no bookmarks, which constitutes a slight comfort-detriment.

Hal MacLean's schools of thought are intriguing. While there are some components I disagree with in their respective execution and some minor bits here and there that could be slightly more precise and while adding other spells to the schools is a bit of work, the schools do provide unique options and playing experiences, which is a pretty big thing for me. At the same time, this does mean that the pdf is harder to employ and requires some work for the GM to use in the long run.

While not perfect and slightly more work than I like to see, as a whole, this is a creative and fun offering well worth of a final verdict of 4 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.

Grest resource. As an older player looking tomreturn to playing, this was a perfect nostalgic re entry point.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This book clocks in at 18 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 14 pages of content, so let's take a look!

So, what kind of player's guide is this? The answer is simple: It's the type of guide you read because you want to read it. The theme is relatively simple - instead of just confronting players with a dry synopsis of the respective regions, this pdf is written to emulate a collection of letters/correspondences and documents of characters that are traveling the borderland provinces that will be the adventuring location for the players. The intriguing component with this approach is that this approach actually not only manages to shine diverging focuses upon the things going on and thus highlight different aspects of the regions:

We can get a glimpse of intrigues and politics through the motivations of nobility; we can witness a character fall to the devil opium and slowly sink into the clutches of demon-worship; we can see clerics fighting the heresies that spring up and realize the truth behind the supposed commoner. Each of the characters has his/her own narrative voice, with the letters of a barely literate knight using a more phonetic writing style full of at times humorous glitches, showing that the character in question probably had one too many jousting lances to the head (or used Int as a dump stat).

Via the letters of these characters, we move through the borderlands and accompany their triumphs and tribulations, their fear of the untamed wilderness and the draconic doom lurking right out there sinking slowly to the reader. unlike the quasi-early modern period, a sense of medieval structures is conveyed in a believable manner. The city of Manas, capital of Suilley, does get a full-page map for the convenience of players and the final page provides a collection of no less 8 heraldic crests, which help players identify the knights and holdings - when the GM describes the crest of a tower with a crown above it, the players will know to expect the Exeter province's holdings and retainers. Exeter? Yep, nomenclature is associated with central European nomenclature, with Aachen and Vourdon, as further examples, illustrating well the linguistic aesthetic.

In the hands of lesser authors, this could easily backfire, but t does not in this book. So yes, after reading this supplement, I sure as hell knew that I wanted to play in the Borderland Provinces.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to Frog God Games' two-column b/w-standard and the cartography and artwork in b/w are neat indeed. The pdf comes fully bookmarked with detailed bookmarks and the print copy is a qualitatively neat booklet with good paper - as we've come to expect from frog God Games.

I have become a big fan of Matthew J. Finch's writing and he delivers herein, creating a tantalizing atmosphere. Furthermore, he highlights the different, interwoven leitmotifs of the region in a compelling manner and makes you excited to check out the region and unravel all the plots and options I have seen in such guides. This is a player's guide well worth the asking price and a neat companion book for the big tome. My final verdict will clock in at 5 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

One central component of any sandbox campaign worth its salt is the component of the journey - whether because wine and wenches await in a far-off place or because something needs to be delivered - whether a secret missive, a caravan or something altogether different. The problem that a GM does have here is that it is hard to come up with meaning full journeys - enter this book and its 2 different types of journey generation: Number one creates journeys focused on getting to the adventure, whereas the second generator creates journeys that represent the main meat of the adventuring experience in question. It should be noted that this book, obviously, focuses on the Borderland Provinces - hence, we get a total of 12 tables, one for each of the respective provinces and a table that features a variety of patrons and supplemental motivations for the patrons. The patron tables could have been a little more versatile, though: A lot of diplomatic missions, tasks for churches, etc.

The pdf goes on to provide a table of 10 simple journey details; for more complex journeys, 10 objectives, 20 locations, 10 groups and 10 immediate threats can be quickly rolled and combines. 14 general monster themes, 20 related objects and 5 possible complications allow for flexible modifications. The journey completed, 5 entries for the final wrap-up of the journey can add a final sense of unpredictability to the proceedings.

Beyond these basic setups, a quick price change table for quick trading makes for a fun and smooth trading rules array. Of course, the pdf also has a massive table to generate roadside inns, with name patterns, creature and item adjectives, creatures and items, etc. Basic descriptions of inns, religious hostels and a neat what's for dinner table. The book also sports 10 conditions and events to further add to the journey and the book concludes with 31 fully detailed sample journeys.

Conclusions:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to Frog God Games' elegant 2-column b/w-standard and the pdf has neither artworks, nor bookmarks, but needs none at this length. The pdf is fully bookmarked and the hardcopy is of the usual high quality for Frog God Games print books.

I really like Matthew J. Finch's Journey generator and the tables to quickly generate locations to precise locations in the Borderland Provinces makes this a pretty useful book. But at the same time, it feels like it does fall a bit short - I am pretty spoiled by Raging Swan Press' absolutely legendary GM's Miscellany: Wilderness Dressing and regarding the details of the journey, I'd very much suggest taking this legendary book (#1 of my Top Ten 2014, just fyi...) to add all the evocative dressing you require to the basic journey generated herein, since this booklet simply doesn't have that level of detail. I was also pretty disappointed, for a journey-book depicting a specific region, to get no handy table of distances between places and projected number f traveling days by foot, horse or cart. This does not mean that this book is bad, mind you - it just means that it falls short of its own potential. While useful for the Borderland Provinces, the pdf could have been significantly more useful with a bit more room to shine and the lack of travel-distances decrease the usefulness of this one for me. A solid book slightly on the positive side, my final verdict for this one will clock in at 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 for the purposes of this platform.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This booklet clocks in at 22 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 18 pages of content, so let's take a look!

The Borderland Provinces Player's Guide took a rather brave and evocative step by focusing exclusively on the atmosphere created, on providing a book that conveys properly the unique flavor of the Borderland Provinces. At the same time, this book alone would some tables leave wanting the harsh facts, the breakdown of the lands to be found in this illustrious region and notes on the history of the place - after all, when you have lived here for a while, you will probably know a bit about this place, right?

So, as opposed to the player's guide, which provides the totality of the atmosphere and leitmotifs of adventuring in the provinces, this one focuses on instilling the overview information. To be more precise, we get a MASSIVE chronology of the lands here, with 3 different calendars! The hyperborean incursions, the rise and fall of Foere and the recent Suilleyn secession and imperial aspirations are noted and establish the basic, global dynamics.

Beyond the chronology of the respective regions, the player's gazetteer then goes on to depict the various regions, from Aachen to Exeter and Gaelon. Beyond notes on population and notable settlements, unique terrain features, humorously inappropriately named dark and brooding forests (Forest of Hope - really got a chuckle out of me!) to notes on trade and diplomatic relationships as well as trade and commerce - the tapestry woven here is great and the guide. More importantly, the gazetteer does provide information and inspiration...but does not dive into SPOILER-territory, retaining full functionality for its player-book-status.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no significant glitches. Layout adheres to Frog God Games' elegant two-column b/w-standard and the pdf sports unique and original b/w-artworks. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience and the hardcopy is a booklet of the usual, high FGG-quality.

Matthew J. Finch's pen is mighty indeed - the more I read from him, the more I love his prose and talent of weaving evocative worlds. This gazetteer is a great little supplement that delivers exactly what was missing from the Player's Guide. Which brings me to the one reason this does not gain the seal of approval: In my opinion, combining the two guides into one would have been the smarter move and made book-organization easier, but that may just be me. My final verdict will clock in at 5 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com

This FREE adventure clocks in at 28 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 25 pages of content, so let's take a look!

This being an adventure-review, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players may want to jump to the conclusion.

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All right, only GMs left? Great!

This pdf kicks off with essentially a highly detailed gazetteer of the city of Remballo, which is, btw., fully mapped in nice b/w-cartography. A pronunciation guide for the name, a full settlement statblock - all there. Relevant for this adventure would be to know that Remballo is essentially the home-base of the powerful Borgandy family, who is big in finances - like safe-keeping treasures for adventurers...for a price. I really like this notion, since the logistics of keeping a hoard of dangerous, highly volatile magical items is an often neglected component in adventures I personally like to emphasize.

But back to Remballo - from the local temples to the important tradition of toasting when gambling (also a nod to Chuck Wright, FGG's layout artist and a damn cool guy!) and an inn, this brief gazetteer is pretty well-written and compelling, painting a picture of a commerce-driven town in a time of turmoil, as the protectorate that once guaranteed stability crumbles and new power dynamics arise. But you want to know about the module, right? Well, we begin with one of several hooks - whether contacted by the Borgandy family, by the city watch or another hook, they will have to investigate the area surrounding Dead Fiddler's Square - a neighborhood fully mapped for your convenience. I love the fact that we get a GM and a player-friendly version of this map, though the player-friendly version sports numbers. Why am I not starting my usual rant? Because the numbers are deceptive - they do not pertain to the actual locations, but the number of stories of the houses! This is pretty brilliant and awesome.

The interesting thing here would then be one of the most concisely written investigation set-ups I've seen in quite a while - with a level of detail and a requirement for discreet inquiries and no less than 35 (!!!) investigation locales to check out, all with read-aloud text, mind you, the area is ultimately a glorious micro-sandbox that sports a level of detail scarcely seen in PFRPG-modules. In fact, this is further enhanced by the actual target area sporting an even more detailed room-by-room map - and yes, there is dungeon-exploration to be had as well - ultimately, the different hooks all tie together in a rather round climactic exploration that sports a truly dangerous adversary the PCs will definitely remember - oh, and I've failed to note that the conclusion, when handled properly, leads to connections with the Borgandys, the thieves guilds and the city watch, right? So yes, adventure galore to be had here!

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't spot any glitches. Layout adheres to Frog God Games' 2-column b/w-standard and the pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience. Artwork and maps are copious and thematically-fitting b/w.

All right, I'm gonna go right out and say it - a couple of Richard Develyn's (of 4 Dollar Dungeon) modules have all but ruined me for first level modules...because they're that good. When I nowadays read a first level module, it should better be truly remarkable and exceptional in some way. Surprisingly, this FREE module is just such a case. Matt Finch's free-form investigation is AWESOME. The level of detail provided generates an immersion I crave, a level of detail that makes the players feel invested, like they're actually walking the streets of Remballo. The sheer fact that it is relatively non-linear and detailed provides a level of realism scarcely seen, even less so in any free offering. I am quite frankly astounded by this component - usually, I have to sit down and generate x shops, x people, to make investigations not feel like "find the next action-spot to investigate."

This book's approach is glorious and I am of the deep conviction that we need more modules that feature this level of realism. In fact, I'd probably drool and slobber all over a complex investigation in a big city (like, mega-adventure-sized) with this level of detail. Have I btw. mentioned that there are none of the boring level 1-adversary combos to be found herein? Templated foes, multiclass'd enemies...NICE! The player-map depiction is also downright genius.

In one word: I love this module. I got it before the KS went live so I could playtest it and it ran as a stunning success - my players loved it and it proved to be a challenging, very rewarding experience. I can wholeheartedly recommend this module and will award it 5 stars + seal of approval - even if you're not interested in the module itself, it makes for a great neighborhood-sourcebook you could scavenge for your city, adding yet another level of usefulness to this pdf.

Endzeitgeist out.

This book is SUPER good. It's extremely well organised and cogent throughout, and fantastically system agnostic. Strong, coherent advice backed by comprehensive nested-random tables for creating dungeons, creatures, and adventures. There are other great things in here as well, but those three things...these guys nailed it.

This was the randomized prep book I was looking for.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This HUGE AP/setting-supplement clocks in at a massive 437 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 3 pages of ToC, 3 pages of SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with pretty ridiculous 428 pages of content, so let's take a look!

All right, we begin this huge book by basically taking a glimpse at the region of the Sundered Kingdoms - wait, that's not the right way to describe it: The war-and calamity-torn Sunderlands receive a massive, stunningly detailed and well-written gazetteer that clocks in at 32 pages - from discussions on the local technology-level to area by area breakdowns of settlements and the like, we get a tremendous amount of detail here, including write ups for INNS as well as caravansarais...and it should be noted that this does not include the colossal 12-page, detailed history on this region in its afore-mentioned page-count. The level of captivating prose exhibited in these pages hearkens back to a time where immersion by means of detailed lore were more important: When e.g. the fully depicted, brief fable of a cat seeking a wife not only is mentioned, but in fact reproduced, that does enhance the believability of the area a great deal...and yes, settlements do get proper settlement statblocks.

But beyond these, the book is one about the eponymous cults - which not only provide stats for athames as well as some new domains for the respective cultist patrons - from classic Orcus and Tsathogga to Hastur, the entities of chaos and destruction and their dread obelisks of chaos that litter the landscape as dark monuments, as foci for the dread cults of darkness, come in a surprisingly detailed write-up that depicts a world teeter-tottering unknowingly on the very edge of annihilation by the forces of chaos, with twisted, evil versions of the Diplomacy-concept as a domain and the like adding a bit of crunch to the fray, though yet another shadow domain, for example, imho wasn't necessary.

The third chapter, then, would be the bestiary section and comes supplemented with both new hazards and common...and less common adversaries, including two spawns of demon lords and bone dragons, Similarly, the magic item chapter (including a cursed cowbell!) sports artifacts and wondrous objects galore, with aforementioned obelisk-powered items of chaos and unique items featuring prominently, already hinting at the things to come.

But you want o know about the adventures, right? All righty, so before we dive in, you should know that the previously released modules herein have been integrated into basically a cohesive storyline, a kind of meta-narrative not unlike those featured in Paizo-APs, making this not a collection of different adventures (though they can be played as such), but more of an arc connected by theme, if not by the necessity of sequential playing... Basically, you can play these modules as stand-alones or as connected pieces - they do not lose appeal by being separated from the overarcing structure.

Know, dear reader, that from this point forward, the SPOILERS abound! Potential players should jump to the conclusion.

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We begin this tome's adventure section with Greg A. Vaughan's "Beasts Among Us", intended for 3rd level characters - uncomplicated, but savage, this module confronts the PCs with a massacred caravan and a trail leading towards a dread cult of bandits in the wilderness, happily butchering survivors - by stopping these brigands, the PCs can rescue one Kandrel, who was en route to the city of Endhome (of Lost City of Barakus)-fame and acts as a potential liaison for the powerful shipping magnate Lord Beval...provided the PCs can save him from the brutal fangs of the werewolf master of the brigands.

The second adventure, potentially to gather further influence, would be Patrick Lawinger's classic "Morrick Mansion" (level 3 - 5), which to this day remains one of my favorite 3.X modules released by Necromancer Games back in the day. Why? Because the module twists the traditional haunted mansion trope, detailed grounds and all, by making the primary antagonist of the module not simply a creature to be defeated - instead, as a kind of precursor to how haunts work nowadays, the adventure focuses on actually finding out how the calamities befell Morrick Mansion and breaking the mutation and insanity-causing chaotic curse that twists and changes the mansion grounds. From Grollek's Grove to finding out the truth behind the curse, the adventure is in probably its best iteration in this book. Kudos for saving this glorious classic for a new generation of gamers.

The third adventure is a new one and would once again be penned by none other than Greg A. Vaughan - "Shades of Yellow" (for levels 5 - 6). In the service of lord Beval, the PCs are sent forth to find Sir Bartol, a knight of esteem and renown, whose trail leads through hostile wilderness to the moor-bound village of Billockburne, where the PCs can unearth the truth about a seemingly-benign cult and hopefully save the knight's squire at least from an inglorious and horrific fate...but to truly stop the cult and put one and one together, the PCs will have to also stop a colossal, brutal nameless thing and clear the lethal chapel in the moors, where one of the dreaded obelisks has been partially excavated...Among the papers of Bartol, replicated as a handout that can be unearthed from these dread cultists, the PCs can heed a request for assistance in the Moon Fog Hills, where the next adventure looms...

...and that would be the legendary classic "Aberrations" (level 6 - 9) by Casey W. Christofferson. It ranks, by far, as one of the most underappreciated modules Necromancer Games released back in the day - a disturbing yarn of horror and weird, dark fantasy, this module has it all: Deformed giants, savage caverns, legacies of insanity and murder, a brutal meat-grinder of a mansion and the chance to duke it out with the spawn of a demon lord - this adventure has it all and, frankly, I can't really do it enough justice: If you enjoy DCC-style dark fantasy and challenging modules, this one will do the trick. Seriously, this is a true classic that only gains impact by its ties to the unobtrusive metaplot of this saga.

The next adventure, once again penned by Greg A. Vaughan, would be "Vengenace in the Hollow Hills", for characters level 8-9, and is a deviation from in theme and style from classic dungeon-crawling, instead focusing on the hexploration of the eponymous hollow hills with elven allies, trying to stop the tainted wildmen harrying travelers and military alike - all seemingly entwined with the horrors witnessed in the previous adventure. If the PCs are to stop this threat, once and for all, they will have to take the fort of the wildmen...easier said than done, though. The Tsathogga-worshipping foes will make the taking of Fort Rannick from the classic RotRL-AP look like a friggin' cakewalk in comparison. Dumb PCs will die horribly...so let's hope that PCs smart and lucky enough to have lived so far will have learned to act smart...

And then, there would be "The Crystal Skull" by Dave Brohman- one of the most obscure and rare Necromancer Games modules (which I gladly own), this is a massive mini-campaign in itself, ranging levels from 9th - 12th...though the challenges posed in this one are SIGNIFICANT. Smart PCs may have followed multiple clues throughout this saga, pointing them towards the massive city of Penmorgh and invited to the home of one wizard named Pearsey, who beseeches the PCs to undergo a complex series of investigations into the dark things going on within the city - every year at Midsummer, 3 girls go missing, their bodies to later be found horribly mutilated....he wants the PCs to stop whatever horrific ritual is going on...and the PCs, following the trail, will have put themselves in the crosshair of deadly assassins and unearth the secrets behind two eminent guilds of the city...thereby, probably, inadvertently freeing dread Mhaazoul, 666th son of Orcus and nascent demon lord - to stop the dread entity, the PCs will have to track it overland through different settlements, survive the machinations of the lethal minions of the demon... to the Tower of Bone. Which is impenetrable for them...to enter the tower and stop dread Mhaazoul, the PCs will have to pass the ruined, subterranean dwarven city of Durandel, successfully navigate its claustrophobic confines and finally infiltrate and beat the dread tower and its master. Oh, and if that is not enough: The previously unreleased secret levels-bonus dungeon for this one is also included in the deal.

A total of 11 pages of handouts and 40 pages of maps are provided in this book as well - though, if you're like me and expected player-friendly maps sans legends or the like, I'll have to disappoint you - this time around, the book features none of these.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, in particular for a book of this massive size. Layout adheres to Frog God Games' two-column b/w-standard and the pdf comes with detailed, nested bookmarks. The physical book, as with all FGG-books,. is a superb, stitch-bound hardcover made to last. Interior artwork is generally high-quality, though a precious few pieces taken from crystal skull didn't blow me away then and still don't. Cartography is a bit less consistent than usual - while some maps are drop-dead gorgeous or at least functional, there are also some maps re-used from a time when the 3.X bubble had burst and funds were tight -and it shows. Compared to the other maps, these look a bit less impressive and I really wish they had been redone. Similarly, I would have wished for player-friendly maps.

Frog God Games, at this point, is an institution - when they announced this book, I was honestly puzzled who they'd tie the respective modules I already knew together in a meaningful way...and they did. While the metaplot isn't too pronounced when compared to singular mega-adventures, the themes and leitmotifs can be found throughout, lending a sense of cohesion to the whole. Indeed, the respective adventures (with the first, as a setting of the stage and thus, being relatively simple) feel surprisingly in line regarding their themes and content - a feat, considering their patchwork origins.

At the same time, though, there is a bit of thematic whiplash regarding the finale - while I really like "The Crystal Skull", it is also the most traditional of the modules herein - where the adventures before focused on a delightfully old-school dark fantasy with ample of weirdness, the final mini-campaign feels grim, yes. Dark, yes. But also more traditional in its structure, plot and locales presented. Personally, the middle trinity of Morrick Mansion, Shades of Yellow and the superb Aberrations, represents the sweet-spot of this saga and, chalk it up to my excessive collection of NG-material, but personally, I probably would have used the likewise classic and pretty obscure "Vindication" rather than "Crystal Skull" as a culmination of this arc...but yeah. I'm complaining at a very high level here. And I can see why CS was chosen - it has the fitting leitmotifs and is a very good, diverse adventure that features socializing, investigation and plenty of chances to swing one's sword at evil.

The matter of the fact is that this massive book contains a load of brilliant adventures, with some true classics. The build-upgrades for the NPCs are more versatile and utilize some builds that go beyond the standard. The organization is excellent and the only true complaint I can truly voice pertains to the lack of player-friendly maps and parts of the cartography.

How to rate this, then? Well, since this has ample of tie-ins with Endhome and Bard's Gate, GMs wishing to run either can and should definitely take a look; similarly, fans of the Lost lands will consider this a must-have purchase anyways. If you already own the three previously released modules and have played them, things get a bit more complicated - while the two new full-length modules are superb (excluding the intro-module here), only you can decide whether they may the tome as a whole worth it for you. If, however, you haven't played the classic modules, then this turns into an almost immediate no-brainer, for the history and context provided in this tome render the iterations of the modules superior to their classic 3.X versions.

In the end, I will rate this 5 stars + seal of approval as an official rating for those among us who haven't played the classics. For guys like yours truly, this still is a very good book, though perhaps one that should be closer to 4.5 stars. In the end, my official verdict will obviously be the former - this is, in a nut-shell, a collection of great material for those among us who like our fantasy dark without diving off into the grimdark spectrum.

Endzeitgeist out.