Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/09/100-days-of-halloween-blood-and.html

Getting back to some Pathfinder tonight. There is just so much great material for this game I feel I am barely scratching the surface. One thing is certain though. Morpheus is the witchiest of all the fonts.

Blood and Broomsticks - Sorcerers & Witches

PDF. 41 pages. Front and back covers. Credits (including art credits). Compatibility and References. Table of Contents. 1 ad. 2 pages of OGL. About 30 pages of content, minus various bits of art. Full-color covers and interior art.

This book gives us one sorcerer bloodline and two witch archetypes.

We open with a word about magic and spells and how Sorcerer magic differs from Witch magic. There is a bit on what are some of the best spells for both classes to take.

New Sorcerer Bloodline: The Altered. This is the offspring of a witch whose patron altered them in the womb. An interesting concept and one I have also played around with myself. These sorcerers get access to the Patron's spells as their own bonus spells. They also gain access to a handful of Hexes. Not as many as the witch of course, but enough to keep the class interesting.

New Witch Patrons: These are also related. The Blood Patron and the Family Patron are the direct extensions of the offspring of witches. Others include Greed, Kinetics, Metal, Pyre, and Sunlight.

New Witch Archetypes: The Ink witch is a tattoo witch and various powers linked to markings. The Pyre witch is all about fires and flames.

There are 14 new hexes (of all levels) and five new magic items.

There are also 13 new spells. All can be used by the witch, and most can be used by sorcerers.

I like how the book looks and the game material also looks pretty solid and fun. Certainly something I would use in my games.

A really nice collection of options, well-edited and accurate in terms of rules information. I didn't see anything that screamed "you must play this now!" at me, but I did see a lot of things that said "ooh, this would work really well with that, and I could add in this other thing too..." And there are a lot of different things in here - a good selection of archetypes, magus arcana, feats, and spells. I especially like some of the creative arcana included, like critical siphon, which lets you replenish your arcane pool by draining another character's arcane pool, ki pool, etc. Everything in the 24-page book (13 content, plus several full-page illustrations, covers, table of contents, ads, etc.) is geared toward the magus, but a couple of the feats and most of the spells will find use from other spellcasters as well. Magus has never been my favorite class - I prefer to swing all the way melee or all the way magic. But I have dabbled in the gish on occasion, and and I like what I see here. It's a simple, but I think effective, collection. Definitely worth the small investment for what you get in return.

an excellent product for those who like anime and manga quite a few interesting races and classes to choose from! plus many great ideas for pathfinder 1e well worth the price!

This book is perfect for fans who want to play as their favorite Anime characters -or similar ones- in Pathfinder 1E. Some classes and races are Sci-Fi rather than Fantasy but they could be used in a Numeria or Starfinder campaign. And of course a GM can just make his own setting including a Final Fantasy-esque one where all options apply! The point-based character creation system gives a player the option to make unique characters as well. The art is also pretty good, some of the best I've seen in an Anime RPG. My only caveat is that there are several small editing errors, but nothing that an Errata cannot cover and I'm sure they will be fixed in a later edition. As for expansions I'd like to see: Foes, a Setting, and a specific Campaign - this is perfect for Issekai.

Skinfin Murders is a horrifying dive into the concepts of mismemory, the human psyche, fear of the unknown, and the dark mysteries of the sea. Combining noir-style clue gathering and investigation with Assassin's Creed and Dishonored inspired stealth tactics, what Nicholas has done is build an adventure that is an excellent introduction to the Pathfinder system as well as roleplaying in general. Couple that with Kim's amazing editorial skill, and Bob Greyvenstein's amazing skill with layout and design, and you have altogether an absolutely stunning adventure. I think what really sets Skinfin Murders apart from other adventures I have reviewed is that it invests the players in the location, in the NPCs, and in their job to try and find out what happened. And it also makes the players have to switch up their MO - this really isn't a game meant to work well for hack-n-slash tactics or simply powergaming your way through it - to truly appreciate this adventure, players need to switch up how they would ordinarily run, and dance to a different beat. And that is why Skinfin Murders gets the Comics, Clerics, & Controllers Golden d20 Badge.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Journals of Dread-series clocks in at 67 pages, 1page front cover, 2 pages of editorial, 1 page ToC, 2 pages of SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 60 pages of content, laid out in 6’’ by 9’’ (A5), so let’s take a look!

All right, so the first thing you’ll notice, is that this book, more so many others I’ve reviewed, is one that is set apart by the layout. It is impossible to discuss this product without stating clearly how crucial the layout is to the whole experience: This pdf’s baseline is one of a monster hunter’s journal, a black book handed down through the hands of grizzled veterans of the fight against the dark, and I’ve never seen a book embrace this concept so thoroughly. While the 1-column standard for booklet size means, ultimately, that sometimes statblocks take up more than one page, I found myself not caring about this slight inconvenience. Why? Because this is a perfect example of why layout artists rank among the all-too-often unsung heroes of the RPG-industry. You see, the pseudo-grimoire style conceit of rummaging through an old tome is nothing new per se; neither would be the use of heavily modified public domain art in conjunction with original pieces to create a quasi realistic aesthetic conceit. What is special, though, is the sheer lengths that this pdf goes to: Of course, this grimoires features ink-splotches and blood-spatters on some pages, but instead of alternating between them and fixed patterns, the book instead opts for new patterns on each page, some of which adding and further emphasizing the artwork within. Beyond that, ink bottles, quills, bones and other tools of the adventuring trade serve as knick-knacks that provide further variation.

Strange, seemingly indecipherable glyph-letters are annotations, probably in blood. I have never seen a supplement that manages to evoke this concise sense of being a book you can find in the depths of a necromancer’s lair, hidden beneath the body of a fallen paladin. Want to know how deep this level of commitment runs? A close glance at the glyphs, some applied brainpower, and you’ll realize that these are actual words – not just doodles. The red-lettered block of foreboding symbols on the editorial page indeed constitutes a warning to only use the content of this book for good. This utterly blew my mind. What I’m trying to say is simple: Layout and artist David Clingerman went far above and beyond to make this book shine, and his work deserves universal accolades. This is the level of thought and commitment that should have gone into the Van Richten’s Guides of old. His aesthetic work also provides the baseline for why this book works. He is so good, he managed to make an artwork that I am pretty sure I was familiar with, of a skeleton reaching, one that I know I hated, work, courtesy of adjusting it and making it fit into the universal theme of the book.

You see, in a nutshell, this could be summarized as an ecology of the skeleton – after a handwritten introduction, we have explanations on their behavior patterns, ecological impact (or lack thereof) and motivations before beginning with collating and expanding the options and variations known. We begin with a handy HD by CR table and associated XP and the explanation of the metrics of the base skeleton as an acquired template, before moving on into the 11 different variants of skeletal creatures presented within. This section does contain a familiar skull – there would be the Dread skeleton (CR +1) included for completion’s sake. The classic skeleton champion as a straight upgrade template to be added on top a skeleton can also be found – for old-school gamers: This does not refer to the classic circlet-bound creature. Burning skeletons that explode upon death, those that incessantly cackle, generating a fear aura, and elemental skeletons that can 1/day blast forth an elemental whip, can be found. The latter one has a verbiage that, while it deviates slightly from how energy affinity is usually worded, still remains unambiguous and fully functional, so not complaints on that front. The nigh-unstoppable and constantly reviving bloody skeleton is another classic that is discussed and reproduced within, and blood-draining, vampiric skeletons may similarly be found. Crystalline skeletons can be dangerous to strike and burst in shrapnel upon being destroyed, while mechanical skeletons have been enhanced with steel – a minor complaint here would be that this obviously, at one point, was a more complex offering, as the template refers to winged skeletons at one point, something not supported by the rest of the pdf. I personally enjoyed the inclusion of exoskeletons, basically undead vermin that contain a staggering (quite literally) amount of dust inside. Twice-transcended skeletons become more powerful: After having been vanquished as a skeleton, they return with an aura of unearthly whispers, with a nasty touch that gets its complex damage components right: It opens wounds, but does so NOT via negative energy.

The variant skeletal monsters section also includes an old acquaintance with the CR 5 black skeleton, superior two-weapon fighters that cause Strength damage with their attacks. At one CR higher, we have skeletal drakes that can breathe bone-shard cones that can potentially leave bleeding wounds. At CR 5, skeletal masters have a sickening touch and the ability to cast spells they know with spontaneously-applied metamagic feats known – which would be more impressive if the critter actually had metamagic feats. It does not. I am pretty sure, that it should have some kind of wildcard ability that allows for temporary metamagic feat gains. The CR 3 skeletal tutor has na aura that makes mindless undead self-aware and nets a bonus to undead nearby – minor complaint: There is no unholy bonus tin PFRPG. That’s supposed to be profane. Skeletal nobles clock in at CR 10 and represent a hideous amalgamation of knight and mount, with lead blades as a SP, deadly lance attacks – and yep, being somewhat centauric, it gets undersized weapons right.

The pdf also includes two mundane items – the bonecrusher hammer, a two-handed exotic hammer made to crush skeletons, and ribcage breastplates – both are properly codified and come with visual representations. Two magic items are included: Fanged skulls are helmets that net a bleed-inducing bite attack (size taken into account!) and 1/day vampiric touch (not italicized properly) on a target that’s bleeding. Graveyard dust can be used to bolster undead, granting them a bonus to atk and hit points per HD (should be temporary). Both items come with nice read-aloud text describing them. The pdf closes with the reinforce bone spell, available for sorc/wiz at spell level 3 - it’s a DR-granting buff that is more efficient for already mostly skeletal critters.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting on a formal and level can still be considered to be very good. While I noticed a few minor hiccups, none were bad. On a rules-language level, the pdf is slightly less refined, with a few components influencing rules integrity, though these remain few and few in between. Layout adheres to a 1-column full-color standard with plenty of b/w-artworks, and, as noted in the beginning, this pdf is truly gorgeous. David Clingerman did a fantastic job. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience.

Kim Frandsen’s book of skeletal undead should, for all intents of purposes, not excite me as much as it does. Don’t get me wrong – the writing is good, and having all these skeletons in a book? Nice! Similarly, I think that the fact that this is so consistent in its aesthetics makes the book a valid handout (provided you don’t mind players having stats) is a pretty big plus. The main draw, though, is the sheer level of immersion that this ecology manages with its details, with the clear and obvious passion that went into this. I really love this, and the only reason this misses my seal would be the minor complaints regarding rules-relevant components. As such, my final verdict will clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded up for the purpose of this platform.

Endzeitgeist out.

I bought a printed copy of the rpg supplement for 5th Edition ‘Forces of Nature, Book 1 – The Druid’ from d20pfsrd.com and here is my short review of this book. The supplement comes in color and is enriched with some nice art here and there among the pages. The layout and editing are top-notch. The whole book is well-written,very enjoyable (and understandable) to read. Page 1 contains a content table, page 2 contains a word of introduction, page 3 to 12 contains different druid circles, page 13 to 16 covers different companion creatures for druids, page 17-19 tells about wilderlings (a new playable PC race and/or NPC race), page 20 to 23 goes about druid feats, page 24-25 covers magic items, page 26 to 33 lists a whole array of new druidic spells, and page 34 contains the open game license.

There are 10 druid circles to choose from which allows for diverse types of druids. A druid of the Circle of Decay for example choose to celebrate the true nature of decay as a part of life (kind of necro-druid), a druid of the Circle of Swarms learns to transform into a swarm of beasts, a druid of the Circle of Fury gains the Rage feature, etc. The new playable race, the Wilderlings gets two distinct subraces to choose from: Flora Wilderlings and Fauna Wilderlings. The new companion creatures are all of the plant type, 6 in total. (For instance the Giant Flytrap and the Grabbling Seaweed to name 2 examples). I like the new druids spells (21 in total), ranging from cantrips up to 9th level and among 16 new feats is there always something interesting for everyone. I like for example the Designated Survivor feat that allows to cast area spells with greater accuracy. You can cast an area spell and choose a target in the area of effect to ignore all effects of the spell.

To finish my review, this supplement is written with a perfect mix of love, professionalism, enthusiasm, and inspiration and personally, I attribute 4,5 to 5 stars. Since this book is the first in a new series focusing on wilderness oriented classes, I wait with interest and patience on the next parts. d20pfsrd.com made a good start with Book 1 and I hope the same quality will be upheld in further supplements.

A very good homge to the classics while taking the game into the future. This adventure is exactly the type of module Starjammer/Starfinder needs, with alot of options for players to feel like they're exploring a new world, detailed hub that is an adventure site in itself, and a well rounded cast of NPCs that feel well fleshed out and with goals of their own.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This supplement for the Starjammer setting/rules clocks in at 39 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 35 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This being a racial book, we don’t waste much space before we’re introduced to the first new race herein, the Aurellians, who gain +2 Dex and Wis, -2 Cha. They are Small aberration (darkvision 60 ft., must eat, breathe and sleep) and they have a limited, natural fly speed (not affected by antimagic fields) of 20 ft., but must remain over a solid surface that can hold their weight. Slightly weird – there is no maximum height from such a surface mentioned (which to me would make sense, but oh well…) and they don’t have a maneuverability rating. Aurellians have eye-stalks and can theoretically look into all directions, but require focus, so in essence, they don’t actually get all-around vision. The stalks negate flanking-based bonuses to atk rolls, but not flanking itself. Their language is partially based on gestures and their limited telepathy. As somewhat weird jelly-fish-y beings, the race is mute (which means feat tax for most casters) and lacks chest or feet magic item slots. However, they do gain an extra wrist slot and two extra ring slots (ouch!). They also get grabbing appendages: They have two arm-like tendrils and one longer one with a 10-ft.-reach. This grabbing tendril can grapple as though the Aurellian had Improved Grapple and, unlike most monsters, it may maintain grapples with it and attack with regular arms sans penalty, which can make for some brutal, brutal builds..

The race sports a total of 3 racial subtypes: Man O’Wars lose grabbing appendages and eyestalks and are Medium. They gain two natural sting attacks (primary, I assume) for 1d3 base damage and 10 ft. reach. As a swift action, a number of times per day equal to Con-mod, min 1, the Man O’War may deliver poison via these stingers. This poison may be applied to weaponry as a move action, lasting for Con-mod rounds or until successfully hitting the target. At character creation, one of three poisons is chosen, all of which are governed, DC-wise, by Con. They inflict either 1 Con damage, 1d2 Dex damage or 1d2 Str-damage, all with a frequency of 1/round for 6 rounds. Man O’ wars gain Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat, +2 to Appraise and Perception to find hidden objects and determine whether food was spoiled or identify poison by taste. They also treat Stealth and Perception as class skills.

The second variant is the inspired one, who loses the grabbing appendages for 1/day aid and cure moderate wounds as SPs. Foes suffer -1 to Will-saves versus spells and effects cast and the inspired one gets +2 to Diplomacy and Intimidate versus other races and never suffers from penalties due to being a different race or not sharing a language. Thirdly, there would be the chaos child, wo also lose the grabbing appendages. They are treated as 1 level higher for the purpose of spells with the [chaos] descriptor or using powers (note: Not gaining them!) of the chaos domain, blessing, protean bloodline powers and outer rifts mystery revelations. They are immune to diseases and poisons and may use alter self 1/day for up to character level hours, assuming the shape of a Small humanoid. Note that this has none of the usual low-level shape-variety limitations, but it does at least not modify ability scores. Minor complaint here: While all abilities note the RP, not all specify the type – in the case of the shape changing, that would have been interesting.

The race gets 3 different racial archetypes, the first of which would be the aberrant warden druid, who replaces the spontaneous conversion into summon nature’s ally spells with the new summon strange creature spells presented as part of the supplemental material:These come with a massive table and range from beheaded and chon chon to gibbering mothers, chuuls and in the IX-variant to charybdis, flying polyps and froghemoths. As you can glean from this brief excerpt, the new creatures gained are more potent, something to bear in mind, for the druid is locked as a balncing mechanism out of the animal companion option and must choose the Madness domain. Nature sense is modified to apply to Knowledge (dungeoneering). Instead of wild empathy, we get the option to improve aberration attitudes, even those of mindless beings. Instead of resist nature’s lure, the bonus applies to saves versus SUs and SPs of aberrations. Instead of wild shape, the archetype gains aberrant shape at 6th level, which grants 4 evolution points, using druid level as summoner level to determine for what it qualifies. This may be maintained indefinitely, but used only 1/day, +1/day at every other level after 6th. 10th level increases the points to 6, 14th to 8. Additionally, evolution surge (not italicized properly) is added to the spell list and the warden may target itself with it.

The second archetype is the floating monastic monk. Flurry of blows is modified to add a free grapple attempt as a swift action when hitting at least twice, using monk level as BAB to determine CMB, though still at -2 penalty. Instead of 2nd level’s bonus feat, we get Crushing Blow. At 4th level, a floating monastic may spend 1 ki as a swift action before attempting a grapple to roll the check twice and take the better result. This replaces slow fall. The third archetype would be the void scholar wizard, who may apply the benefits of Silent Spell to wizard spells without increasing the spell level. If the spell requires that the scholar is heard, then the race’s telepathy suffices, provided the target is in range. This replaces arcane bond and Scribe Scroll. 5th level’s bonus feat is replaced with the option Int bonus times per day convert half damage of ANY spell cast with “damage caused by the cold vacuum of the void”, ignoring any elemental resistance (should be energy resistance) of any type. Ouch. I mean, okay, loss of the familiar sucks…but still. Ouch. 15th level’s bonus feat is exchanged for an upgrade: 3/4th untyped damage; alternatively, the character can expend a use to increase the DC of a Will save caused by 2.

The race gets a total of 4 feats: Highswimmer actually clarifies the confusing part about the limited flight of the race, but actually looks like a downgrade if read back to back with the racial feature. Did something go wrong there? Pattern Weaver is cool: As a move action, flash in colors. Creatures that see you within 30 feet take a -2 penalty to concentration. Additional Toxin unlocks a second racial toxin as well as +1 daily use of it. Twin Toxin Blow builds on that allowing you to deliver two racial toxins at once. We get notes on their segmented armor and 4 variant telepathy dishes (Tech-rules!) that increase their telepathy range, which is per se cool. Do they take up a slot? There is a magical gem that transforms armor into aurellian segmented armor and a low cost brooch that allows them to speak. Summon amoeboid lets you cool giant amoebas or amoeba swarms. Minor complaint: The reference to the aurellian racial quality is incorrect – should be limited telepathy, not “mindspeech”. Swarming tentacles is a level 1 psionic power based on inevitable strike that nets a temporary +5 insight bonus to the next grapple maneuver before the end of next round, as a swift action. The race gets a proper age, height and weight table, but no favored class options.

Okay, the second race would be the Bisoni. Bingo. The fellows on the cover. These guys get +4 Str, -2 Dex and Int, which makes them more minmaxy in that regard than what I enjoy. This is further exacerbated by them being Large (yes, this totals Strength +6!). They are humanoids with a normal speed and get a primary gore attack for 1d8. They also get +3 natural AC and powerful charge as well as proficiency with katanas as a bonus feat at 1st level. They are culturally inclined to have a stringent code of honor, which means they suffer -2 to skills, saves and atk after violating this code, requiring some form of redemption. As another double-edged sword, they have 6 + character level SR, which may not be lowered; this anti-magic component extends to spell trigger and spell completion as well as command word or mental activation items, which have a 10% chance of failure. There is an alternate racial trait that eliminates this one, losing SR, but also the failure-chance. Pretty cool: We actually get 6 pretty detailed codes of conduct as orientation.

The bisoni get two different racial subtypes, the first of which would be the runt, who gets +2 Dex and Con, -2 Int. These guys are Medium, get +4 dodge bonus to AC versus bisonic, +2 to saves vs. poisons, spells and SPs and an additional bonus feat at first level. They also lose powerful charge. As an aside: Being Medium, their gore attack’s damage should probably be adjusted as well. Void Blooded bisoni get Perception and Stealth as class skills and +2 to Appriase and Perception checks to find hidden objects as well as +4 to Craft (mechanical) checks to use improvised parts. These guys lose the katana, but also the honor code and the thick hide. The bisoni get favored class options for barbarian, bloodrager, cleric, fighter, hunter, magus, oracle, shaman, spiritualist and warpriest. No complaints there.

Once more, we get 3 racial archetypes, the first of which would be the savage mage magus, who may use the arcane pool to enhance natural weapons instead of manufactured weapons. Spell combat does not require the use of weaponry and spells that target the magus herself only bypass the racial SR. Spellstrike works with natural weapons instead and spell recall is replaced with enhanced savagery: As a standard action, gain a 1d8/1d6 bite, 2 claws (1d4, 1d6) or a slam (1d4, 1d6) for one minute. Yes, RAW, she may have multiple ones. Yes, this makes the already glass cannon-y magus a shredder in the hands of a halfway capable player. No, I would not allow this. The archetype may not choose item creation or metamagic feats (awww…) and instead gets combat feats (!) or rage powers (class level as barbarian level); rage powers requiring rage instead apply when the magus enhances natural attacks. So…how does this interact with rage powers that have a per-rage use? At 7th level, when enhancing a natural attack, the magus may spend an additional point to enhance a second attack. 11th level yields arcane pool-based pounce (instead of improved spell recall) and 16th level lets the magus enhance all natural weapons at once for +2 points when granting her natural attack an enhancement bonus, replacing counterstrike.

The second archetype would be the spellrender fighter, who may not have traded away the racial SR. Instead of 1st level’s bonus feat and all instances of armor and weapon training and armor mastery, the character can charge of sorts when a spell fails to penetrate the SR. This lasts for fighter level rounds and adds +1d6 acid or fire damage, +1d6 at 3rd level and every 2 levels thereafter, but the number of dice may never exceed the spell level of the absorbed spell, thankfully preventing abuse via cantrips etc. Only one such charge may be held. 2nd level yields spellshield, a +1 bonus on Ref-saves versus AoE spells that increases by +1 every 4 levels thereafter, replacing bravery. 20th level replaces weapon mastery by providing optional spell turning when affected by a spell that failed to penetrate SR. The final archetype is the tauric shinobi, a samurai who replaces mount with charging slice, i.e. +2 to atk during charges, and +class level to damage on crits executed with charges. Instead of challenge and demanding challenges, the archetype gets “Seeing Red”, i.e. an unchained barbarian’s rage, which is upgraded to greater rage at 12th level. This obviously adjusts honorable stand as well. Instead of last stand, we get a 1/day option to ignore hardness or DR, +twice class level damage…or attack a spell effect, duplicating greater dispel magic at CL equal to character level.

We get 4 racial feats: Distracted Stampede lets you join a charge of a nearby ally, providing potent synergy with Coordinated Charge. Merciless Gore adds bleed damage to gore attacks, scaling with BAB. Spellproof increases the racial SR to 11 + character level and the fail chance of activation items to 25%. Unstoppable Charge lets you follow a successful charge attack with overrun, also providing nearby allies an insight bonus on atk vs. a target you overrun. Magic item-wise, the amulet of reckless casting lets the bisoni 3/day as a swift action deliver a touch spell as a charge within movement range. Okay, does this refer to the base movement rate or the extended one of the charge? Snoutrings of foraging net +5 to Survival to get food and scent 30 ft. Once more, age, height and weight table is included.

The final race within would be the turtle-like Tortanians, who get -2 Dex, +4 Con, +2 Int, +2 Wis, +2 Cha, making them ability-array wise too strong and lopsided for my tastes. They are Medium humanoids with slow and steady, low-light vision and stability. They also get +2 natural armor bonus and get the option to enshell as a move action that does not provoke AoOs. Small or light objects may be pulled inside, others are dropped. This yields soft cover (+4 AC) and while enshelled, the character has no line of sight, but does not drop prone. The bonus to AC increases at 6th level and ever 6 levels thereafter by +1. While enshelled, the tortonian dos not threaten spaces and may take no other action than to exit the shell, which feels internally a bit weird, considering mental activation items etc. They also get +2 to Will-saves versus charm and compulsion effects and spells and if a tortonian fails such a save, he may retry one round later. Alternate racial trait-wise, we get Small size. And the antural AC bonus and stability may be traded for +2 Dex. The natural AC may also be exchanged for being umbra touched, i.e. cold and electricity resistance as well as a whopping 50% miss chance in dim light! Yeah…not seeing a fair trade-off here. Instead of the Will-save boost and stability, there also is an option to gain DR 5/- while enshelled.

The race gets favored class options for alchemist, druid, inquisitor, magus, ninja, oracle, shaman and vigilante. No problems there. We also get a racial variant, the exposed, who represents a tortonian that has lost his shell: The character loses enshell, stability, the Will-save boost and +2 natural Ac and gets +4 Dex, for an even more elite ability array. Additionally, slow and steady is replaced with 30 ft. movement, but the loss of the shell scarred the tortonian for life, imposing a -2 penalty to Will-saves.

The race comes with two racial archetypes, the first of which would be the shellshocker barbarian, who does not provoke attacks of opportunity when performing a bull rush in a charge and gets +2 to bull rush attempts as well as +2 to CMD against them; the ability qualifies as Improved Bull Rush for prerequisite purposes, but if used thus, the benefits may only be used during charges. This replaces fast movement. Instead of uncanny dodge, the archetype gains shell fortification, which allows the shell to be enchanted as if it were a masterwork shield, and may use shield bash with it as though it were a heavy steel shield. Critical hits and sneak attack damage have a 25% chance of being reduced to a regular hit. Instead of improved uncanny dodge, 5th level provides a +2 enhancement bonus to shield bashes with the shell, which is a bit odd. The fortification effect of the shell is enhanced to 50% at 8th level, replacing the rage power usually gained there. 12th level yields Shield Mastery in conjunction with the shell, replacing that level’s rage power. Instead of indomitable will, we get a final fortification upgrade for the shell at 14th level, of up to 75%. Probably one of the coolest archetypes in the book.

The second one would be the adamantine fist initiate for the brawler class. Instead of brawler’s cunning, the initiate may, after being hit in melee with a critical threat, attempt to sunder armor, shield or weapon of the attacker as an immediate action, gaining +4 to the sunder attempt if the crit was confirmed, which btw. does not provoke AoOs. Instead of the bonus combat feats gained at 2nd level and every 3 levels thereafter, the archetype gets the adamantine fists ability, which lets the brawler ignore 1 point of natural armor the target possesses at 2nd level, increasing by +1 at 5th level and every 3 levels thereafter. If the ignored bonus exceeds the natural armor, the brawler instead applies + brawler level to damage. So, lot of flexibility and player agenda lost for bland damage boost. Not a fan. Instead of maneuver training, we get +2 to bull rush and to resist it, which increases by +1 at 7th level, where +2 to CMB and CMD versus trip are gained. 15th and 19th level further increase these bonuses by +1. At 4th level, we get crashing assault: When making a melee or ranged attack versus a target with hardness, the brawler ignore ½ class level hardness 1/day, +1/day every 6 levels thereafter, replacing knockout. Instead of close weapon mastery, 5th level yields titan’s disruption, which allows the character to use martial flexibility sunder unattended objects for shards that cause all three types of physical damage in 10 ft., with the save to halve based on Strength. Yep, basically Shrapnel Strike. Having the feat doubles range. At 10th level, two uses of martial flexibility may be used to attack a vessel component: If damage exceeds twice the object’s hardness, it is disabled for 1d4 rounds, +1 round for every 5 by which damage exceeded that threshold. Multiple such attacks only increase a disruption’s duration by +1 round. The ability comes with an engineering remedy for it, btw. Easily my favorite archetype ability in the book.

The race gets 4 racial feats: Abjurant Shell nets SR 11 + character level while enshelled; Enshelled Concentration allows for the casting of psychic spells or those sans somatic components etc. while enshelled. Quick Enshell lets you assume or end enshelled status as a swift action. Shell Shield lets you treat your shell as a tower shield, granting total cover, but at the cost of -4 to atk. We also get a new technological weapon, the shock bat (guess what it does…) and 5 new cybertechs: Ley Matrix, at implantation 1, allows the shell to be enchanted as a shield and allows the tortonian to use its special abilities while enshelled. Shell cannons clock in at Implantation 4 and integrates a technological firearm in the shell, which may not be disarmed and the wielder is proficient with it. Shell spikes add a 1d6 slam for Implantation 1; the spikes may be enchanted. At Implantation 3, spell absorber can store a spell, releasing it as a full-round action into a single space adjacent to the wielder, with space affected being chosen anew each round as a free action. To offset the flexibility, the wielder is staggered while using this one. The effects may be ended as a standard action. Finally, the underwater exploration kit (implantation 4) nets +30 ft. swim speed, +20 to Swim checks and the ability to breathe under water, as well as providing full buoyancy control. This one does eliminate the enshell ability while installed, though. The magic item, the shellbrooch nets 3/day the option to store the shell in the brooch, gaining +4 to Dex and freedom of movement, but can mean potentially losing the shell. The race comes with an age, height and weight table as well as a new spell, namely shellsight, which allows the caster to see through the shell while enshelled, providing line of sight, but not effect.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting on a formal level are good. On a rules language level, I noticed a few hiccups, but no truly grievous accumulation of them; however, some of them do influence rules-integrity. Layout adheres to a nice two-column full-color standard and the pdf sports original pieces of full-color artwork for each race, which I applaud, even though, personally, I didn’t like them that much. The pdf comes fully bookmarked with nested bookmarks.

Tyler Beck’s races herein have in common that they all have cool concepts and that I have not see them executed before; that alone is worth something. He has also attempted to do something unique with each of them, which is something I really like.

That being said, this originality unfortunately does not extend to the majority of class options and feats within, which could have gone more creative routes as far as I’m concerned.

This pdf also stands as an excellent example to illustrate that the RP guidelines presented in the ARG, as I have observed time and again, SUCK as a guideline of the power of a race. While the races herein are not overpowered per se, they significantly exceed all core races in power, potentially limiting their appeal to games that favor higher-powered races, needlessly limiting their appeal. They also are bit too strongly geared towards specific roles for my tastes. Bisoni spellcasters, for example, are a bad idea, while their martial representations are ridiculously potent and mop the floor with comparative races of their RP. This overkill will certainly find its fans among the more min-maxy-minded players, but I maintain that the power-level of the races is not in any way required by the respective concepts, representing an artificial limitation of the cool ideas.

As a person, I liked the idea of all 3 races, but not the execution of any of them, which means I, alas, will never use them. That being said, I attempted to provide you with a good overview of what can be found within this pdf, so you shouldn’t have a hard to judge whether this appeals to you or not. Additionally, I do try hard to leave my own biases at the door when rating a product, and ultimately, this can be a worthwhile, if perhaps not an overwhelmingly awesome, book. My final verdict will hence clock in at 3.5 stars. If the strength of the racial concepts sells this on you, then round up. Considering the fact that a significant part of the supplemental material didn’t blow me away, I still feel justified in rounding down for my official verdict. All in all, this represents a mixed bag, slightly on the positive side for groups that enjoy really potent races.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This supplement for Starjammer clocks in at 32 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page advertisement, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 27 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This pdf is framed by the audio logs of Dr. Karer, which adds a nice touch to the crunch-centric focus of the supplement and serves to liven up the material. The pdf begins with one of the components that I love to see in supplements and never would want to do myself: We take the Technology Guide’s items and classify them according to availability: Unrestricted (UR), Permit necessary (PN), Military Grade (MG) and Highly Restricted (HR); this makes sense in a scifi/space opera context and the pdf proceeds to provide table upon table of items, including the converted costs in credits. And yes, black market price restrictions etc. can be found. How many pages do we get? 9. 9 pages of properly classified items. If you’re like me and want that level of detail, but have no inclination to do all this work yourself, then this section on its own may well be worth getting the pdf for.

After this, we get a total of 13 new pieces of cyberware, all of which also come with their legality codes etc.: Amphibious rebreathers allow for the free breathing under water; auto injectors (Implantation 1) are really cool: They can be programmed to inject potions(pharmaceuticals under specific circumstances and up to 2 may be implanted at once. Really cool. A classic would be the hidden tooth compartment and the leg-based smuggling compartment and we also get ICDs – internal communication devices. Magesense modules act as detect magic and net +2 to determining the qualities of magic items or spells being cast. Magnetic hands let you spider climb on metal surfaces, which may be cool…but oddly, this one does not make disarming etc. harder. Night vision modules nets darkvision 60 ft. (or +30 ft.) and thermographic goggles net basically infravision – though at a penalty to atk versus adjacent creatures and those farther away. Pressurized jet streams net a 30 ft. swim speed (no upgrade if you already have it, alas), but the character can take 10 and take the Run action underwater, which is pretty neat. These must btw. be installed into cybernetic legs. Unlockable joints cut movement in half when unlocked, but also net you +10 to Escape Artist, +5 to Acrobatics to reduce falling damage…and +5 to CMD and DR 5/bludgeoning. The CMD bonus should probably not apply universally and is pretty high, considering the other benefits. One item straight from one of my favorite, most disturbing Black Mirror episodes would be the visual recording module. We also get an option to alter one’s voice.

Now, the pdf takes a cue from Shadowrun with an optional rule regarding cybertech: Usually, it is governed by Int or Con, as you know. Spirit is basically a derivative attribute based on the average of Charisma, Constitution and Intelligence. This score represents a numerical limit for the maximum implantation value a target can take. Implants in excess of that score take up the slot, but do not work and also imposes a whopping -4 to saves. Here’s the catch: When having cybertech implanted, you can attempt a spirit save, DC equal to 10 + implantation value. On a success, only half of the implantation value is applied! Creatures need to have at least two of the ability scores that make up spirit. This variant rule is easy to grasp, elegant and smooth – and for certain campaigns, it is absolutely amazing.

There is another optional rule here that has its origins, to a degree, in Shadowrun: Cyber sickness. Whenever a character implants more cyberware than the lower of either Con or Int, instead of not working, it does work, sans penalty. However, the character must succeed a save based on excess implantation values – on a failure, he contracts stage 1 cyber sickness. Every 30 days thereafter, the save is repeated, with increasing DCs. On a failed save, the affliction progresses to stage 2 and every 7 days require a save. Once the character has succumbed to stage 2 cyber sickness, he turns CE and becomes an NPC. Did I hear cyber-zombie? Both stage 1 and 2 comes with a full-page 12-entry table of effects each. And yes, the rules also include synergy between spirit and cyber sickness. I really liked these variant rules, which once more represent an excellent reason to get this.

Speaking of optional rules: We also get one for pharmaceutical addiction. Not all pharmaceuticals are addictive; those that are, have been designated in their own table. Unlike drugs, addictive pharmaceuticals cause no ability score damage. And yes, combining them may not always be a good idea. We receive a total of 8 such pharmaceuticals: Altraeg enhance melee damage at the cost of precision and AC. It also means you can’t retreat from combat and must fight until killed. Disinteril is an agent to cancel Tardinol. What does that one do? It delays the onset of effects! Yes, this allows you to set up contingency chemical cocktails. Or, you know, stories à la: “You’ve been poisoned…” Yes, I frickin’ love this. Nosufur is a potent pain killer that even nets you DR, but multiple doses make you sluggish and can knock you out or even die. Stablent is basically a Diazepam-like drug that steadies your hands for sniping or similarly delicate tasks. Velofleet enhances initiative and nets you a brief haste-boost, but leaves you fatigued. Vivify keeps you conscious and immune to sleep, and finally, Zorn (German for “Wrath”, fyi!) is an agent based on rabies, catapulting those afflicted by it into a murderous rage.

We get another variant rule here for pharmaceutical and potion miscibility: This includes potential allergic reactions and empowering of effects; while these not necessarily are bad, they also are not as smooth as I’d like them to be. They require some GM-interpretation and are, so far, the weakest component of the pdf, though e.g. the Tardinol variants as one pharmaceutical that interacts with another, is explicitly exempt from these rules. Still, while I like the chaos-factor here, I think that the rules could use better differentiation regarding combinations.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good on a formal level and similarly good on a rules language level – I noticed no undue accumulation of errors. Layout adheres to Starjammer’s nice two-column full-color standard and the pdf sports quite a few rather neat full color artworks. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience.

Michael Ritter delivers a really nice, really convenient toolkit here: This lists alone represent a level of comfort I wouldn’t want to miss and I’m a big fan of the new pharmaceuticals and variant cybertech rules. While not all cybertech implants are perfect, and while the miscibility rules are less detailed and precise than what I’d like them to be, the fact remains that this is a pdf that is most definitely worth checking out. My final verdict will hence clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded up for the purpose of this platform.

Endzeitgeist out.

Affordable Arcana: Magic Rods is a sourcebook that adds some flavor to Pathfinder games. The book is simply a list of low-powered magical rods that can be integrated into just about any Pathfinder campaign. For dungeon masters, this is a great tool at many points in the campaign in that it’s a great way to provide your players with useful, yet not over-powering magical items at lower levels in the campaign. Many of the items give a low-level bonus (+1, +2, or +3) to skill checks. Much of the items in the book are of this nature, giving you some very nice options that add a lot of flavor to your game in lieu of giving your players the same old low-level items that they are used to getting in a standard campaign setting.

Some items are a great help if you’re a DM running a low-magic campaign or if you’re just not willing to give your players +1 magical items yet. One such item is the Rod of Tyranny act as a great replacement for a +1 magical weapon. This rod acts as a masterwork mace that gives a +1 to intimidate checks and penalizes opponents by -1 on the same check, but gives no magical bonus to hit or damage. Or if you’re a DM who is just trying to help your players make it out of the lower levels, the Rod of Battle Casting can be a big help to inexperienced casters with a +2 to their combat casting checks.

Later in a campaign, this book provides options for treasure that is still useful in some situations. Items, such as the Rod of the Climbing Claw can be useful in mid-to-higher levels of a campaign, since it acts as a magical grappling hook that never misses its mark. The Rod of the Blacksmith repairs 2d4+2 points of damage to arms and armor per day. That can deal with the pesky problem of occasionally needing to repair weapons or armor, which every player faces at every level. Casters of any level will find it useful to keep around a Short-Ranged Rod to add 10 feet to spells with a 25’ range up to 3 times per day.

We recommend this book for DMs looking for magic items that provide something new and fresh, something to limit the magic level, or something to help your players survive. Players have plenty of reason to check out this book as well. If your caster character just took the “craft rod” feat, this book provides more options at very low cost that can make your character more versatile.

• Reviewed by William Paprocki (GeeksAGogo.com)

DISCLAIMER - I received a free copy of this for the purposes of reviewing it.

Station on the Borderworlds is an attempt at bringing a love of the classic The Keep on the Borderlands into a Starjammer/Starfinder compatible adventure. Station on the Borderworlds is 115 pages with front and back cover, 1 page credits, 1 page TOC, 1 page editor's foreward, 2 pages OGL, and 1 page ads leaving 107 pages of content.

The book opens with an adventure summary and an experience track that presents the standard Starfinder xp track and an advanced xp track (which is recommended as the adventure assumes that is the track taken). We are also given some background on the Cyrollia System, a yellow dwarf star with 6 orbiting planets. The planets are largely single biome (i.e. magma planet, desert world, etc). A small sidebar gives you some basics on time in this setting, 25 hour days, 10 day weeks, 3 week months, and 12 month years (with some custom names based on the latin for which number month they are). Two major groups vie for control, the super good Blackvine Company based on Chyra, and the evil Cult of Nyarlathotep.

The focus of the adventure starts at Station Paxem and several adventure hooks are offered as to why the PCs would be there. We're given what amounts to a gazetteer on Station Paxem including some maps, rumors around the station, and some random events (SPACE FLUMPHS!!!). We move on to the Swamps of Fear, or the moon of Chyra called Dymbra. This moon has been inaccessible to the Blackvine Company because of its unique foul magical atmosphere that gives non-natives some madness effect (using shaken->frightened->panicked eventually to Wis damage). We are treated to another gazetteer style breakdown of Dymbra. I just want to stop for a second and point out that there an odd hex map presented on page 26 that is reminiscent of some old school PC games or older editions of TTRPGs, the layout on this particular map is a little jarring and it actually ends up breaking the flow of the book. I would have preferred if it took the whole bottom half of the page instead of trying to give a 1/2 column to text. Good news Grippli fans....there's a whole Grippli village! They're pretty reduced because of the Cult's influence. We get another table and writeups for random encounters.

The Temple of Dread is given a gazetteer treatment as well and its a pretty big place so a large chunk of wordcount is dedicated to it. I won't get into specifics because...well...I don't want to ruin any surprises :)

The actual adventure is more of an outline where the PCs are arriving at the station, go to Dymbra and the Temple of Dread, and then back to station. Again, I don't want to ruin any surprises so I won't get more specific than that. I will say, and its neither good nor bad, that the layout choice in general makes this feel an adventure framework, you're given a setting, a few important places with gazetteers, and a short write up on how to proceed on an adventure through those places. There's a whole section of Side Quests. This type of adventure isn't necessarily meant to be played straight through, Station Paxem serves as a hub and various things can happen at any time. I appreciate this as my typical players like to take left turns at every opportunity and there's some good thought into how to use the spaces provided and make it feel like it is an actual living, breathing space where life happens instead of being an adventure backdrop that only exists to service the PCs and their adventure.

After the sidequests we're greeted by the appendices starting with Appendix A of new equipment. There's only 2 pieces of new equipment, which is a missed opportunity since we have 6 distinct worlds in a different solar system and would've been great to see some interesting pieces of equipment based on those planets. Appendix B is a writeup of the Cult of Nyarlathotep. Appendix C is the stat blocks of some legacy creatures. Bear in mind this was released before Alien Archive was released so there's a reason why this is included as a separate appendix. Appendix D is new creatures stat blocks. Appendix E contains stat blocks for NPCs. Appendix F contains 2 new starships and their statblocks. We are then given full page treatments of 3 of the maps related to Station Paxem (I would have appreciated a full page version for EACH map presented).

Layout adheres to a 2 column format. For the most part, the layout is great but there are a few odd spots (like the aforementioned hex map) that sometimes pull me out of reading about the setting. The art is good, feels like it takes up just the right amount of space and the choices for each piece and what they represent flow pretty well. I did notice some slight sentence structure oddness in a few places and a few issues that would likely have been caught on one more deep editing phase. They aren't frequent and don't really detract much from the overall experience.

In conclusion, if you loved Keep on the Borderlands and ever wanted a similar experience in space then this will slake that thirst. Some things adhere a little to strictly to some older design philosophies but again, its a touch of nostalgia that works. I'm giving this a 4 star but highly recommended 4 stars.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This massive tome clocks in at 238 pages, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of editorial, 1 page ToC, 2 pages of SRD, 1 page advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 230 pages of content. Of these, 8 are devoted to a handy index (kudos!).

This review was requested as a non-prioritized review by my patreons.

So, as you can see from the page-count, this is a massive book. As such, I will try to be brief without sacrificing analytical depth.

First of all, we take a look at how to use this book – and, in case you did not know, this is NOT, I repeat, this is NOT a Starfinder-book – this is a scifi-toolkit for PFRPG. We begin with different ways of using the book: From sprinkling parts in, to developing an ongoing campaign to go to the stars to a full-blown campaign in the vast regions of space. It should be noted, that this book makes use of the Technology Guide’s rules. I strongly suggest getting that book.

The first chapter deals with races for Starjammer. The first would be the Abiarazi, a race of shapechanging oozes that take humanoid forms. As such, they are oozes with the shapechanger subtype, get +2 Con and Int, -2 Cha, 30 ft. speed, do breathe and don’t need to sleep, unless preparing spells etc. They thankfully are neither blind, nor mindless and have no special immunities to gaze attacks, illusions, etc. The race can, as a standard action, assujme oozeform, which allows them to fit into spaces as though they were half their size, quarter their size with squeezing penalties. They also get a plasmic lash, which is kind of like a tongue that can tether those nearby to the creature, with rules codified properly – kudos! 1/day, they can use blur as an SP (which is pretty potent), and as a shapechanger, they can alter their forms into a Small or Medium humanoid as per alter self, minus the ability score adjustments. As downsides for their potent tricks, they suffer a -2 penalty to Will-saves against compulsions and require twice as much food, suffering the fatigued condition when not eating at least once in 4 hours. Shape changer may be replaced with 1/day psionic powers or psychic spells. The racial archetype is an interesting fighter-tweak that replaces armor training for an immediate action miss chance that scales with the levels. Pretty cool for a small tweak. The racial feats range from basic bonuses to 1/day crit/precision damage negation to a high-level –feat that nets a lot of immunities – but the previous, less amazing feats make up for the massive benefits that one provides. There is also a spell to lock targets in a specific form and there would be two race traits.

It should be noted that all of the races herein come with favored class options AND an age, height and weight table as well as some flavor to contextualize the respective races, so bear that in mind – I’m not going to repeat myself in every entry.

Manu have seen a meteoric rise from basically savages to one of the most advanced races in the system. Black-skinned, with chiseled features, they gain +2 Int and Wis (lopsided), have normal speed, darkvision, detect magic as a constant SP, +1 untyped bonus to Disable Device and Knowledge (engineering) as well as +1 to Knowledge (arcane) and Craft (mechanical) and treat the latter two skills as class skills. They gain a further +1 to Craft checks made to create magic items. 1/day, they may treat their level as 4 higher for the purpose of a level-based class feature. This does not grant early access and an ability thus boosted only lasts for one round. While this could be slightly more precise, it is surprisingly concise and well-presented, considering its open nature. The alternate racial traits include a psionic variant of the skill-boosts and magic sense and master tinkering may be replaced with +1 to atk, +2 damage versus goblinoids.The racial archetype would be the technician investigator, who is better at using and identifying magic items, resists them easier and later manages to craft them quicker. Basically, a crafter engine-tweak. The racial feats let you hold your breath longer, haggle better, etc. There is an anti-magic suit that nets SR +2 (or grants you SR 7), a stabilizing jacket when gravity is lots( doesn’t help vs. spells) and a spell to suppress magic items. The traits help you better assist allies in crafting items or improve your vessel crafting skills.

The Pasimachi are crafting beetle-people – they are monstrous humanoids with the insectoid subtype. They have slow and steady as a speed, darkvision 60 ft., a climb speed of 20 ft., additionally a constant spider climb effect (but can’t cling to smooth surfaces), +2 natural armor (split over two traits) and a primary slam attack as well as stability. Attribute modification-wise, they gain +4 Str, -2 Dex and Int. This race is pretty lopsided and arguably stronger than the previous 2. Clumsy, personal flight and several options for a natural attacks beyond the slam attack make this race distinct and interesting, but stronger than the others presented so far. That being said, the archetype presented is pretty cool: Bombardier beetle rider cavalier? Yes, please! Better wings and pheromone messaging make for interesting racial feats. A healing clockwork beetle and spells that enhance defenses (highlight: Prismatic shell, which lasts for 7 rounds and switches defenses each round) complement the entry. The trait that enhances AC by +1 verss bludgeoning and slashing weapons is interesting, but a bit micro-manage-y.

Transgenics are the result of the coupling of a human and an alien. They gain +2 Str and Int, -2 Con, are humanoids with the transgenic subtype, darkvision, normal speed, +2 to Acrobatics and Survival and they can survive in the void for longer. They also have 150 ft. range individual telepathy, usable for 1 round per character level.v There are a ton of racial variants for them – 10 subraces, all of which come with their own alternate racial skills and ability score modifiers – no complaints regarding their balancing. The racial feats include personal flight (unlocked at 4th level) and this feat#s dressing is modified for the subraces – kudos! The Xenofilos magus can tap into the arcane pool to enhance telepathy, using limited telekinesis and combine that with spellstrike. They also learn some custom spells. All in all, an interesting archetype!

Now, beyond these new races, we take a look at the core races and their role within the context of Starjammer: Each race gets some crunch and fluff – archetypes and flavor. Dwarves get a construct-specialist cleric; elves get a rocket-pack specialist investigator. Gnomes get the close-quarters combat scuttle swashbuckler, an anti-construct specialist. The gnome technomancer summoner is pretty potent – with a mechanical eidolon that gets some modifications and a custom summon-list. As a whole, I’d be weary of this one – it’s pretty potent. Half-elves can become hullbreaker brawlers, anti-tech sunder specialists. Half-orc space marines are brawlers trained to deal with strange worlds, unusual gravity, etc. – really cool! Halfling privateer slayers can study vessels, gaining the benefits of studied target versus captain/pilot and may execute breaching ramming maneuvers with vessels. Human explorers are all about knowledge and all classes may take it – the archetype replaces skilled and 1st level’s bonus feat. Finally, there would be the razer – a gnoll barbarian, who gets progressively better at smashing through walls and obstacles – both with attacks and charges.

Okay, this concludes the racial section; from here, we move to the non-race-specific class options. The heliacal healer cleric is locked into the Healing domain. Cool: Creatures healed multiple times may be designated as crew – this title connects with the other abilities – pretty cool. Shock trooper fighters also have a bit of a Warhammer 40K-feeling: Chanting litanies while boarding? Hardsuit training? Yeah, I like that! The Void tracker ranger can, bingo, track in space. Speaking of rangers: We get a Siege combat style for them. Oracles can elect to choose the infinity mystery, which allows the oracle to lock down dimensional travel, temporarily remove targets from time – pretty damn cool mystery here! There is a utility wild talent to create air and a rogue talent to use siege weapons with sneak attack. All in all, a flavorful bunch of options – surprisingly so, if I may say so. While I wasn’t totally blown away by the material, there is a distinct lack of filler or broken material, so yeah, kudos!

To my surprise and delight, this is where the book introduces factions. Not one or two, but 5 of them – all with their own proper write-ups: You know, entry-fees, extracurricular activities, education granted – pretty damn cool, they also provide a context for learning, magic, etc. – big plus here. And yes, we get, for example, codes of conduct, rules for the drug-spice salmagundi (stats provided; cue insert “THE SPICE MUST FLOW!!”)…really neat chapter. Speaking of really neat: The book also covers a new skill uses and modifications: Craft (vessel) is provided and Knowledge (geography) is modified. Profession (pilot) treats the vessel as a flying creature, just fyi. The pdf also contains 18 feats – and there is a big plus here: From Null Gravity Combat and its follow-up feats to those that help piloting, the feats do the right thing: they focus on the peculiarities of the system instead of providing numerical escalations. Big plus.

Anyways, the equipment section discussed currency – and while it explains, in detail, the use of comets (common markers for economic transactions), these are correlated to traditional coinage – i.e. you won’t have to deal with nasty currency conversions: Prices in silver, gold and copper are retained. The setting comes with its own WGL-table (helpful!) and sports new items: magnetic shields (lacking italicization in one instance), an extremely long-range emergency beacon, a torc that slows the movement of the wearer…really cool. Similarly, there are quite a few costly custom tech suits…and hardsuits. Think of these as basically power armor. And yes, in another callback to Warhammer 40K, we do get a space marine suit. Apart from some cosmetic hiccups, a cool section.

The spell-section follows a similar design-paradigm, focusing on the demands of the setting, as opposed to being redundant – air creation, an antimatter ray (with a powerful untyped damage balanced by spell level and affected target), creating slipstream or a holy nova, mending vessels…some spells use plasma, using the proper fire/electricity duality – in short, as a whole, a welcome array of spells.

From here on out, we take a look at encounters – and hazards: Dust clouds, comets, anti-magic fields, solar flares – there is a ton of these, including handy tables that include checks to avoid, collision damage, etc. There are rules for planetary rings, ribbon storms of highly virulent fungal filament…this section really drew me in, and, beyond what I’ve seen so far, helps to make the system presented feel more unique. We also get guidelines for planetary classification by size and type: Rules for acid world, cold iron worlds that are anathema to fey and demons, planets permeated with fear, mithral worlds – and yes, the classics, from desert to swamp to the elements are all covered as well. Once again, a really handy chapter. We also get 3 completely detailed sample worlds, with adventure hooks, stats, notes on adventuring and sketch-like gazetteers. Next up is a chapter on the gods of the setting: Mechanically, we usually get 5 domains and subdomains per deity, with sacred animal7color etc. noted. Similarly, inquisitions are provided – some deities, like Israfel, do go a bit beyond that with e.g. 6 subdomains. Instead of retreading old content, the pdf notes deities suitable for the setting with a handy table.

Now, let’s take a look at traveling the Void, shall we? First, we should talk about crew roles: These are flexible, with command(optional) captain, chief engineer, first mate, helmsman, medic and tactical officer as basic roles. Recommended skills/feats are provided – and yes, NPCs can take up these roles. Automata may be purchased to cover these rules, we get notes on mutiny and 4 specialized crew roles. Instead of trying to jam Pathfinder’s sizes onto vessels, they are categorized in 5 classes, with length, squares, ram damage and costs per square allowing for pretty solid customization. Vessels are really big – as such, they track their damage in VP (vessel points) – each is the equivalent of 10 hit points. This retains the importance of big weaponry, while still allowing potent PCs to damage the vessel, if in a greatly reduced capacity. Vessels reduced to 0 VP are crippled and start breaking apart after 10 rounds, with additional damage reducing the count-down – nice solution to allow for last second saves etc. We get full stats for a ton of vessels – from drones to destroyers, this section is massive and groups the vessels by size. Personal Transportation Devices.

Speed rating ranges from 1 to 30 and is divided in 3 categories: tactical speed for starfights, interplanetary for travel within a solar system, interstellar for the journeys between solar systems. Vessels move 1 mile cubes in tactical combat equal to their Speed rating. A vessel can increases its current Speed by the Acceleration rating each round. A handy table collates tactical and interplanetary speeds, with notes for travel times etc. And yep, including interstellar speeds. Big comfort-plus here. Vessel engines, with repair DCs, costs etc. are all provided as well – Spellforge turbines require Spellcraft, as do Essence Drones – the other engines use Craft (mechanical) for repairs. Really cool: You may coax out more of an engine, but at the expense of the engine, which is damaged by overclocking it thus. The engines all note their maximum speed factor,a cceleration, propulsion, control devices (including stats for AC, hp, hardness, etc.) and the Driving check in question. If the “-jammer”-aspect has been lost on you so far – the weapon-section will change that: Various ballistae, including rules for pod-mounting can be found alongside spell projectors, all next to beam cannons, weapons that can fire alchemical payloads, rail cannons…the blend of the fantastic and weird is nice here. And yes, we get custom ammo as well. Weapons etc. obviously cost space – as such, we get a simple and easy to grasp Point Buy value for weapons, crew space, defensive components, etc. – the system is elegant and easy to grasp. Want a cloaking device or a heat shield? Both may well save your behind, but their point cost and weight must be considered…and yes, life support is similarly codified, as are communications, tactical components…This whole vessel section is very easily scavenged for other purposes as well – the proximity of the rules employed to classic PFRPG-vehicle rules helps there as well. Amazing: This is NOT where we stop: We also get vessel templates for e.g. blessed vessels…and if you don’t want to handcraft a vessel, starting packages help there, as does the massive Point Buy Chart array for vessels. This chapter is really, really, really good.

Okay, so next up would be the vessel combat section – it codifies diagonal movement regarding the cubes assumed for 3D-combat. The fast-play rules are as follows: All vessels drop to tactical speed. PCs and important NPCs roll initiative. Movement occurs on the Pilot or captain’s initiative count. Speed rating can be moved as a move action. Direction changes cost a standard action, but only at the start of the character’s turn. Attacks are executed at the pilot or captain’s initiative count. This is relatively quick, but it shows, rather quickly, a weakness of the system presented: The other characters become less important…which is a pity, for I LOVE how the respective piloting options are concisely summarized, how we learn about CMB/D of vessels and the dogfighting tactics add a bit of strategic depth: They have prerequisites, but are otherwise unlocked by those meeting the prerequisites. Strafing, swift reversals…pretty cool. Even the circumstances of piloting, from withdrawing to other options, are concisely covered.

The next chapter deals with new creatures, introducing variants of starflight (with a handy table, once again making the actual use of the book easier) as well as the plasma burn ability. Beyond these, we get strange predators, mighty CR 24/MR 10 ribbon dragons that can trail ribbons of torn space-time fabric, space remoras, asteroid spiders and starbeasts like Betelgeuse, Fomalhaut, Wormwood…and there would be the extremely varied tardigrades, which come in a frightening variety of types, courtesy to their extreme adaptability. There are space goblins, cephalopod living vessels…and there are the zhurkans. Super-powerful destroyers and enslavers of civilizations – 3 of these fellows are included, they are CR 20 – and compared to some starbeasts, they are not the worst you can find within the endless Void…

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting, on both a formal and rules-language level, are surprisingly good for a tome of this size. The tome has obviously gone through a lot of careful checking. There are a few hiccups here and there, but yeah – well done. Layout adheres to a nice two-column full-color standard that captures the style of the setting rather well. Artworks range from amazing original full-color pieces to some stock artworks – particularly the bestiary section suffers a bit from that. The pdf comes with extensive, nested bookmarks, making navigation comfortable. The presence of the massive index really helps, as do all the helpful tables.

My congratulations to Peter K. Ullmann, Kirby Flake, John Reyst, Troy Daniels, Michael McNeill, Manuel A. Oaxaca, Allen Snyder and Michael Ritter – in spite of the numerous authors, the book feels surprisingly concise and unified. It is only in a precious few instances when internal balance could be tighter. I love the vessel-customization options and the flavor that suffuses this book: It feels like a more magical version of a scifi-setting, with some slices of the weird and Warhammer 40K-ish aesthetics. The book sports a distinct and unique identity – while I did bemoan the lack of spacehamsters and goofiness, I think that the decision to not just do Spacejammer 2.0 is a smart one; there are some nods here, but this is, as a whole, a serious, concise setting.

Now, when taken as a whole, I do really enjoy this tome. There are a few things that could have been better – the vessel combat could have used more stuff for non-pilot/captains to do; much like PFRPG’s default vehicle-rules-engine, the vessels herein are a bit captain-heavy regarding tactics etc. The races aren’t perfectly balanced and there are a few hiccups here and there – not many, mind you, but yeah. That being said, I am complaining at a high level – this is certainly well worth checking out. My final verdict will clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded up due to in dubio pro reo.

Endzeitgeist out.

This is a terrible product. The Psion archetype that opens the book does not gain any new features until 8th level. The new features are bland and mostly pointless, which is true for all the archetypes in this book.

Add to that the options that just do not function and the terrible rating and rampant errors and flaws, and this is an utter waste of money even at the low price it is currently sold at.

This is a terrible product. Most of the archetypes don't even function, and those that do are just bad, trading out important class features for extremely weak options.