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Mythic Minis 8: Trickster Path Abilities $1.00
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Mythic Minis 8: Trickster Path Abilities
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Mythic Minis 8: Trickster Path Abilities
Publisher: Legendary Games
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 07/16/2014 03:50:03

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This Mythic Mini clocks in at 3 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page SRD, 1 page content, so let's take a look, shall we?

All right, another path-ability installment, so let's take a look whether this one can finally convince me.

We kick off with 5 trickster abilities for 1st tier, with one, analytical eye, having already featured in teh Guardian Path abilities. I didn't consider it good design and too metagamey back then and that has not changed. Next.

The first new one would be backstabber, which is a passive benefit that increases to-hit and sneak attack damage output and allows you to spend mythic power to flank otherwise unflankable non-mythic opponents. Solid, nothing to complain about.

Caress of Steel hits a soft spot with me - it annuls the non-lethal damage penalty to atk with lethal weapons - and allows you to deal nonlethal sneak attack damage with lethal weapons. And yes, according to RAW, you can't do nonlethal sneak attack damage with lethal weapons, even when taking the custom -4 to atk. So essentially, this path ability eliminates a bad, gaping and annoying hole in the rules, which I applaud. The thing is, though - much like backstabber, this doesn't really feel that much like a path ability, more like a feat to me. (And a feat I think that should be non-mythic, but that's my obsession with "Good PCs don't kill intelligent humanoids unless absolutely necessary..:") So all in all: Makes sense, streamlines the basic rules, can't really complain.

False Allegiance on the other hand is essentially what I'd like to see as mythic abilities - you can bluff foes to believe they've positively influenced you with social skills or magic and then stab them in the back - yeah! One gripe, though - I think the ability needs a caveat that such a bluff also emulates the enchantment aura of the resisted spell/effect, otherwise tricksters are too easy to unearth in non-combat situations...

Out of the Way is also a strong, cool mythic ability, allowing you to not hinder allies by providing cover to foes and you even take no splash damage from allies (alchemist-double-team...yeah!) and can reroll fumbles against the saves of effects of allies.

We also get 5 3rd tier abilities, with one, "That Trick Doesn't Work on my anymore", still being solid (as a follow-up of "Analytical Eye") and still being none too impressive and too metagamey for me. So 4 new ones remain. Killing Joke is what I'd call worthy of mythic tricksters - use perform comedy to demoralize or make friendly and replace the resulting shaken condition with rendering the target flat-footed for one attack and then shaken. As big glitch in a cool ability here: As written, the target only loses the flat-footed condition if YOU attack it. RAW your allies can whittle away, though - a tighter wording is in order here, since I'm quite sure the ability is supposed to return from flat-footed to shaken after one attack, not just one attack by the trickster...

Masterful Skill Focus and Perfect Pickpocket are rather bland, offering passive bonuses (though the latter allows you to use the steal combat maneuver sans spoiling invisibility and thus makes some sense). Now Steal Spell on the other hand, has something going for it, allowing you to steal spells you interrupt and cast them via uses of 1/2 spell level mythic power.

We also get a new 6th tier mythic ability, the ability allows you to reverse social skills/enchantment effects etc. on your foes as an immediate action for 2 uses of mythic power. Okay improved version, but at 6th tier perhaps a bit high - this one's not that strong.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any significant glitches. Layout adheres to Legendary Games 2-column full-color standard and the pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length.

Author Jason Nelson delivers path abilities and this time, they feel a bit more compelling than the previous ones released in thy mythic mini-series. The solid, mostly passive benefits are per se okay, even if they lack the epic "I AM MYTHIC"-spark at times. The recycling of Analytical eye and its follow-up is not something I'd consider a good thing. Then again, Caress of Steel fixes an annoying hole in the rules, Out of the way is damn cool and Killing Joke's concept (if not its slightly flawed execution) is awesome. In the end, though, that's not enough to truly make this stand out and the glitch in Killing Joke is rather jarring. My final verdict will hence clock in at 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 for the purpose of this platform due to in dubio pro reo and a slight increase in awesomeness from previous path-centric mythic minis.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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Mythic Minis 8: Trickster Path Abilities
Publisher: Legendary Games
by Jeff A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/23/2014 00:10:45

So, to start out with, I want to say I've bought several of LG's PDF's. In general I've been very satisfied, or even impressed.

Not so here.

So, each PDF is $1 ok, that's not so bad, right? Well, each PDF is also 1 page. Wait, what? 1 page? yep. Now yes, there's a cover, and some legal stuff, but you get exactly ONE PAGE for one dollar. So, lets say your favorite book is 400 pages, are you going to spend $400 to read it? Not me... Sadly I bought these (I got Guardian, Trickster, and Champion) around the same time, so I (foolishly) didn't read one before the other (again, I've had pretty good luck with LG stuff up to this point).

Now, you say, yes, but if it's REALLY good stuff, that you just HAVE to have in you're campaign, surely that's not so bad.... right?

Nope.

First up, (and this is what truly enrages me) they're REPRINTING from one to the next, they're not even original. ALL 3 have a path power called Analytical Eye as a first tier power, and they are identical (gee.. maybe put it in the Universal Path...) then 2 of the three have the follow-up power "That Trick won't work on me Anymore", while the third (Champion) has "Two can Play at that Game". To be fair the Champion version is different, though not by much (almost an inversion), still, at least they bothered to type something instead of cut-n-pasting it. Further, both Guardian and Champion have the powers "Mythic Rider" and "Trick Rider" again cut-n-paste. Since I'm not planning on blowing anymore cash on this series, I can't prove it, but I'd almost be willing to be a dollar <innocent grin> that Marshall is going to have pretty much all of these as well...

Now, I know... It's only a dollar. But, for a dollar, for one one-sided page... really?

The only other irksome thing is that the Champion book doesn't even have a 6th tier power... too bad there wasn't enough room... If only there was something they could have left out.... but oh well.

As for the quality of the powers themselves. Meh. Most of them read like better-than-average feats as opposed to anything truly MYTHIC. They're not bad, and there are one or two that I'd consider taking, or even recommending to another player... but they're not must-haves, they're more like high-quality fillers for a tier when nothing else tickles your fancy.

And if you're wondering, the answer is yes. I'm cut-n-pasting this review for all three books. Hey, if they can do it and charge me a dollar for it, why can't I review them that way... and I'm not even charging for it!

The "Big Picture"... Would I buy it again? NO Would I recommend it? Nope.

[Please note this review is for Mythic Minis 8, Trickster Path Abilities]



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
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