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?Notebook Essentials: Swarms, Stampedes, and Skirmishes? is a 10 page pdf that seeks to correct the a weakness in the d20 System Game that only allowed Fine, Diminutive, or Tiny creatures to collect into a large mass for combat purposes. This is not the first product by Throwing Dice Games to ?take on the big guy?, and though they never mentions it most of TDG releases do this.
The ?Notebook Essentials? line is supposed to represent a small section of rules that a GM stuffs in his binder because they are too small to warrant a full book. In this installment the focus is on monsters or more precisely large groups of monsters of all sizes. It opens with a number of comments and suggestions for creating swarms, the author indicates that there is no set template or formula for creating swarms (though at least two other publishers have created such templates and the MM does have some formula for assigning damage to a swarms attack). Another comment states, ?Gained hit dice grant the usual benefits ... but not increases to ability scores or ranks in skills.?, with a quick analysis of the sample swarms in the MM, it appears that ranks in skills are affected by increased HD. I also cannot find an example of a situation outside of this product where a creature?s 1/day power becomes 1/round as a free action, as the author suggests.
Next in the book are two swarm subtypes [aquatic swarm] and [intelligent swarm] that never really appear elsewhere in the product. The first is redundant because there is already an [aquatic] subtype which the author uses later and there is nothing in the description of the swarm subtype that states they need to be mindless or of low intelligence.
One of the best ideas in this product is the introduction of swarm feats, since swarms do not make attack rolls many of the existing feats in the PHB have little use to them and you can only justify so many skill buff feats on a creature likely to never make a skill check. The author introduces five new feats (clinging swarm, blinding swarm, densely packed, swarming trip, and vicious swarm.). I would adopt most of these feats as written and go back to my MM to upgrade a couple of the swarms there. I would have to take a close look at vicious swarm and probably limit it to take once before allowing it (as it acts somewhat like improved natural attack adding +1d6 damage).
Next the author provides use with 3 new swarms, two built from MM creatures and a piranha and its accompanying school. These are a Stirge Swarm (10 HD), Piranha School (6d8) and Imp Swarm (24d8). Unfortunately there are problems with all of the statistic blocks from miscalculated average hit points, incorrect BAB, missing feats, missing skill points, a modified attach features (which is needed) but not based on a standard save DC, 1d10 blood drain on the stirges even though they can only drain with a successful attach, miscalculated Distraction saves, .... and others. If I were to use them I would carefully check the statistics.
Swarm Powers is another interesting innovation in this product. Essentially it is a series of swarm special maneuvers that can be accomplished when a number of like swarms work together. These effects include antimagic effects, confusion, drag/lift, and misdirection. These present some interesting new options to essentially a ravaging monster type.
The next two pages provide an overview of the [stampede] subtype which covers groups of Small, Medium, Large or Huge quadraped. At least it seems so until the second line talks about a human stampede (who are not quadrapeds). It details the properties of a stampede as well as providing 3 sample stampedes (Bison, Horses, and Gorgons). Stampedes have a trample mechanic that is inconsistent with the SRD and contradicts an earlier statements in the description. There are again serious mechanical errors with the sample stampedes.
Skirmishes take up another page of this supplement and detail what happens when a large group of the people get into a fight or decide to riot. Unlike the stampede the rules for forming a skirmish are not presented here but instead in a summary at the end of the book. It appears as though there are even more mechanical issues in the statistics of the barroom brawl and the riot, or the author didn?t indicate clearly in the subtype explanation all the benefits of this subtype (like a good base attack bonus and retaining reach among other things.)
Three spells are introduced one to neutralize a swarm for 2d6 rounds, one to create a skirmish and one to summon a stirge or 4 piranha swarms. These seem to be okay, though the Greater Summon Swarm is messed up because of copy/paste development issues and refers to bats, rats and spiders.
The book finishes with an appendix containing an epic swarm (though arguably any creature over 20 HD can be considered epic so the imp swarm, gorgon stampede, and bison stampede would all technically qualify as well). The epic swarm is a swam of demiliches, um, I?m not even going to attack this but I will point out this is an incredible good way to undermine demiliches if you can convince them to do it. An off course are ready for epic play, lets say you have 300 Challenge Rating 29 creature inhabiting your world, if they decided to wage war on you they would have an combine EL of ?, hmm, can?t calculate it but its a heck of a lot more than 300 Demiliches acting as a CR 60 swarm. Although interesting this is essentially a useless example and a waste of a swarm concept.
The writing structure and flow seems a little clumsy at times. I find the product had a harder time maintaining my attention that most products I read. Overall, in a product this size it is really not a big deal, but in a larger book 60+ page I probably would have lost interest and put it aside.
This product has a clear open game content declaration and follows the open game license correctly.
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<b>LIKED</b>: Innovative concepts (stampede, skirmishes, swarm powers, swarm feats)
Clear OGC statement
Price
Summary of Stampede and Skirmishes subtype at the end.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Many Mechanical Problems.
Some balance issues.
Writing was awkward at times.
<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>
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