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5th Edition Background Generator
by David T. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 10/24/2021 09:16:15

A huge amount of materiel with many tables for determining backgrounds and 3 pages of sample backgrounds. I really like the graverobber background for an npc.

I purchased mainly with the idea of creating quick backgrounds for npc's, but they are ideal for players as well.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
5th Edition Background Generator
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Animal Races: Clan of the Goat
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 03/23/2017 05:18:05

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Animal Races-series clocks in at 13 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 8 pages of content, so let's take a look!

The clan of the goat encompasses more than goats; sheep etc. are included...and the pdf has some intriguing cultural peculiarities - the clans know, for example, 4 genders, with pregnant females and infertile males being their own genders. Similarly, to wear or not to wear shoes is an important ideological statement! It is these little tidbits that make sense, that make these come to life! Muskox are mostly neutral, sheep mostly good and lawful and goats mostly evil and chaotic, tapping into the iconography of real world religions and blending them in a smart way with the race's flavor.

Members of the clan of the goat, these guys are medium humanoids with the faun subtype, gain low-light vision and a +1 natural AC-bonus that increases to +2 at 10th level. The race receives 5-ft-scent that increases in range to 30 ft. at 6th level and a gore attack for 1d4 as a primary natural attack (1d3 if the character is Small). The character may choose to be either Medium and gain +2 Str, -2 Wis or be Small, with +2 Dex and -2 Str. Members of the goat clan receive +2 Int and speak Infernal as a bonus language,. They may also choose Goat Clan Heritage instead of a witch hex. Mountain Goats begin speaking Terran and gain +2 Cha and may select Goat Clan Mountaineer instead of a oracle's stone or wind revelation. Muskox members begin play speaking Sylvan and gain +2 Cha and may select Goat Clan Heritage instead of an oracle's nature revelation. Finally, sheep clan members gain +2 Cha, speak Celestial, with the option of gaining Goat Clan Heritage instead of a paladin's mercy.

As always, the race taps in its flavor into the respective Racial Heritage-feat-mechanic: To recap, if this is the first review of a pdf of this series you read - basically, they provide a selection of different abilities; the more often you take them, the more you get to choose and once you have enough of them, you unlock more powerful options, though they have a scaling prereq-caveat that prevents abuse via feat-heavy classes. The Goat Clan Heritage feat allows for the selection of climb, fast movement, improved gore, scavenger (the latter netting immunity to ingested diseases and poisons and being nauseated or sickened from eating something like that); once all of these have been taken, you can choose powerful charge. Goat Clan Mountaineer allows for the selection of climb, cold resistance, improved gore or scavenger, with powerful charge as an unlocked final option. The pdf also provides three more racial feats: Gruff Demeanor is a bland, +2 to two skills, later +4 at 10+ ranks skill-bonus feat. Scapegoat allows your familiar to intercept lethal attacks, while Troll Slayer can temporarily negate a creature's regeneration, which is pretty cool.

As always, the pdf has an assortment of different, cool notes on genealogy and the respective fantastic creatures of PFRPG and how they interact with the clan, firmly entrenching the race in the fantastic context of the game. Oh, and age, height and weight tables are included, though there are no favored class options. The pdf also features the write-up for the deity Amon, another divinity who claims the title of Eye of Ra.

Beyond this well-written write-up, there is a nice CR 8 creature, namely the Krampus, including chain armor, swallowing burlap-sack and child-scenting. One of the best iterations of the creature I have seen so far!

The pdf, as always, sports the cool heraldry traits that, in power, slightly exceed regular traits, but include minor penalties to offset the power of the benefits they convey. In a cool thematic aspect, they this time around not only include feats, but also a select array of hexes. The pdf also includes a cool oracle curse - instead of succumbing to fear effects, the character falls asleep, faints, and after awakening, the fear (and later charm etc. effects) suddenly vanish. Nice one!

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to the series' elegant, printer-friendly two-column b/w-standard with thematically-fitting stock art. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for you convenience.

Eric Morton's Clan of the Goat is really interesting - while I wished the pdf was longer and had even more material to provide cool angles to the interesting race featured herein, it does contain well-balanced, fun options that should be viable for pretty much every game. The flavor and prose are concise, the vision consistent - there is nothing to seriously complain about herein. My final verdict will clock in at 5 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Animal Races: Clan of the Goat
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Animal Races: Clan of the Ox
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 03/16/2017 05:52:28

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Animal Races-series clocks in at 13 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 8 pages of content, so let's take a look!

The clan of the ox as a race is one of basically minotaurs, which, as the pdf mentions "Sacred cow" stemming from the derogatory moniker for a particularly devout individual. As such, these guys are medium humanoids with the minotaur subtype, low-light vision and a +1 natural AC-bonus that increases to +2 at 10th level. The race receives 5-ft-scent that increases in range to 30 ft. at 6th level and a 1d4 primary natural gore attack for Medium members of the clan, 1d6 for Large ones.

The bison clan receives +2 to Str and Wis, -2 to Int and may select the Ox Clan Heritage feat as a ranger combat style feat. Buffalo Clan members receive s+2 to Str and Wis, -2 to Cha and may select the Ox Clan Heritage feat as a rage power. Ox clan therians gain +2 to Con and Wis, -2 Int and may select the Ox Clan Heritage feat instead of an inquisitor teamwork feat. "Sacred Cows" gain +2 Str and Cha, -2 to Int and may gain Ox Clan Heritage instead of a paladin mercy. Water Buffaloes get +2 Con and Wis, -2 Dex and may select Ox Clan Rice Farmer as a ranger combat style feat. the Yak clan members gain +2 Str and Cha, -2 Int and may select Ox Clan Mountaineer instead of a revelation.

Now, what does these heritage feats unlock? To recap, if this is the first review of a pdf of this series you read - basically, they provide a selection of different abilities; the more often you take them, the more you get to choose and once you have enough of them, you unlock more powerful options, though they have a scaling prereq-caveat that prevents abuse via feat-heavy classes. Ox Clan Heritage lets you select beast of burden (which increases your carrying capacity), fast movement, improved gore, powerful charge or trample; once these have been covered, the therian may learn either improved trample or grow to Large-size. If you instead gain the Ox Clan Mountaineer, you may select fast movement, improved gore, insulated fur, powerful charge or trample. Similarly, improved trample and Large size can be taken beyond that. In case you were wondering - insulated fur renders you scentless and immune to nonlethal cold damage.

The Ox Clan Rice Farmer heritage feat allows for the selection of beast of burden, improved gore, powerful charge, swamp stride or trample - once these have been chosen, you can select improved trample, or - bingo, grow to Large size. As always, we also receive extensive notes on the genealogy of the evocative clan and the pdf dives deep into the lore of our game, tying monsters like gorgons or thanadaemons to the folklore and mythology of the clan.

The pdf also covers the deity of the ox-therians, namely Athor, also known as the eye of Ra. Beyond this nice write-up, we receive a total of 6 of the awesome heraldry traits - as we've come to expect from these, they do exceed in raw power traditional traits, but come with a slight drawback each to make up for that - no balance complaints regarding them, just fyi.

Interesting - the clan of the ox seems to love jewelry and regalia and thus, magic items they create often tend to look differently - this section can be a bit opaque. If an eye-slot item thus occupies a forehead, does this mean it occupies the headband slot? I assume that this is mostly intended to be a cosmetic modification.

The final section of the pdf may also be one of its most inspired components: The PCs can for example engage in a crossover of an aurochs drinking game and a ritual combat, explained step by step - which is amazing. Additionally, rules for Corrida and Encierro can be found herein - love these cultural practices.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to the series' elegant, printer-friendly two-column b/w-standard with thematically-fitting stock art. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for you convenience.

Eric Morton's Clan of the Ox is yet another excellent installment in the series - balanced, flavorful and interesting, the pdf doesn't leave much to be desired. And yes, age, height and weight tables are included, though no favored class options can be found. Unlike other such offerings, there are already a couple of nice minotaur-ish options as competition, though the balance herein is pretty immaculate. I do think that there is more potential for the race than necessarily realized here, but the pdf remains an interesting, smart option. I am only nitpicking at a very high level here, though -. my final verdict will clock in at 5 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Animal Races: Clan of the Ox
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Animal Races: Clan of the Deer
by A customer [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/04/2017 15:16:50

I recently bought this on a the hope that this might be able to be used as a Deer-Kin Skinwalker substitute. I couldn't be more pleased. There are plenty of thematic options that work really well for using this as its own race or an offshoot of the Pathfinder skinwalker. The mechanics are tight, they all make sense and convey just the right amount of flavor to match the theme.

My only complaint is that there are no examples of anthropomorphic deer-kin, but at the price point I am fine with that. I'll definately be looking at other products in this line.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Animal Races: Clan of the Deer
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5th Edition Background Generator
by Jarred C. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/08/2016 17:37:49

As the author of the Guide to Designing Background Features (found on the Paizo and GitP forums), I highly recommend this book.

The background features are well written, provide solid narrative power to your character, and are balanced with the PHB. They are universal, written with minimal fluff so you can put the feature into nearly any background you want. If you don't know which one to pick, there are randomized tables for you to roll on, with guidelines for narrowing the field if you just want a specific type but still want a random feature.

The personality traits and character flaws are organized by skill; quite novel! And each provides a randomized table with a quality that can be used as either the trait or the flaw (or both!).

Plus, there are lots of premade examples if you dont want to design your own (this is where most of the background fluff is).

All in all, a well written and well designed product. 5/5 Stars!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
5th Edition Background Generator
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Animal Races: Dawn of the Cerapod
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 04/06/2016 03:40:16

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Animal Races-series clocks in at 13 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 8 pages of content, so let's take a look!

Where the carnosaurians were the rulers and warriors of the perished empire of lizards, the cerapods were the artisans and farmers, humble and domestic - but they fell alongside their empire...

This does not mean, however, that you can't play them! The pdf provides information on various subtypes, from bird-feet to bone-heads and horn-heads and beyond, including the professions they were most likely to follow and, as always, provides full age. height and weight tables for your convenience. Similarly, the pdf provides detailed information on religion and the like.

Base-stat-wise, cerapods are medium reptilians with low-light vision and 5 ft.-scent that upgrades to 30 ft. at 6th level and they begin play with +1 natural armor that increases to +2 at 10th level. They also begin play with a 1d4 natural weapon determined by clan, 1d6 if the character gets a size-increase to large. 4 racial heritages can be chosen: Bird-feet receive a tail attack and +2 Str and Int, -2 Cha and may choose the racial heritage feat Bird-Footed as a combat style feat.

Bone-heads get a slam attack and +2 Str and Wis, -2 Int and may take their racial heritage feat Bone-Headed instead of a rage power. Horn-Heads get a gore attack and +2 to Str and Wis, -2 Dex and may take the Armor-Plated and Horn-headed feats as fighter bonus feats. Finally, Shield-Bearers get a tail attack, +2 Str and Cha, -2 Dex and may take the Armor-Plated and Shield-Born feats instead of an oracle's revelation.

So, let's take a look at those feats: Armor-Plated is interesting - the feat grants you basically a built-in scale armor, but also makes you slow and steady (as the dwarven racial trait). Taking the feat a second time allows you to wear an armor above your built-in scales, using the biggest AC-bonus and stacking special armor properties of both armors. Yes, you can enchant your built-in scale armor and yes, the trait sports concise rules for what happens if your built-in armor is broken.

Bird-footed is more traditional in its effects - you choose from fast movement or trample; once you have both, you may choose improved trample or primeval mind. (Bear in mind the traditional 1/ 2 levels you may take this feat, so primeval mind's charm immunity hits 6th level at the very soonest.)

Bone-Headed works similarly: Choose fast movement or improved slam, thereafter primeval mind and clobbering charge are unlocked. The latter allows you to add a bull rush to a slam attack executed at the end of a charge, with a chance to stagger the target on a crit.

The Horn-headed may choose improved gore, powerful charge, stability or trample and, once these have been taken,primeval mind...or large and stout, which upgrades your size to Large!

The Shield-Born lets you select improved tail, trample or tripping tail, unlocking primeval mind thereafter. Tripping Tail, just fyi, lets you add trips to tail attacks, no AoO, no chance to be tripped back.

As before, we receive interesting information on the genealogy of these saurians and, as has become the tradition with this series, folklore-information, which, this time around is particularly detailed - and the pdf is better for that: The saurians are tied to a wide array of monsters, which makes them feel like an organic part of a campaign world from the get-go. The deity provided here is unique: Kouros was LITERALLY the soul of the empire, a kind of collective consciousness or imperial zeitgeist, if you will. I can, obviously, relate. ;) The pdf also provides interesting hooks and angles for saurians surviving the fall of the empire - whether planar exile, newly developed cerapods or resurrected creatures - the angles are interesting. Like the companion book, though, we do not gain the usual cool heraldry-based traits.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to the series' elegant, printer-friendly two-column b/w-standard with thematically-fitting full-color and b/w-art. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for you convenience.

Eric Morton's cerapods are distinct, versatile and generally well-balanced - the stacking of armors is interesting and powerful, but the feat-tax does offset the power...and the armor still requires the gold...so yeah. Flavor-wise, this is intelligent, smart and fun - there is frankly nothing to complain about apart from the lack of the cool heraldry-traits, but I won't hold that against this pdf. This pdf has nice, fun options and offers an excellent bang-for-buck ratio, exceeding the carnosaurus-pdf in versatility. Hence, my final verdict will clock in at 5 stars + seal of approval.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Animal Races: Dawn of the Cerapod
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Animal Races: Dawn of the Carnosaur
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 03/29/2016 04:39:51

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Animal Races-series clocks in at 13 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 8 pages of content, so let's take a look!

Once, a great and terrible empire existed, one ruled by the saurians - but it fell and so did the carnosaurians, who resemble humanoid carnivorous reptiles (surprise!) - in an interesting take on the T-Rex stereotype, only inbred royals were supposedly afflicted with small arms...and yes, this shows awareness of recent discoveries, including mentioning of plumes. Society and relationships with other races are covered alongside detailed age, height and weight tables.

Carnosaurians may be medium (+2 Str, -2 Int) or small (+2 Dex, -2 Str), have the reptilian subtype, normal speed (20 feet for small ones), low-light vision, scent 5 ft. (increases to 30 ft. at 6th level), a primary bite attack at 1d4 (1d3 for small saurians); they begin play with +1 natural armor that increases to +2 at 10th level and three racial heritage clans to choose from. The Allosaurus clan provides +2 Cha and may select Allosaurid Heritage as a fighter bonus feat; the Maniraptor clan +2 Int (and may use Int instead of Wis for monk class features) and may select Coelurid Heritage as a monk bonus feat. The Megaraptor clan gets +2 Cha and can select Coelurid Heritage instead of a rage power.

So, what do these Heritage feats do: Allosaurid Heritage provides one of the following racial tricks: Claws, fast movement (+10 ft.), faster movement (+10 ft.), improved bite. Once you've covered all of these via taking the feat multiple times (you may do so once per two levels you have), you may choose gripping bite, pounce, primeval mind or rake. Coelruid Heritage works similar and offers fast movement, faster movement, improved bite, leap and talons as choices. After covering these, the feat offers improved talons, leaping charge, pounce and primeval mind. In case you're wondering: Primeval mind provides +2 to Will-saves and makes you immune to charm effects - the other options should be familiar.

Now, as has become the tradition with this series, we get neat information on genealogy and folklore, tying the race to specific creatures and enhancing thus organic immersion, while also providing information on their deity, the failed and deceased god Anzu. The default assumption is certainly that the empire has failed and fallen, potentially eradicating this clan - but nothing is forever, right? I mentioned those degenerate tyrants - well, there is a CR 3 statblock provided...and a CR 13 lizard tyrant lich included in the deal, though we don't get the unique two-sided traits based on heraldry this time around.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to the series' elegant, printer-friendly two-column b/w-standard with thematically-fitting full-color and b/w-art. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for you convenience.

Eric Morton's carnosaurians are an intriguing, well-crafted offering - this is a balanced, cool take on the saurian race and blends his predilection for "realistic" takes on the animal aspects well with the fantastical, providing an overall well-crafted, intriguing supplement - at the low price-point, definitely worth a final rating of 5 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Animal Races: Dawn of the Carnosaur
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"Custom Class Builder" Preview
by J. B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/03/2016 17:07:17

At first, I thought this was A grade material, as my original rating was 5 stars. However, as I looked into this, the A quickly changed into a B. This is still a fantastic book. But minor errors moves it into the diamond in the rough territory. First is the matter of heroic effort. Heroic effort is their attempt at a limited use per day system.

Some abilities are put under three categories. Focus, which is just a toggle, and only one can be active, but the other two use heroic effort, and it reads, and I quote, "You can spend a number of uses of heroic effort per day equal to 3 + your total level in all custom classes." Note the word all. as far as I know, no official class does something like this, and for good reason. You need to encourage sticking with a class, or else you're asking for someone to build a min-maxed abomination, specially made to do way more than anyone should. In addition, there is sustained effort. Sustained effort is merely heroic effort, but traded to gain points into another pool as a free action(One heroic for two sustained). It is a pool specifically for abilities that last more than one turn, like focus, but requires one sustained effort each turn to keep going. Okay, again, never seen any official class do that, and in addition, I quickly just made a system that made sustained effort useless. It hasn't been tested, but I did a little thought experiment that was something like this. "Double the heroic effort pool, and make all existing abilities that use a use of heroic effort double cost, and make all sustained effort abilities use one heroic effort point per turn." Although I can not prove this without testing it, why not do that, instead of dealing with two pools? That's my only major complaint, although there is one minor complaint. I have tried to make a class, only to find that an ability I am looking for that is mentioned in the list is not explained in the part it should be. This only happened to me once, but it's something to look over, to make sure everything is in there. But now, the positives. The book gives almost everything you need to make many different classes, especially hybrid classes(classes that are made with abilities of existing classes, not the hybrid classes they mention in the book that will be available in the full version), since most of the more basic class abilities are in the book. It explains how good a spell-caster's highest spell level should be with his Hit Die, It explains that a lower Hit Die equals more abilities, and it explains the basics of how to make the general four types of class, Arcane, Divine, Martial, and Skill. It has the basics, and I can't wait for the finished product this Fall. Even though it is a preview, it's still good enough to make classes right now. I really want to play their example class too. Other than it's lack of a unique level 20 super ability(which Pathfinder almost prides itself on), It looks like a fun class to play. I may not be a veteran of the game this was made for, but I know customization potential, and this looks like it will keep you busy for hours. Fix the problems I mentioned, and you have something I feel everyone who enjoys the game will love.

Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
"Custom Class Builder" Preview
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Creator Reply:
Thanks for the review! You mention seeing a class ability on one of the lists, but not finding a description of that ability. Could you let me know which ability that is? As noted in the PDF, this preview is also a playtest document, and the error you describe is the exact sort of thing I\'m hoping interested readers will catch before I finalize the full version of the Custom Class Builder. Thanks again for your feedback, Eric Morton.
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Animal Races: Clan of the Swan
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 10/05/2015 02:53:22

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Animal Races-series clocks in at 13 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 8 pages of content, so let's take a look!

The fluff of the swan clans, as presented herein, is a stroke of genius - taking the majesty of the creature, tying it to a religion of reincarnation and a tendency towards diplomacy and the consorting with powerful entities, and we have a thoroughly unique outlook, tied with fey and phoenix, that made me excited to see what the racial traits offer.

And here, we already have a great idea - samsaran subtype, +2 to an ability score of your choice, which can be changed upon reincarnation. They are medium, get low-light vision, natural armor +1 (scaling up to +2 at 10th level) as well as the alternate avian form we already know from the installment on raptors and ravens. When reincarnating, members of these clans retain their form. Additionally, at 7th level, you automatically reincarnate 1/day when slain, gaining locate object for seven days as an SP to find you old body. This does not help when slain by death effects and when killed within those 7 days, you remain dead.

The Swan Clan provides 3 variants, all of which provide a unique benefit: the all-male Peacocks always treat Diplomacy as a class skill. Swans always treat Swim as a class skill, and swan maiden are all female and treat Stealth as a class skill. The 3 subtypes share the Swan Clan Racial Heritage feat. Avid shapechanger once again provides the basic issue of unassisted flight for long stretches of time at low levels (see my reviews on raptors/ravens); beyond that, +20 ft fly speed in bird form and 1d4 bite in the alternate form are provided. If you have 3 selected, you can get true shapechanger.

The Fighting Fowl feat nets a peacock clan member 2 primary talon attacks at 1d3, a swan or swan maiden instead 2 buffeting wings secondary natural weapons at 1d3 in the alternate form. Center of Attention allows you to expend a standard action to create a diversion that allows other creatures to hide even if observers are aware of them, allowing other creatures to use your Bluff check result instead of their own. The third feat provided, Phoenix Fire, allows you to damage the living alongside the undead when you channel positive energy, searing them with phoenix fire. Additionally, as long as you have 1 channel energy left, you can unleash a burst of said fire as an immediate action when dropped unconscious or killed, though you cannot exclude yourself - so no cheesing possible. Nice, if powerful feat!

Obviously, the genealogy and the interaction with creatures and monsters of the folklore once again is a joy to read, as is the little write-up on the deity here, the Swan Mistress Frau Prechta - German readers and those versed in our legends and folklore will get a chuckle here - oh, and yes, she participates in the wild hunt - one has to socialize, right?

As always, the series provides an array of different heraldic symbols as race traits, allowing you to get aforementioned Center of Attention feat as a bonus feat etc., but once again, providing these bonuses at a slight detriment.

This is not where the pdf ends, though - we also learn about peacock's feather regalia and the practice of past-life regression, which puts a unique spin on class advancement and magic, with advice on the massive narrative potential of past-life adventures (NOT time-travel, mind you!) proving to be pretty inspirational - great ideas here!

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to the series' elegant, printer-friendly two-column b/w-standard with thematically-fitting stock art. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for you convenience.

Eric Morton's swan clan is probably the most powerful of the avian clans - but it is also, by far, the most inspired one. With an utterly unique outlook, a believable culture and an overall solid array of abilities, the swan clan, while at the upper echelon of what I'm comfortable with power-level-wise, remains one of my favorite installments in the whole series.

While the additional material is not as awesome to my subjective tastes as the raptor's dances, the swan's content still rocks very hard. In fact, were it not for the issue with avid shapechanging at low levels, I'd consider this pdf to be among the best in the series. Now granted, I was a bit disappointed to see no color spray for peacocks, but that may be me. A slightly more diverse selection between the three subtypes of the clan would have further benefited an already good pdf. In the end, I'm going to settle on a final verdict of 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 due to me really liking this pdf's ideas, in spite of some minor balance concerns - concepts trump perfection for me every time.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Animal Races: Clan of the Swan
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Animal Races: Clan of the Raven
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 08/31/2015 05:15:19

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Animal Races-series clocks in at 13 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 8 pages of content, so let's take a look!

Ravens are among my favorite birds in real life - their intelligence and aesthetic appeal to me on a basic level. The Clan of the Raven's members do share the traits associated with their real life brethren - known for an interest in education and the gathering of knowledge, including a pretty shady reputation, perhaps stemming from their uncommon assertion of death being just a station of the migratory lifestyle that is inherent in their culture anyways.

Racial-trait wise, members of the raven clan receive +2 Dex and -2 Str, both if they are medium or small. The clans also get +1 natural armor that scales up to +2 at 10th level, a primary natural bite attack at 1d4 (1d3 if small) and are humanoids with the shapechanger and tengu subtypes that also have low-light vision. They may change 1/day into avian form (supernatural ability, btw.) for 1 minute/level as a standard action - for more on that, take a look at my review of Animal Races: Clan of the Raptor; it's the same mechanic. There are a total of 5 subtypes of clan raven provided: Carrion Crows receive +2 Con, +2 to Cha if you're undead (cool one!) and may take the Raven Clan Heritage feat instead of a revelation from the battle or bones mysteries. Falcon clan members get +2 to Wis and may choose Falcon Clan Heritage as a ranger combat style feat. Members of the Parrot Clan get +2 to Intelligence (non capitalized in the text, a minor, rare typo in the series) and may choose the Parrot Clan Heritage feat whenever they could choose a Perform skill with the bard's versatile performance class feature instead. Raven Clan members gets +2 to Intelligence and may choose, surprise, raven Clan Heritage as a rogue talent. Finally, Songbird Clan Members get +2 Cha and may choose the Songbird Clan Heritage feat whenever they could choose a Perform skill with the bard's versatile performance class feature instead.

Now, as always, the racial heritage feats can be taken multiple times (with minimum level scaling upwards), providing a selection of additional racial abilities, unlocking more over the levels. The racial traits cover some overlap with the raptors: Primary claw attacks, increased bite damage, +20 fly speed and avid shapechanger, which suffers from the same problem of being available too soon for easy unassisted flight at low levels as in the raptor's book. True shapechanger, the ability that ends all the limitations on shapechanging can be taken after covering the former. Falcons can choose that one after taking superior flighty, improved bite, claws and avid shapechanger.

Having seen trained falcons in action, I was quite surprised to see raptor's dive (or an in-flight rush variant) not included here - especially since Raven Clan Heritage covers identical traits, but additionally also allows for the scolding ability, which nets you ear-piercing scream 1/day per 2 HD as a cha-based SP. Also, here's a fun fact - I actually nurtured a semi-wild crow back to health when I was a child and if the their tongues are loosened as chicks (painless and no injury to the bird, btw.), they actually can learn to talk, so I was a bit surprised to see the voice mimicry trait, which conveys the ability of the infiltrator investigator archetype, not included among the options. Not a complaint, mind you, just an observation. Parrot Clan members can obviously select this one and also may choose avid shapechanger, claws, improved bite and flight, with true shapechanger being the only one unlocked later. I was a bit surprised to not seen an anti-object/sunder upgrade for parrots, to be honest. Songbirds may choose avid shapechanger, superior flight, voice mimicry and also, exclusively, tiny form, with true shapechanger as the only high-level choice.

This also points towards an issue - it is evident from the tiny form ability that songbirds are supposed to either always be small or that their bird forms are supposed to be small, when neither is required by the base racial traits. Interaction between the ability and medium songbirds is wonky. Beyond that, we also get 3 additional feats - Gifted Linguist, Swordtrained and Scavenger, providing variants of essentially what otherwise would be covered via racial traits as feats. Not a fan of either - swordtrained unlocks more than proficiencies and both Scavenger and Gifted Linguist feel pretty bland to me - flavorful in concept, but not too interesting.

As always in the series, we are introduced to a short section of the genealogy of the raven clans and, once again, a beautifully-written section on interaction with existing monsters and creatures anchors the clans in a fantasy world's mythology. The deity provided herein would be Morringa, a participant of the wild hunt and a martially-inclined death goddess. The heraldry-traits provided once again can be considered interesting in that yes, the option to receive Gifted Linguist via them feels okay, though I do not understand why the racial traits have been made feats - in the long run, that's only gonna cause confusion. Other than that, I have no issue with the heraldry traits and enjoy them.

Ravens and their ilk being known to have some knack for hoarding shiny things, the appendix of this pdf provides nice dressing tables of random trinkets - 3, to be precise: One for copper, silver and gold, with each entry being worth exactly one of the coins. Nice one!

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to the series' elegant, printer-friendly two-column b/w-standard with thematically-fitting stock art. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for you convenience.

Eric Morton's raven clan uses the same framework as the installment on raptors, with some minor modifications - this is at once a blessing and a curse - since the raptor-installment was good, this one necessarily isn't bad either. Internal consistency is also maintained, which is nice indeed. At the same time, though, the execution feels less distinct this time around - the subtypes are not that different when compared to the raptors and the clans could have, quite frankly, used more distinction from one another. The glitch with the songbird clan is annoying and I don't get the baffling decision to make racial traits that already exist into feats, imho without a significant need to do so. While the fluff is great as always, the content herein does feel less varied than that provided in the raptor clan's pdf and personally, kind of underwhelmed me in direct comparison. At the same time, I do like several minor tidbits, like Con-bonuses becoming Cha upon turning undead etc.

Still, I consider this one slightly less refined and, of course, the issues of low level unassisted flight remain. My final verdict will hence clock in at 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for the purpose of this platform.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Animal Races: Clan of the Raven
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Animal Races: Clan of the Raptor
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 08/17/2015 02:49:23

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Animal Races-series clocks in at 13 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 8 pages of content, so let's take a look!

We begin this installment of the Animal Races-series with a compelling piece of prose describing one of the ritualistic dances the members of the Raptor Clan perform before diving right into the usual physical appearance, age, height and weight tables etc. Members of the Raptor Clans are humanoid with the shapechanger and Garuda-subtype and may be either medium (+2 Dex , -2 Str) or Small (same attributes + size bonuses), regular base speed (30 ft. medium, 20 ft. small), low-light vision, a primary bite attack at 1d4 (1d3 for small raptors) and natural AC +1, scaling up to +2 at 1oth level. Additionally, members of the raptor-clan can assume the form of a bird of your size as a supernatural polymorph effect. This eliminates all but appropriate natural attacks and can be maintained 1 minute per character level. Changing shape is a standard action and does not provoke AoOs. Now, as you all know: Unassisted flight at 1st level is usually a big no-go for me (and a bunch of DMs out there), mainly due to modules usually not being written for this kind of power. That being said, the daily cap as such renders this a more viable option here and over all, I'm inclined to allow it in my less low-powered games.

As always, there are further customizations for the clan presented, subtypes, if you will. This time around, we have a selection of 4 subtypes: Eagle Clan members get +2 to Cha and treat all instances of lawful good in the paladin's class description as "chaotic good" - they may also select the heritage feat as a mercy. I get what this tries to do - make chaotic good paladins. Alas, if it were that simple, there wouldn't be so many different takes on the trope. Let's begin with detects, smites etc. - shouldn't e.g. smite apply to lawful evil instead? The concept is certainly not new and I get its appeal, but that does NOT work via a one-word substitution. Ideology, code of conduct etc. - a LOT changes and quite frankly, I believe that these humble, well-intentioned lines open a HUGE can of worms of issues for any GM who thinks that's all there is to the concept of a non-LG paladin. Highly problematic.

Hawks get +2 Wis and may select the heritage feat in lieu of an inquisitor's teamwork feat - but not retrain/change it. Nice mechanical pitfall avoided there! Owl clan members also get +2 Wis and may use Wis instead of Cha as governing attribute for oracle class abilities as well as take the heritage feat instead of a revelation. This is a teeny tiny bit stronger than the default since Wis governs Will, but I can live with it; concept-wise it makes sense to me. They also have their own Heritage feat.

Finally, vultures get +2 to Int and +4 to saves versus diseases, but reduce their fly speed granted by their bird shape by 10 feet. They also have their own heritage feat, which can be taken in lieu of hexes.

The racial heritage feats allow the respective raptors to increase their bite attacks to 1d6 (1d4 if small), gain scent (only vultures), +20 ft. fly speed, two primary natural weapons, talons, at 1d4 (1d3 for small raptors). Owls can also select to be treated as having concealment when flying, even when faced with creatures who have darkvision/low-light vision, provided the lighting is appropriately dim/dark. The traits available for all three also sport avid shapechanger, which increases the duration of the alternate shape to an hour per character level each time and makes the ability usable 3/day. Personally, I think this ought to be available later - the unassisted flight at low levels is strong enough; taking the limits away to this extent is imho too soon and should be relegated to the lower mid-levels. This holds true for all subtypes of raptors.

The subtypes vary in which additional racial traits are unlocked: While all may select the true shapechanger that makes the shapechanges at-will and unlimited, owls and raptors, for example, can take raptor's dive: Deal double damage on a charge if you began it at least 10 feet above your foe. Vultures may not select the flight-enhancers, but instead can select scavenger, which renders immune to all ingested poisons...and ingested diseases. While usually, diseases are not classified as ingested, inhaled, etc., I actually like this deviation since it provides more clarity than the default. Apart from avid shapechanger being available too soon, I have nothing to complain here.

As always in this series, pure crunch mechanics is not all we get - instead, we are introduced to the genealogy of the raptor clans and their stance on several established monsters and creatures, firmly anchoring the clan in the lore of a given world - while I usually remain pretty silent regarding these sections, I felt a need to emphasize for once that they are an integral part of making the race feel concise.

The deity presented would be a CN take on Horus, which feels a bit odd since Horus is usually depicted as pretty much an epitome of LG or LN virtues, but all right. As always with the series, we are introduced to the heraldry of the clans, which also double as race traits that go a bit beyond what one could get from regular traits - but at the cost of a minor drawback. No complaints here!

Now here is where this pdf pulls out all the big guns, as it provides an array of immensely flavorful ritual dances - beyond being simple, yet awesomely flavorful cultural tidbits, they also double as a kind of unique, complex skill challenge that render the culture and interaction with the raptors so much cooler - I LOVE this section and, to me, it made the final section of this book so much more compelling. I really hope we'll see more of the like!

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to the series' elegant, printer-friendly two-column b/w-standard with thematically-fitting stock art. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for you convenience.

Eric Morton's raptors are a significantly more fun array of races of races than I expected - the base race is more diverse and better balanced than I anticipated and the decision to make flight limited is a good one. That being said, I think the expansion of the alternate shape's duration should be delayed to a higher level to maintain the unassisted flight-cap implicit in the rules. On the other nitpicky side, the CG paladin concept obviously does not work as suggested - AT ALL - so be aware of that. On the plus-side, the culture and the dances make the clans herein rank among the most unique and compelling in the whole series - which somewhat offsets these minor concerns. Hence, my final verdict will clock in at 4 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Animal Races: Clan of the Raptor
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Animal Races: Clan of the Rabbit
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 08/11/2015 03:22:50

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Animal Races-series clocks in at 13 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 8 pages of content, so let's take a look!

The generally peaceful members of Clan rabbit are therians - generally disorganized and benevolent ones, but yeah. Like some other clans, rabbits may elect to be either medium (+2 Dex, -2 Str) or small (same attributes, but size modifications included), gain the ratfolk subtype, low-light vision, scent, +1 natural armor (which scales up to +2 at 10th level) and a primary slam attack at 1d4 (1d3 for small rabbits). They may choose from 4 racial heritages: Jackrabbits get +2 to Wis and may choose Rabbit Clan Heritage as a monk bonus feat. Moongazing Hares get the same benefits, but may instead select the racial heritage feat as a bonus feat granted by the crusader cleric archetype. Pika Bandits get +2 to Int and may select the racial heritage feat as a rogue talent. Finally, members of the Rabbit Clan get +2 Cha and may choose the racial heritage feat as a rogue talent.

As always, the clan's racial heritage feat can be taken multiple times, unlocking new racial traits, with the one ability that requires the previous ones being hard to catch. The traits let you withdraw in a crooked line via Acrobatics - which is pretty nice, though no DC for the Acrobatics-check is given. I assume the DC that would be applicable for moving through threatened squares, but I'm not sure. RAW, ANY Acrobatics-check suffices, which is odd to me. Increased movement and +1/2 HD jumping (plus always counting as having a running start) can also be taken. The aforementioned hard to catch ability grants you the Liberation domain's 1st level domain power for character level rounds per day. Solid.

Beyond the racial bonus feat, we also get Bounding Charge, which lets you change direction when charging by making an Acrobatics-check - once again, without specifying the DC of the Acrobatics-check required.

Regarding the racial deity, we receive a take on trope of the bunny god in the moon, which should bring a smile to the faces of anyone remotely versed in Asian mythology. As always, the level of rooting the race in the world by linking it to established creatures is commendable and, once again, we receive the trademark cool heraldry-traits. These would be race traits that are linked to the respective crests - with rather significant benefits for traits, but also drawbacks where applicable - gain Skill Focus (Stealth) for -1 to all Ref-saves, for example.

As additional content and as a means of tying the race to the other animal races, we are also introduced to a kind-of pantheon/philosophy as a secondary deity/cleric-option with the Zodiac Council. The details provided here are a joy to read and they tie in nicely with the eastern zodiac we know from our real life mythology.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to the series' elegant, printer-friendly two-column b/w-standard with thematically-fitting stock art. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for you convenience.

Eric Morton's rabbit-clan is pretty interesting - mechanically, there is not much to complain besides the Acrobatics-hiccups I mentioned before and power-level wise, I also have no concerns. Still, when compared to e.g. the frogs, the rabbits feel a bit less diverse. They still are inspired and I consider the zodiac/astrology-theme cool, but at the same time, I would have enjoyed something playing against the stereotype in addition. Perhaps it's just the rampant Sam and Max-fanboy in me, but I would have loved a carefree, cheerful psycho-bunny clan that is resilient and or just nasty. I'm aware that this is my own opinion, though, and thus, this will not have an impact on my verdict of the book. Ultimately, the clan of the rabbit offers a solid installment of the series, though one that falls behind in creativity regarding some previous ones. In combination with the missing Acrobatics-DCs/notes which type of Acrobatics-check is required, we have a good, but not perfect book. My final verdict will hence clock in at 4 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Animal Races: Clan of the Rabbit
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Animal Races: Clan of the Frog
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 08/07/2015 02:50:00

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Animal Races-series clocks in at 15 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 10 pages of content, so let's take a look!

The frog (and newt)-clans presented in this installment as the most civilized of boggards, once again, are presented in the trademark level of detail and believability one expects from Eric Morton's writing at this point. The supplement does cover both the intriguing psychology with distinct differentiations in aptitude and calling between parents and offspring and the resulting deviations of social structures from the default create a society familiar, yet alien.

Racial trait-wise, members of the frog-clan are either medium (+2 Dex, -2 Str) or small (+2 Dex, -2 Str), have the boggard subtype, low-light vision, normal speed of 30 ft. or 20 ft. respectively, scent (5 ft., scaling up to 30 ft. at 6th level), natural armor +1 (scaling up to +2 at 10th level) and it gets a sticky tongue that provides a penalty to AC and a movement limitation to those hit with it. The tongue can only be removed by an opposed strength check analogue to the boggard's ability. A total of 4 Frog Clan variants are provided. Bull Frogs get +2 Str and can select Frog Clan Heritage as a combat feat. Frog Clan members get +2 Int and can choose the Frog Clan Heritage as an alchemist's discovery, while Toad Clan members get the same modification, but may choose the feat in lieu of a hex instead. Tree Frog Clan members must be small, but gain +2 to Wis and the grippli subtype in addition to the boggard subtype, also gaining the Tree Frog heritage feat -which they may choose as a ranger's combat style feat.

Newt Clan base racial traits are identical with those of the frog clan, except that they gain a primary bite attack at 1d4/1d3 instead of the tongue. The Newt Clan members get +2 to Int and may select Salamander Heritage as a witch's hex, while Salamander clan members also get +2 to Int and may choose Salamander Heritage as an alchemist's discovery.

Now as to the racial heritage feats, Frog Clan offers hold breath or swamp stride, adding leap and terrifying croak thereafter. Tree Frogs can get camouflage, climb or swamp stride, adding glider, leap and toxic skin to the fray . Salamander's hold breath, flame resistance and swamp stride complement these options. The pdf also provides a feat that hearkens to the race's proclivities to strange science - Test Subject, allows you to learn a discovery that modifies physiology or body chemistry.

The pdf also provides 6 different alchemist discoveries, one of which nets a natural attack adamantine properties, which is imho a tad bit too soon at level 6. Infusing metal into natural attacks, gills; +4 to Intimidate at the cost of -4 to Disguise and an internal cavity (to store items in) as well as minor DR/piercing + slashing - apart from the adamantine issue being slightly too early in my book, a solid array.

The goddess of the new moon and alchemy and the genealogy as well as the interactions with the diverse mythologies of the clans once again provide compelling intersections with established creatures, thus rooting these clans in the respective cosmology and ecology. As always, we are also introduced to heraldic crests, though this time around, they are assigned to the symbols for alchemical substances, with partial negation of attribute-drain/damage providing interesting options.

This pdf does go beyond that with a second "deity" (or rather, cult), the Templar Cult, an evil organization devoted to literally worshiping technology - and yes, the pdf also sports 5 new technological items, from circuit threading to ray guns - nice ones! The pdf also provides a new cleric domain with Technology Guide-synergy.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to the series' elegant, printer-friendly two-column b/w-standard with thematically-fitting stock art. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for you convenience.

Eric Morton's frog and newt clans are interesting and compelling and over all, there is nothing truly wrong with any of the pieces herein: I really enjoy many of the options provided herein. That beings aid, some of the small balance-screws, while not loose, imho could have used some slight additional finetuning - the adamantine discovery is a tad bit too soon in my book. Still, this constitutes a truly fun addition to the series and ranks among the more unique and culturally distinct files in it. Hence, my final verdict will clock in at 5 stars + seal of approval.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Animal Races: Clan of the Frog
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Animal Races: Clan of the Pig
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 07/20/2015 06:42:29

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Animal Races-series clocks in at 11 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 6 pages of content, so let's take a look!

The members of the pig clan may be medium (+2 Cha, -2 Dex) or small (+2 Cha, -2 Str) and have the orc subtype, normal speed (30 feet if medium, 20 feet if small), low-light vision, scent, natural armor +1 (scaling up to +2 at 10th level), a primary natural bite at 1d4 (1d3 for small pigs) and an array of 5 different racial heritages. Boar Clan nets +2 to Con and allows for Porcine Heritage to be selected as a rage power. Hippo Clan members get +2 Str and may select the Water Pig feat as a rage power. Orca Clan members get +2 to Str and may substitute a druid's domain or animal companion to get Water Pig as a bonus feat at 1st, 2nd and every 4 levels thereafter. The Pig Clan gets +2 Dex and may choose Porcine Heritage as a rogue talent. Warthog Clan members get +2 to Con and may select Hell pig or Porcine Heritage as if they were hexes. As always, we get age, height and weight tables.

So what do these racial heritage feats unlock as racial abilities? As always in the series, the feats can be taken multiple times, with certain amounts of feats taken unlocking better abilities. Porcine Heritage lets you substitute the bite with a better gore or increase your movement by +10 feet, thereafter first unlocking damage die upgrade for the gore and then, finally, ferocity. Water Pig also sports a bite upgrade in dice-step, aforementioned fast movement and also features 20 ft. swim speed and hold breath. Once you have taken these, two further +10 ft. swim speed enhancements, bite upgrade to gore level regarding damage dice and blindsense in water become available.

Here, a peculiarity should be mentioned in case the subtype was not ample cue - this pdf is very much aware of the history of the orcs and as such, the following feats all are available for any creature with the Orc or half-orc subtype. The first would be the Hell Pig, which codifies the tiefling racial traits darkvision 60 ft., fiendish sorcery and skilled in a similar way as the above heritage feats; if you have them, you can instead choose fiendish resistance and the SPs of tieflings. The Hell Rune feat nets a witch the infernal domain's bloodline spells as additional patron spells at the spell level of the sorceror and the Impressive Girth feat treats you as +1 size for the purpose of combat maneuvers and other size-dependent effects, though it locks you at max weight for your race AND provides a concise mechanic for the weight gain - this one covers all bases. Neat!

Now as always, the pdf also does provide some extensive take on genealogy and the way in which mythology and other creatures are perceived in the context of a world that contains them as well as a deity-write-up, this time detailing a truly despicable CE being devoted to avarice, gluttony and similar nice concepts. Also in tradition of the series, we receive an array of heraldic crests that double as traits for the diverse members of the pig clan, with bonus feats granted and balanced against drawbacks appropriate for the power-level of the respective feats. It should also be noted that one of these traits does postpone the feat it grants to 6th level - but then again, it's Disruptive and does not require meeting the prereqs, so eating -1 to will saves may still not be a bad idea.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to the series' elegant, printer-friendly two-column b/w-standard with thematically-fitting stock art. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for you convenience.

Eric Morton's pig clan is great - if you remember orcs having snouts and tusks, this is a trip down memory lane. If not, you'll still get one of the best installments in the great series: Balanced, deadly and versatile, this pdf provides a superb example for Mr. Morton's ability to provide very concise writing that oozes flair. My final verdict will clock in at 5 stars + seal of approval.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Animal Races: Clan of the Pig
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Animal Races: Clan of the Turtle
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 07/17/2015 03:13:00

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Animal Races-series clocks in at 11 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 6 pages of content, so let's take a look!

Not one to shirk obvious and established tropes, the clan of the turtle, as defined herein, is a surprisingly lawful cadre of individuals that have taken to sewers and shadows, providing shelter for the downtrodden and hunted, as an aptly-written piece of introductory prose establishes. Members of the clan of the turtle may be either medium (+2 Con, -2 Dex) or small ( +2 Con, -2 Str), are reptilians with the slow and steady quality, low-light vision and scent, +1 natural armor that increases to +2 at 10th level, a primary natural bite attack at 1d4 if medium, 1d3 if small. The race also has some truly unique benefits: For one, they may ignore the prerequisites of the Stalwart Defender-prestige class, choosing it as starting class. The turtle shell acts as a masterwork scale mail that cannot be removed - even if destroyed, it only is reduced to 1 hp and gains the broken condition. It does heal with you and you can sleep in it. Additionally, it can be enchanted as per the normal rules. Note that armor bonuses stack with all bonuses except armor bonuses, so yes, you can upgrade this, should you choose to, though the armor check penalty (-4) and the 25% arcane spell failure chance severely limit the draw of turtles for certain classes.

A total of 4 racial heritages can be chosen: Terrapin get +2 to Wis and may select Turtle Clan Mariner as a stalwart defender's defensive power. Members of the tortoise clan also get this attribute modification and trait, but may instead select Turtle Clan Heritage. Turtles are stat-wise identical to tortoises. Finally, Turtle Mutants get +2 to Dex and may select Turtle Clan Mutant as a ninja trick. What do these feats do? Well, the three feats mentioned provide access to an array of different racial abilities, gaining an upgrade to the available selection when the low level abilities have been gained. The regular Turtle Clan Heritage allows for increased shell hardness and upgrade to masterwork breastplate for the shell and bite damage-size-increase (to 1d6/14, respectively), with high level increasing natural armor. Turtle Clan Mariners also increase bite damage and breastplate shell upgrade, but may also choose swim speed 20 ft., with higher levels providing faster swimming and the natural armor upgrade. Finally, Turtle Clan Mutants can increase their land speed by +10 ft., improve their bite and the upgrades allow you to treat the shell as mithral and not impede monk et al. abilities like evasion etc. The high-level ability of the feat is the natural armor increase once again. There also is a feat that nets you +1 defensive power.

As with the other animal races, this pdf does provide pretty extensive information on folklore and mythology of the clan, covering interaction with dragon turtles, redcaps, kappas - whatever you desire, thus providing an interesting perspective and anchoring the clan within the frame of a campaign - this extends to a genealogy that makes surprising sense to me and thus maintains the tradition of the series providing a concise, smart racial presentation. The deity provided herein may be a surprising choice - The lawful evil Dark Warrior of the North, a warrior who sacrificed all in his quest for immortality, even his name.

Now one of my favorites in the series would be how it handles traits -instead of providing racial traits that exist in a vacuum, heraldic crests double as traits for the race, though the interesting point here would be the bonuses granted - when chosen as the first trait, some of these do provide bonus feats, though at the cost of a slight drawback: Combat reflexes as a bonus feat is strong, yes, but -2 to initiative is nasty. The interesting thing here would be that weaker traits are also properly balanced against drawbacks or lack thereof.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to the series' elegant, printer-friendly two-column b/w-standard with thematically-fitting stock art. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for you convenience.

Eric Morton's turtles had their work cut out for them - how easy it would have been to only make this a retreading of TMNT-tropes.... Thankfully, while present, that's not the way he chose to handle the material, instead weaving a tapestry of surprising variety and density. As always in the series, his talent for intelligent, concise writing manages to get a LOT of material into this short pdf. I also very much enjoy how this pdf provides a unique mechanic that makes the stalwart defender a more valid choice. That being said, at the same time, this focus means that members of the turtle clan SUCK at being arcane casters and with ACP, they also aren't particularly good rogues and ninjas - there is no means for the race to offset the penalties incurred by the shell's armor emulation, which somewhat limits the appeal of the race regarding its classes. I still very much enjoyed this pdf and it does several interesting things and sports a concise and smart prose - hence, my final verdict will clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded down to 4 for the purpose of this platform.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Animal Races: Clan of the Turtle
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