The 4th book in the series is a nice continuation of the Stonehewn Legacy adventure path. You learn more about the setting and its villainous forces. The book follows the usual structure of a Pathfinder adventure path, as well as bringing new content to your table with a new archetype for the Stoneforged class in the form of the Cairnforged. Overall a very nice adventure path!

You can see the full review here: https://ko-fi.com/post/TTRPG-Review--Lands-of-Theia--The-Stonehewn-Lega-M4M5Y3B7H

a solid excellent buy that will definitely enhance your game

This isn't the review that I wanted to write for this product. I'm a big fan of Samurai Sheepdog's products in general, and their Mystical: Kingdom of Monsters series in particular. So naturally, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw an "S-Class" upgrade for that supplement's monster trainer class. And for the most part I was very pleased with what was presented...with one MAJOR caveat, which is the reason this review only has 3/5 stars. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Insofar as the S-Class iteration of the monster trainer class itself goes, what's here does an excellent job of improving on the original design. S-Class MT's not only get shield proficiency (not including tower shields) but also better weapon proficiencies as well, being able to use all martial weapons. More substantively, an S-Class MT gets an improved favored enemy progression compared to their original version, along with greater variability in what the "monster growth" special ability can do (along with closing what I suspect was an unintentional limitation with how the original version only applied to captive monsters, and so excluded monsters you'd received via trading or which surrendered voluntarily). There's also some slight clarification on the empathy ability, but the real meat of these upgrades comes from two things: the first is that the S-Class MT gains perks much faster. Whereas the original MT gained one at 4th level and every four levels thereafter (with the final on at 19th, rather than 20th, level), its S-Class counterpart gains its first perk at 3rd level, and every odd-numbered level thereafter. That's almost double the standard number of perks, which is a major (and majorly welcome) boost! The second upgrade is a new ability, called "trainer's edge." More about versatility than power, this lets you get a free skill unlock at 6th and 11th level, based on one skill that a monster of yours has. It's a very welcome addition for adding flavor to the class, as well as indicating the trainer's increased bond with their most favored monsters. Major kudos to Samurai Sheepdog for going for breadth rather than pure power creep here. There are also a (relatively small) selection of potential perks listed, and while most of these are ones that you'll also find in Mystical: Kingdom of Monsters Anniversary Edition, there are four new perks (three standard, and one master perk) based around a new idea: monster fusion. Now, some Googling suggests that this is a Palworld nod, and I think it's awesome that Samurai Sheepdog is taking inspiration from there. The actual fusion rules themselves seem solid, being a relatively quick and easy way to fold a second monster's stats into the first, with subsequent abilities serving to enhance these combinations...all the way up to a permanent fusion being the master perk. One thing that should be mentioned is that, even if you're not a fan of the S-Class iteration of the MT, these perks are technically separate from it. That is to say, there's no reason you can't have a standard MT take the fusion perks if you'd prefer to stick to the more modestly-powered version of the class but still like the idea of mixing your monsters. A minor but not unimportant bit of versatility there, which is something that counts for a lot in my book: developers who give their customers more to work with are the ones who reliably get my money, because they go the extra mile. Which is why the new monsters presented here made me so incredibly sad. To be absolutely clear, it's this next section, which gives us five new monsters (themselves presented as examples of permanently-fused monsters which have now become "standard" creatures that trainers can capture), which is the reason why I rated this product 3/5 stars. More specifically, I gave this such a middling rating because these monsters are written and presented using the "simple monster creation" rules from Pathfinder Unchained. Now, if you're not familiar with those, I don't blame you. My group tends to use Pathfinder Unchained only for its "unchained" classes and its Combat Stamina feat. Everything else is sort of glazed over; I had to go back and re-familiarize myself with the simple monster creation rules, since I'm sure I hadn't looked them over since I first bought the book. The gist of these rules involves eschewing normal monster creation guidelines in favor of a series of abbreviated steps, which let you (relatively) quickly create a new monster for your game...but which result in leaving out some information which is judged to be extraneous. In their own words, these rules "cuts some corners" to give you most, but not all, of a monster's stat block (albeit with some limited guidelines for what to do if you find yourself needing a missing part). All of which is to say, the simple monster creation rules are most likely a godsend for designers writing up new monsters...but that makes it easier for THEM by giving US, the customers, less to work with. Looking at the five new monsters in this book, for instance, I don't know what languages they speak, or what their Intelligence score is. None have any feats, and they all have hit points but no Hit Dice. We're getting less bang for our buck than we would with any other monster book, and that's doubly egregious for a setting where monsters are the raison d'etre. Worse, this appears to be the standard operating procedure for Samurai Sheepdog's Mystical: Kingdom of Monsters products going forward, and for the life of me I can't figure out why. Let that sink in: we're getting what are essentially incomplete monster stat blocks, for a setting all about finding and capturing monsters. Now, again, these incomplete stat blocks aren't crippling. One of the new monsters here has a new power whose duration is based on Hit Dice, even though it has no Hit Dice listed...but if you look at the simple monster rules in Pathfinder Unchained, it says that when this happens, treat the monster's Challenge Rating as the creature's Hit Dice. These are not fatal omissions, but they do severely crimp the utility in these products, making the monsters harder for us to use at the table. The designers seem to have forgotten that just because the simple monster creation rules make things easier for them, it doesn't make things easier for us. I, for one, do not want to have to go back and review the guidelines in Pathfinder Unchained for how to fill in the blanks whenever I come across something that these abbreviated stat blocks don't have. It's like working twice as hard as everyone else in order to take a shortcut. I truly hope that Samurai Sheepdog abandons its plans to use the simple monster creation rules going forward, and instead updates this (and other books) so that its monsters have full stat blocks going forward. Much like how the original Mystical: Kingdom of Monsters book needed three iterations to reach its full potential, the simple monster creation rules are holding the newest M:KoM books back (and are why I haven't yet bought the new Eastrek book).

EDIT: Never let it be said that Samurai Sheepdog doesn't listen to feedback! In response to this review, they went back in and gave us full stats for the new monsters herein, as well as keeping the abbreviated stats for those who prefer them! I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised, and have updated my review to a full five-stars, as well as picking up the new Eastrek book, which has also received a full-stat version! It's rare to see this level of commitment to excellence from a publisher, and has earned Samurai Sheepdog my business for the foreseeable future!

excellent tool for those who want monster hunting in their games! buy this haunted eve and mystical kingdom of monsters

I'm so happy to see so many individuals, and so many big names, all come together for such a great cause. Everyone did an excellent job on this project.

We have written a more detailed review of the second book here: https://ko-fi.com/post/TTRPG-Review--Lands-of-Theia--The-Stonehewn-Lega-O4O7MZRJJ

It is a really nice 3rd book, with cool monsters and exploration mechanics!

As usual another great collection of Pathfinder 1E content. Thank you for the continued support of PF1E. So many nice options for 1E, and really liked the "Black Leaf" class! Hopefully later down the line we see more support, as there are probably alot more options with the spellbooks. Looking forward to next year's 2023 collection.

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

Tonight I am doing my third Samurai Sheepdog product, but this was not planned out that way. Also, this is another former Mystic Eye Games product that Samurai Sheepdog has brought back. It is also one of my favorite books from the early d20 days.

The Pantheon and Pagan Faiths

PDF. 208 pages. Color cover. Black & White interior art.

Released originally in 2003 by Mystic Eye Games this was part of their campaign "Hunt the Rise of Evil" for their World of Gothos world. I remember at the time thinking it was a touch cliché but still fun and it kept my attention. This was my favorite book in all their publications to that point.

Samurai Sheepdog is, as far as I can tell, the same people that made up Mystic Eye Games. So this is not a case of a new publisher buying the right to old stock, it is a new publisher re-organized from the remains of the old. Does this mean we could get more "Hunt the Rise of Evil" products? Maybe! But until then let's discuss this older product.

The obvious spiritual parent of this book is AD&D 2nd edition Faiths & Avatars book. Right up the art of the various priests, shamans, and witches of the various faiths in a lineup. I will not lie, it did appeal to me and help me know right away what this book was about.

While this book is overtly for the Hunt the Rise of Evil campaign and the World of Gothos I used it rather nicely with my D&D 3.x games where I feel added materials from a lot of different d20 publishers. It is "labeled" but also flexible.

This is also a good-sized book at 208 page and 10 Chapters.

Introduction

This covers what this book is and how to use it.

Chapter 1: Piety and Conversion

This covers the rules of dealing with the various gods and how they can grant favor. This is where we get to see our lineup of clerics. Additionally, there are rules for conversions. So if you are playing clerics in a d20/D&D 3.x game then this a great source of information.

Chapter 2: Core Divine Character Classes

Covers the expected classes like Clerics, Druids, Paladins, and Rangers. We also get Shamans and Witches/Warlocks. Both classes are well-detailed. These witches are, naturally, divine spellcasters not arcane. The witch can also choose to be a White Witch or a Black Witch which is also called a Warlock. Witches are even further divided into covens associated with a different god of faith. The covens are actually very interesting and kept me coming back to this book. They are also fairly tied to this world and these gods.

Chapter 3: Prestige Classes

I will not lie. I do like Prestige Classes. I like the idea of being able to further differentiate your character later inplay. I do wish that 5e had prestige classes not tied to their base classes so much.

These Prestige Classes are tied to this world but it looks a little easier to detangle them given the way Prestige Classes were most often constructed at the time. Here we have the Beast Friend, Covenant to the Hunt, Furies of Destruction, Hammers of Justice, Inquisitor of Justice, Ovate Bards (one of my favorites here), Slaughter Priest, Sorcerer Priest of Vlag, Strictor, and The Taken. I did not try many of these but I did try the Ovate Bard and thought it was really great.

Chapter 4: Feats

There are some interesting feats tied with faith, birth, and how people can approach the divine. It takes a game mechanic and weaves it back into the structure of the world. I rather like it to be honest. But, let's be honest, there are a lot of feats here. Maybe more than we really need.

Chapter 5: Spells in Gothos

Ok. You know I love my magic and this chapter does not disappoint. We get new cleric domains and new witch and shaman spells. Nearly 40 pages worth. There are new spells as expected for Bards, Clerics, Druids, Paladins, and Rangers. There are even some new one for Sorcerers/Wizards.

Chapter 6: Saints and Sainthood

Now, this is an interesting chapter. Back in my starting days of D&D Basic I played a Cleric. We decided that this cleric would later be a Saint of those who fight undead and demons in my AD&D world. (Interestingly enough that same said cleric is a Patron Saint in the Duchy of Valnwall now.) This chapter lists a numbers of saints and the benefit to having a patron saint. There are both good and evil ones here.

I think most gamers of a certain age will agree that the Patron Saint of Adventures is St. Aleena the Brave.

Chapter 7: The Pantheon

This covers the gods, the major clerics, and centers of worship or divine power in the world of Gothos. The gods are wonderfully detailed though like gods should they are tied to their world.

Chapter 8: Outscat Gods

Ah, now here is something not often covered in campaign books. (well. the Forgotten Realms does a good job here too). This covers all the gods that have fallen, been kicked out, or have left the main pantheons including our cover boy Chargrond. The gods here also get some special rituals. These gods are all evil.

Chapter 9: Outsider Gods

Like the outcasts, these gods are not part of the main pantheons. Unlike the outcast gods, they never were a part of it to begin with. Their alignments vary. Like the previous two chapters in addition to gods, we get major clerics/worshipers and some rituals.

Chapter 10: Pagan Gods

In modern parlance, these are the "Old Gods" to The Pantheon's "New Gods." These are the gods followed by Druids and Witches. Like the previous three chapters we gets gods, major worshipers including some specialty priests, and rituals.

We end with the OGL and a very nice index.

This book packs a lot into its 200+ pages and for less than the price of a Grande PSL you get a good value. The print option has long been OOP, but sometimes you can still find them on eBay or Noble Knight. I unloaded mine in my D&D 3.x purge. Well. At least I still have the PDF!

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

Digging deep tonight with one going all the way back to the d20 days. Everything about it just fills me with early 2000s nostalgia. Is it the lens flare on the logo? Is it the repeated use of the Morpheus font (which I STILL like)? I don't know. But whatever it is this one has been sitting on my hard drive for nearly 15 years or more (20 if you count the softcover I used to have) waiting for me to review it.

Tarot Magic

PDF. 90 pages, color cover, black & white interior art.

This book had been published originally back in 2002-2003 by Mystic Eye Games for the d20 OGL and STL. Yes we are going all the way back to the d20 System Trademark License here.

Now it has been updated in a 2016 re-upload by Samurai Sheepdog. I still have my original PDF on a backup drive so I can compare them. The cover is the same, but a bit brighter and the Samurai Sheepdog logo and website is there. Also, all mention of Mystic Eye Games is gone. The back cover is missing as well. But the PDF is also clearer to read and generally of better quality.

I will note that this book is filed under the D&D 3.5 category, but it is really D&D 3.0. I don't think it makes much practical difference to be honest.

The book is divided into five major sections.

Chapter 1: Tarot Reading in the Game

This cover the basics of card layout and meaning and how they can be used in a game situation. In most cases, the book advises the GM to control what the deck will be saying to fit the narrative/structure of the game. The most value here are the card meanings, though that information is also widely available elsewhere.

Chapter 2: Tarot Mage Class and Prestige Class

Now, this is fun. Presents the Tarot Mage class that can be used as a regular class or as a prestige class. Honestly, I like the option. I think it works well as a Prestige Class with someone starting as a wizard, sorcerer, witch, or even a thief with some arcane ability. Example NPCs of both a Tarot Mage and a Wizard/Tarot Mage are given.

Chapter 3: Tarot Mage Spells

This is a meaty chapter and kudos for coming up with all these spells. There are 38 pages worth of spells. Not a lot of art means a lot of text.

The spells are all "Arcane" so they are also listed by their school.

Chapter 4: Magic Items

These come in three major types; cards, materials to make cards, and items related to what are on the tarot cards.

Chapter 5: Foul Locales

Ok. This one is odd. Chapters 1 to 4 all proper headers with large fonts. This one starts at the bottom of a column when the magic items end. The only thing connecting it to the book is the fact that members of the family living in this locale are all Tarot Mages.

In any case it is an interesting book and one I tried many times to use back in the 3.x days. It is high on concept but the usability of the core class was limited compared to the Wizard/Sorcerer. The prestige class was much more useful.

Still it was rather fun.

Orignally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/09/100-days-of-halloween-beyond-mundane.html

Beyond the Mundane

PDF. 30 pages. Title page, 1-page OGL. Color cover and interior art.

This book has archetypes for all the spellcasting classes for Pathfinder.

Among the ones I like the most are the Choreographer (Bard), Blood-Spiller (Bloodrager), Primal Growler (Cleric), Lunar Touched (Druid), Agent of the Green (Hunter), and Cupbearer (Witch).

There are a lot here and each one does ad something interesting to their base class. It is really good and if you play Pathfinder and want to try something new then grab this.

There is also a new race, the Shadiir, who are naturally magic, so a good race choice for any and all of these archetypes.

I did not see anything I could use with my witches or my Winter Witch in particular, but it was fun all the same.

We have written a more detailed review of the second book here: https://ko-fi.com/post/TTRPG-Review--Lands-of-Theia--The-Stonehewn-Lega-A0A8EMZ75

It is a really nice 2nd book, with cool monsters and social encounters!

A really cool Pathfinder 1st edition adventure, mixing politics and dungeon delving.

We have written a more detailed review here: https://ko-fi.com/post/TTRPG-Review--Lands-of-Theia--The-Stonehewn-Lega-D1D2CF05E

We have written a review of Lands of Theia, you can check it out here:

https://ko-fi.com/post/TTRPG-Review--Land-of-Theia-for-Pathfinder-1st-Ed-U6U7BQLJ9

A very cool Pathfinder 1st edition book!

This is, hands down, the best and most comprehensive underwater/nautical sourcebook I have ever owned (I've bought over a dozen) - d20 or any other system for that matter. What I would love to see is this book slightly updated to Pathfinder 1st Edition and maybe expanded a little. Because hey, even though it's awesome, we all secretly want awesomer.

an excellent book that is one of the best values you can get dollar for dollar!