Michael Mars has a knack for Pathfinder 1E conversions, and this short publication proves to be no exception. The Shoony are a great concept, and Mr. Mars back-converts them wonderfully from the original 2E source material with style. I instantly slotted them into my 1E campaign with ease. I hope we get more 1E material from Mars in the future -- whether more 2E conversions or original works; he certainly has a gift for it that sadly seems to be in short supply right now.

Let me begin by saying: I hope you take this review as constructive, because while I will be pointing out a few problems, it's because I hope they can be addressed in updates and for the finalized printed product.

First off, this does a great job taking aspects of Fartherall, as seen in The Gamers and Journeyquest, and giving them all D&D mechanics. It's also great that some of the profits are going to support those series. As a longtime fan, I'm impressed by all the effort and thought that went into this. It's clear that a lot of work went into it, drawing from the material shown on screen as well as the published material that expands on the world.

With that said, it really could have used another set of eyes, because just perusing it I found several issues that I hope can be addressed before the physical copies get printed.

And I completely understand that there were a lot of difficulties along the way, including a Pathfinder-to-5e converter just disappearing on you. So none of what I'm about to say is meant to say "this book is bad and you should feel bad," just pointing out some things I caught while looking through it, because hey, these things happen and I hope this feedback can be of help.

• Right off the bat, there's a typo where it should say "Welcome to Fartherall." It says "Welcome to Fatherall" instead.
• The backgrounds as written don't match up with how 5e backgrounds work. D&D backgrounds are supposed to give two skill proficiencies, a tool or language proficiency, a background feature, and some starting gear. These ones either give one to two skills OR a mechanical trait and the starting gear, which makes them objectively weaker than existing backgrounds by virtue of what they lack. With that said, I do like how several backgrounds are race-dependant, creating more of a connection to the cultures and societies they come from.
• Is the new class Alchemical Hybrid or Alchemical Demon? Because first the book refers to it as hybrid, then demon.
• The Knight of Melancholy paladin refers to features, like an alignment aura, that exist for Pathfinder paladins and older editions, but aren't a thing in D&D 5e.
• The concept of follower feats for deities is really neat, and I like it in theory. I'd just recommend giving the feats actual names instead of "First evangelist boon" so it's easier to mark them down on character sheets and recognize what they do. (But that's pretty minor overall.)
• There are references to weapons that don't exist in 5th edition. For instance, the Sword of Ogre Decapitation is a bastard sword, which is just a type of longsword in 5e. Similarly, falchions are mentioned, but they're not specific weapons in 5e either.
• Two Moon Elf requires having a score of 18 in an ability at level 1, which is impossible for anyone using point buy or standard array for stats, since those would cap out at 17 at the very most
• Each of the races gives a +2 to two different stats, whereas 5e typically gives +2 to one stat and +1 to another. That's in addition to the Fartherall races just generally having a lot more racial traits than 5e races tend to get, even if it's average for Pathfinder.
• I don't mind too much that there are a few races in here that are just different takes on ones that exist in the D&D player's handbook; they can be viewed as Fartherall-specific variants of the usual versions. But I'd suggest comparing them to their existing versions for balance; for instance, the Fartherall gnomes have a slower walking speed (20 ft vs 25 ft) but a WHOLE lot more abilities.
• Dark Half-Elves have an incomplete section. Under "Seducer," it says "You also can cast the charm" and then ends right there.
• Occasionally it'll refer to saves that don't exist in D&D 5e, like Will Save instead of Wisdom Save.
• Just for the sake of organization, the list of spells under the certain keys should probably be a bullet list instead of just listing them out separated by commas. Easier to read and search that way.
• Conjure Milk is missing the rest of its "At Higher Levels" text.

And that's just from a quick skim through. I think this could really benefit from another once-over from an editor who's experienced with the mechanics of D&D 5th edition, because you don't want this to go to the printer as it is. Still, I'm looking forward to bringing more of the Fartherall flavor to my campaigns, and if these issues can be fixed, I'll be beyond happy to change my review to 5 stars.

Again, while I am pointing out a lot of issues, it's not out of spite or to shoot this down. I truly hope that this feedback is helpful, because I want to see this book succeed, and I completely understand that circumstances beyond your control made things like conversion from Pathfinder to D&D more complicated than they needed to be.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This pdf clocks in at 7 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 4 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

Shoony get +2 Dexterity and Charisma, -2 Constitution, 2 HP, are Small and have a speed of 30 ft. and low-light vision. EDIT: The bonus types have now been codified properly. They get a +2 racial bonus to saving throws against inhaled threats such as gasses, stench, etc. courtesy of their short snout, and they get a +2 racial bonus to Acrobatics checks to move through threatened squares. They also get +2 to Diplomacy and Bluff, and may change attitude by up to 3 steps, and get a +2 racial bonus to Survival checks. Shoony get Practiced Improvisation as a bonus feat. Personally, I'd have enjoyed a tighter version here, but they work as written.

The flavor information has been properly adjusted, including notes on homeworld, playing a shoony, etc. Alternate adjustments include +2 Intelligence and Charisma, -2 Constitution; -2 Charisma and +2 Constitution and Dexterity; and -2 Charisma, +4 Strength.

The alternate racial traits from the PFRPG version have been modified; you can still exchange the snout and the feat (Practices Improvisation) for scent. Snout and feat may now also be exchanged for claws (with damage type codified properly and the usual level 3 specialization) The social boosts can be exchanged for +2 Bluff and Intimidate (type missing). The feat may also be exchanged for a 1/day reaction that lets an ally within 10 ft. roll a save twice and take the better result. The ability to walk through swampy natural terrain is even more circumstantial in SFRPG and doesn’t make for a good exchange. The social skill boost and Survival bonus can be exchanged for skilled, and as before, the Survival bonus can be exchanged for cold resistance 5.

The feat-section has been expanded: Sodbuster still nets 10 ft. burrow speed; Practiced Paddler nets ½ land speed swim speed, but only for one shoony sub-species. Practiced Improvisation makes clubs and improvised weapons no longer count as archaic. Imperial Combat Training makes natural attacks count as unarmed, and you may use them sans using hands, including combat maneuvers, even if hampered in some ways. Catch Off-Guard adds Weapon Specialization bonus damage, if any, to attacks with improvised weapons, and unarmed opponents are flat-footed against attacks you make with improvised melee weapons; also eliminates the atk penalty.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good on a formal level, good on a rules-language level. One alternate racial trait is still missing the bonus type, but that's a minor hiccup. Artwork employed is a selection of neat, comic-style pug artworks, and the pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length. The pdf comes in three versions: One regular-sized one, one with a smaller file-size for mobile devices, and one printer-friendly iteration. KUDOS!

Glen Parnell’s conversion of Michael Mars Russell’s shoony species is solid, but pretty unexciting; quite a few components have just been copied. Now, I get it: SFRPG doesn’t have the same design space for races as PFRPG, but more than some alternate adjustments would have been nice. Similarly, the lack of a subtype graft for the species did disappoint me a bit.

All in all, this is an okay conversion; it’s not exactly spectacular and is less meaty than the PFRPG-iteration, but for a buck, it’s worth checking out for pug enthusiasts. My final verdict will be 3.5 stars, rounded up due to the very low price.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This pdf clocks in at 6 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 3 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

Okay, so we get the usual information regarding society etc. for the shoony, including notes on interesting aspects such as an inability to sweat; rules-wise, shoony get +2 Dexterity and Charisma, -2 Constitution, are Small and have a speed of 30 ft. EDIT: Minor syntax glitch in the pdf was fixed. They get a +2 racial bonus to saving throws against inhaled threats such as gasses, stench, etc. courtesy of their short snout, and they get a +2 racial bonus to Acrobatics checks to move through threatened squares. EDIT: Bonus now properly typed. They also get +2 to Diplomacy and Bluff, and may shift creature attitude by up to 3 steps, and get a +2 racial bonus to Survival checks. EDIT: Bonuses now properly typed. Shoony get Catch Off-Guard as a bonus feat and have low-light vision.

Catch Off-Guard and the snout may be exchanged for scent; the acrobatics bonus can be exchanged for ignoring natural difficult terrain in swamps; these paddler shoonies can also take one of the racial feats to gain a 20 ft. swim speed. The Survival bonus can be exchanged for cold resistance 5.

The pdf comes with a TON of different favored class options, which include the ACG and occult classes and the vigilante; these are generally interesting, and e.g. barbarians increasing armor bonus of hide and bone armors? That got a chuckle out of me. Neat! I was also fond of the rogue option to reduce non-proficiency penalty, gaining even proficiency when the penalty is reduced to 0.

Beyond the racial feat I already mentioned, there are two more: Small but Vicious nets a 1d3 natural bite attack. I know that’s not always consistently listed by Paizo. The author still took the extra mile and spelled out damage type. Thank you! Sodbuster requires 5th level, and nets a burrowing speed of 10 ft.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are very good on a formal level, and now also on a rules-language level. Artwork employed is a selection of neat, comic-style pug artworks, and the pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length. The pdf comes in three versions: One regular-sized one, one with a smaller file-size for mobile devices, and one printer-friendly iteration. KUDOS!

Michael Mars Russell delivers a charming little playable race; the shoony are well-made, and while the pdf is pretty basic in what it covers (no race traits, no racial archetypes), it also costs a grand total of one buck. And for one buck you get a solid, well-wrought race. The fixes for the minor glitches elevate this to a straight 4-star file.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This is the review of the revised version – kudos to the author for fixing some snafus!

This pdf clocks in at 5 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 2 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

Okay, so comeback traits are traits for people who hate failing; as the author explains, they are named after Strong Comeback and the pdf acknowledges the existence of exemplar comeback traits, with one provided. It should be noted that exemplar traits occupy both trait slots, but eliminates the usual 1 trait per category restriction that traits are subjected to. The exemplar trait provided for comeback traits would be Certain About One Thing lets you 1/day instead of rolling an atk, save or skill check take 10. You may do this an additional time for every 2 other comeback traits you have.

The other traits do not have this issue, though: A Little More Left in the Tank has been properly rebalanced and revised, and is now a neat kineticist option.

Accidental Flourish lets you 1/day when you roll a natural 1 on an attack and miss by 10 or mor reroll the attack. Solid. Duck and Weave is the same design-paradigm, but for saving throws. Not Nearly As Incompetent As I Look would be the skill check version, but its failure condition is 1 or failing a skill check by 10 or more.

Grazing Strike lets you 1/day ignore a natural 1 attack roll when the attack would otherwise hit, and deal minimum damage instead. Just Breathe On it is a bit weird: Whenever you reduce an enemy to 0 or less hp in melee and do not kill them, they drop unconscious. Okay, that usually happens? What if the target has Diehard? Ferocity? This one still isn’t operational as written.

Conditional Success helps you negate natural 20s of enemies when they negate non-damaging spells or abilities, having them suffer the effect until the start of their next turn; usable 1/day. Really like it! Forceful Spells is one that I really didn’t like, but not due to design concerns, but simply because I can’t wrap my head around how this trait’s effects manifest within the logic of the game world: when you cast a damaging spell, if all targets avoid taking damage, one target instead takes force damage equal to the spell’s level. I get the design intent: Reliable, minor damage as a consolation; I just don’t see the logic within the magic system in the world. Your mileage may vary for this one, though.

That Should Not Have Hit lets you 1/day when an enemy rolls a natural 20 that would otherwise not have hit instead take minimum damage. I REALLY like this aesthetically, and it now also has a caveat that covers effects like e.g. vorpal weaponry and similar effects that trigger on a 20. Kudos for cleaning that up!

Frenzied Defense nets you a +2 trait bonus to AC and saves when you miss with all attacks in a full attack, but only against the targets of your full attack. Can see that. Saving Grace lets you 1/day if you roll a natural 1 on a save, but otherwise pass, ignore the failure. On Second Thought lets you retry recall information checks as a move action within 1 round of the first attempt. Nice. Once More With Feeling can be very powerful, but also extremely rewarding: A 1/day ability that fails to have an effect may be regained by becoming fatigued. I love this, particularly since the rules have been cleaned up further, now accounting for immunity to fatigue, etc.. Kudos!

Maximized Minimum lets you 1/day treat all rolled damage dice 1s as 2s. Rub Some Dirt In It is the healing version for channel/lay on hands. Solid. Pooled resources ties in all those pool abilities: When you spend 2 points on an ability and it has no effect, you are refunded one point. Nice. Rain of Arrows lets you reroll a ranged attack you missed against an enemy adjacent to an ally, with an equal chance of hitting each creature adjacent to the original target. Odd on a design level: This requires the permission of every ally adjacent to the enemy, which makes no sense in-game. I get it: It’s to prevent inner-party strife, but that sort of thing should not require rules. Heck, any halfway competent party can work with that. Perhaps I’m too hardcore there. Not a complaint, mind you.

Saving Magic nets you a spell’s level as temporary hit points when you cast a non-damaging spell and all targets negate the effect; nice: temporary hit points have a duration and the proper non-stack caveat. Slow and Steady Wins the Race is interesting: It nets you a +4 trait bonus to initiative, but only if you ROLLED lower than all enemies. Note the emphasis here, as the result is not what counts. Interesting, and due to its unconventional rules, not something one can cheese.
Training Trumps Luck, finally, lets you 1/day when an enemy rolls a natural 20 to avoid the effects of a damaging spell or ability that would not normally suffice, ignore that and instead deal minimum damage.

Finally, there is a new feat, Comeback Kid, which makes a 1/day ability of a comeback trait usable 3/day instead. The interaction with the exemplar trait is noted properly.

Conclusion: The editing and formatting, particularly on a rules-language level, has improved significantly: Kudos! Layout adheres to a no-frills two-column standard with some solid b/w-artwork familiar to fans of Frog God Games. The pdf has no bookmarks and needs none at its length, but much to my pleasant surprise, it comes in three versions: One for the PC, one for devices where HD-space is more important (smaller file-size) and one that is printer-friendly, omitting colors and artwork: NICE!

Michael Mars Russell delivers a rather intriguing array of traits here; traits are a difficult design space: One doesn’t have much room to maneuver in, and it’s easy to either be boring, redundant, or too strong; now, for the most part, this pdf does a solid job at presenting pretty open traits with a unified theme that I very much enjoy; the revised iteration has gotten rid of the majority of wonky bits, leaving only one instance where the functionality of a trait isn’t given. The pdf is inexpensive, though, and this is the author’s freshman offering (apart from conversion work, which is a different beast); that does grant this a bit of leeway. The revised edition is a significant improvement in almost every way, which means that the final verdict will be upgraded to 4.5 stars, rounded up in spite of the one remaining minor hiccup.

Endzeitgeist out.

Literally the most amazing class I HAVE EVER BOUGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's gorgeous! So well thought out!!! And the Alternate Racial Traits are amazing!!! 10/10 DO RECOMMEND!!!!