Character Builder Complete: Celtic is a pdf product from new publishing company World Builders Guild. This is their first product, a character record sheet, and the 'complete' version of the product - two other versions, 'essential' and 'core', also being available which have a lesser number of sheets than the 'complete' version. The term 'Celtic' in the title is a reference to the character sheet style, in particular the borders on each of the 38 pages of this pdf. In the future one would assume to see the same sheet in a different style.

The presentation of this product is very professional. The sheets look very good to the eye, and the covers and overall look of the product is very appealing. It's a high quality presentation on the layout and editing fronts, and the use of original artwork by David Deen enhances to overall quality even further. The artwork is a nice addition to some of the pages, as it presents a visual depicting of the intent of each page or page section. For example, the notes page has a picture of ink and quill.

Of the 38 pages of the pdf, 32 contain the character record sheets, of which, going by the table of contents provided, there are 21 different sheet types. The spell sheets consist of more than one page, and some of the sheets such as the sheet for the details of any adventure contacts are duplicated as well. The intent of the product if for players to simple print out and use those sheets that are relevant to their character. The pages are ink-light and so should make for easy printing.

Judging by the number of sheets and looking through the details of each, there isn't a lot, if anything, that is left out of the product. All the bases are covered nicely, including support for psionic characters. It's a very complete character record sheet, and does a good job of providing all the information that one would expect would be needed to record.

Layout and overall usability of the sheets looks good. Information of a similar type is lumped together nicely and for a given situation you can find most of what you need on a given page. That said, there is not support for any of the features that pdf files could allow, and these sheets are only for printing and then hand-written filling in. It would've been handy to be able to enter in the details on a pdf form, for example, so that the professional looking sheet also looks good with typed text. Character sketches and familiar sketches for which there is room could then make use of custom computer images or other form of image available from a variety of art sources.

Each sheet contains ample room for as much detail as one could imagine to use, with plenty of white space to enter information into. While this is a good idea, it results in a character sheet that will probably be at least 10-15 pages in length, so if you're looking for a short character sheet on a few pages, this is not it. On that note, it would've been extremely helpful to provide an additional sheet that simply provides a summary of important details - kind of like a quick glance sheet to just check something without having to look through the 15 pages of sheet to find what you want, even if that is well organised.

There are a few very good sheets within this pdf, one of them being the tracker sheet which allows you to track progression from 1st to 20th level. This is very useful, although I would've also preferred a way of tracking skill ranks at each level as well. The spell knowledge sheets (for the details of frequently used spells), the multiattack sheet (for characters will multiple attacks) and the sheet for summoned monsters are all very useful and good additions to any character sheet.

Some of the sheets were probably not the best. The spell list for wizard characters, for example, contains six separate blocks of information on one page. These can either be used as single spell levels (in which case there are too few) or for all spells (in which case spells won't be organised by level). The cleric and sorcerer sheets roughly suffer from this problem as well.

Overall I think this is a well-presented, high quality looking character sheet, that players with an attention to detail will find excellent value. Those looking for a shorter character sheet might find the amount of space provided for details cumbersome, but there are some good sheets, and others that may not be so useful and could be considered 'bare' given the amount of white space. Certainly the product could've benefited from using more of the features inherent in pdf files, such as forms.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Very good and professional looking product, with complete character record sheets and some useful additional sheets such as the tracker sheet and summoned monsters sheets. Art was a good addition to the pdf sheets.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The product doesn't make any use of pdf forms so entries need to be printed and hand-written. Some of the sheets could probably have done a little differently to make the more useful, such as the spell list sheets. Players looking for shorter character sheets might not find much use for this product.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Romans Set II is the 29th product in Arion Games' miniatures set of products, and forms part of the particular Ancients Miniatures line of products along with currently the first Romans set, a Greeks set, a Celts set and an Egyptian Set. Each of Arion Games' miniatures products features a number of paper miniatures that can be folded and configured in a variety of different ways. This particular set builds on the previous Romans set by providing 18 new miniatures for an ancient world or fantasy RPG or wargame.

The product comes as a single 4 page pdf file. There are no bookmarks (it is only 4 pages, after all), and in order to keep the file size down (it's about 5 MB in size) no instructions are included on how to make use of the different types of miniatures provided. These can be found on Arion Games' website and are freely downloadable. Given that 5 MB these days is not considered an enormous download, it's somewhat surprising to find that a simple set of instructions that may increase the size by 1 MB or so is not included in the pdf itself. The actual instructions file is about 2.5 MB in size, but if simplified can be made much smaller without loss of detail or quality.

The miniatures provided can be folded in three different ways - flat, A-frame and triagonal, the latter being a '3D' folding with three sides to each miniature. Paper clips or the like can then be used to hold the miniature in place. In practice it's simple and straightforward the use these miniatures once printed. Naturally, to get the most out of the quality artwork and rendering of the miniatures, a good color printed would be required. The flat and A-frame miniatures take up one page in the pdf, while the triagonal miniatures fill two pages.

The following miniatures are included in this set - three Roman auxiliaries (two with shield and spear, the other with gladius and spear), two auxiliary archers (one with longbow, one with shortbow), two praetorian guards (each with a gladius in different poses), a Roman engineer (the image does not indicate what type), a Roman priest, a Roman prostitute, three gladiators (Retiarius, Myrmilo, and Thracian), a Roman general, a vestal virgin, and three larger miniatures - two siege weapons (ballista and onager) and a mounted auxiliary.

The artwork is very good, with high quality rendering and depicting of the various images. In general I was pleased with what I saw, although in places the images lacked a little detail. The Roman general, for example, is relatively lightly outfitted, and while the quality of his equipment looks better, one would expect at least shin guards and/or a plumed helmet. Use of color was somewhat limited, with a lot of 'greyish' outfits, and it would've been nice to see armored gladiators rather than the three unarmored ones with different weapon choices. Overall, a solid and very useful product. One can rarely go wrong with a product from Arion Games.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: High quality miniatures with very good rendering and image quality. Very useful material and the miniatures selection allows for certain miniatures to be used for more than one purpose. Triagonal miniatures are very good, particularly the mounted auxiliary.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: I would've liked to have seen a little more variety and detail. The gladiators and auxiliaries are only different in their weapon choices rather than overall appearance and outfitting. The Roman engineer could probably be construed as anything other than an engineer, with no tools in sight or even a toolbag.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

16 1/2 Magic Codpieces is a 18 page bookmarked pdf. It's a humorous product that maintains a fine balance between humor and gaming material in detailing magical codpieces. And, given the nature of the material under discussion, this product is for more mature readers or those that would not be offended by hidden innuendo and other forms of clever wordplay of a sexual nature. The product is in part a spoof on the 17 series by The Le Games, and actually contains a quirky introduction by The Le from The Le Games. For those curious as to the name of the product, one can only assume that it is because one of the 17 Codpieces within this pdf is called the half codpiece.

Layout, editing and writing were of a high quality, and the general style of writing and wordplay was very humorous and witty in places. Presentation, including some original art, was good, and overall this is a product with a solid standard of presentation. The product contains a table of contents, which, along with the bookmarks make it easy to find the particular codpiece you're looking for.

The easiest way to look at this pdf is to consider it in two parts - humor and gaming material. From a humor point of view it's excellent. Some readers may not appreciate the nature of the humor itself, being related to codpieces after all, but it's one of the few pdfs out there that succeeds at gaming humor, even if it is from questionable material. With names for the various codpieces such as codpiece of the codger's todger and codpiece of waxing and waning, there's a lot to make one laugh and enjoy reading the material. Clever wordplay and innuendo is used frequently throughout the pdf, and there are a lot of humorous gems scattered liberally throughout the text.

From a gaming perspective the pdf offers seventeen different codpieces. Each codpiece comes with complete game mechanics and history, and barring a few exceptions, codpieces occupy the belt slot on the body. The histories are good and contain a lot of interesting material to use, and it should be easy to incorporate the use of this material into any campaign setting.

In addition to the codpieces, one or two new spells (lesser fireball being one) are scattered throughout the pdf, along with a new exotic weapon, the gnomish cannon. From a price perspective, most of the items presented are quite expensive, and at more than 30000 gp in most cases should be considered prizes possessions. Overall an interesting selection of gaming material, and little adaptation is required should DMs wish to replace the word codpiece with belt.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: There's a lot to laugh about within this pdf, and all the scattered humor hides some useful items for any campaign setting. Presentation and balance are well maintained, and the pdf succeeds at being both humorous and providing useful material to players and DMs. An enjoyable read.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Perhaps not material that everybody would enjoy or material that DMs will want to use within their games. The gaming material, while mostly good, is superseded by the humor elements of the pdf, making this less useful from a gaming point of view.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Sahasra: Items of Magic and War is a 29 page pdf supplement to Dog Soul Publishing's Sahasra: The Land of a 1000 Cities fantasy setting. Sahasra draws from the folklore of ancient India, and this supplement contains armor, weapons and magical items suitable for the Sahasra or other far eastern flavored campaign setting. This product is part of the Folkloric Gems series of products, which aim to enhance and supplement the Folkloric series from Dog Soul Publishing.

Presentation wise this is a good-looking product with some good original art by Sean C. Frolich (including the cover), as well as several clipart images. Some of the art is repeated within the text via scaling, but generally all the weapon and item art showcases the nature of the particular item well. Layout and editing is good as well, with generally clear writing and no laborious text. The pdf is fully bookmarked, and contains a thorough and complete table of contents.

From a mechanics point of view this book is a bit of a disaster. It contains mixtures of 3e and 3.5e rules, and it's not clear which ruleset it was actually written for. The stats for the war elephant are clearly 3e, but then other rules and bits within the text of the material are clearly 3.5e. All the weapons included, for example, don't contain any indication as to whether they're light, one-handed or two-handed weapons. This is unfortunately a poor aspect of this pdf.

That aside, the items presented contain good flavor and there's a very intriguing variety of different items. Items are presented under the following headings: weapons, armor, creatures of war, magical weapons, magical armor, potions, rings, rods, staves, wondrous items and finally artifacts. Art images accompany most of the weapons, as the names are often meaningless to those not in the know, such as the vajragada or the marati. Balance-wise everything seems to be well considered or at least explained if too powerful (for example with reference to some of the minor artifacts), although the mechanics is often weak and on occasion poorly worded or described.

The best thing about this pdf is the distinct flavor and feel of the material and the general variety. Each item contains a good description of its appearance as well as the occasional bit of background information that provides a comprehensive Indian feel to the product. It was enjoyable to read through the material, and most of it should be easily portable to other campaign settings, particularly the magical wondrous items.

Items vary from the marati (a ball-ended quarterstaff with the balls capable of being set alight), the madu (a spear buckler), the war elephant as a creature, including full details on how to run war elephants in combat situations, the mahout NPC class for training and controlling war elephants, a potion of soma for penetrating disguises, the akasa staff for creating things from the aether, the grantha (a book capable of summoning the creatures drawn in its pages), the skins of sarparajni (a cloak that helps prevent damage) and the seven minor artifact jewels of wisdom. There are some interesting, useful and flavorful items presented, as can be seen from the brief list given above. All in all there are more than sixty new items for an Indian or far eastern campaign setting.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The pdf contains a good amount of unique flavor and interesting material, as well as some strong art and excellent variety in the material presented. The items presented are both useful and unique, and have a distinct feel that should enhance a roleplaying experience in Sahasra, a far eastern setting or ancient Indian setting.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Mechanics was poor, with very muddled use of two different rulesets, and often incomplete or incorrect usage of game mechanics, e.g. the skill is Perform not Performance. This makes the material somewhat less useful to many who are interesting in adding flavorful items from mythical India to their campaigns.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>

Monsters of Twilight: Curse Monsters is a 34 page pdf and the first in a new series of monster book each detailing monsters based on a certain theme or idea. This first pdf details curse monsters, and draws from the mythos and cultural heritage of curses to present twelve new monsters complete with background and plot hooks. The monsters are created along two different lines of thought - those that are themselves cursed, and those that can curse others.

Curse Monsters is a fully bookmarked pdf that comes in two different versions - one for home printing and another for screen reading. Author Chris Caran does a good job to present clear and concise writing, while the general editing was fair given the few errors that slipped through. It's unusual for many small pdf publishers to provide a fantastic variety of art, and Silven Publishing and their artist Luis Czerniawski have done a splendid job of presenting some really splendid artwork, one piece for each of the twelve monsters in this pdf. Overall a professional looking presentation with some worthy art.

Curse Monsters presents twelve different monsters. Each entry starts with a quote from our real world, be it something from literature or historical writing. Background details are then presented on each creature, followed by a statistics block, combat details and lastly plot hooks. Many of the entries also include new curse spells, spells that can be used to curse other creatures or create curses. In addition, several of the entries, such as the templates for creatures created by spells or cursed by spells, also include sample monsters.

The monsters within the pdf cover a good variety of types, including dragons, magical beasts, undead, plants, constructs and an outsider. Magical beasts and constructs have the largest representation, although there are a good number of templates that can be applied to creatures of almost all types. Before looking at the individual monsters, it's worth commenting about the stat blocks. These were generally good, although almost each one contained at least one error, ranging from an incorrect attack bonus, to not listing a special quality or special ability in the monster stat block, to getting save DCs incorrect or not listing the ability modifier that determines the save DC itself. Nothing too detracting, but I've yet to see many products that can pull it all together correctly.

The monsters themselves are creative and unique, offering some interesting and exciting opportunities in-game. These are not your standard monsters in another guise, but truly different creatures with distinct flavor. In most cases this flavor carried through well to the mechanical implementation, although one or two may have been poorly worded. Some of the more interesting creatures include the blood crows (a swarm of crows that hunts cursed victims), the cursed familiar (a wizard does not want one of these!), malfeasant (a spirit of vengeance), and the skin stealer (a creature that can inhabit other creatures). It's a very good collection of creatures, and sure to find use in any game. Along with Silven Publishing's Curses! Supplement, this will make for a good addition to your d20 fantasy game.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: This supplement presents twelve unique and creative monsters based on the curse theme, along with stunning art to support each of the monster entries. Flavor is good and presentation excellent, and this is overall a very useful pdf with some interesting and inspirational monsters. I look forward to seeing the next products in this series.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: There were a number of editing errors as well as stat block errors, but nothing truly significant. Some of the monsters were a bit lacking in the descriptive and flavor text, particularly the templates where it would've been nice to see material on how the cursed template affects a creature's appearance and behaviour.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Lineage of Earth is a 41 page pdf product that presents three new earth-based bloodline classes. Bloodline classes are special classes akin to prestige classes that allow those with a given heritage to adopt that heritage through taking levels in the bloodline class. It's a slightly different approach to other similar ideas, and one that can work quite well.

Lineage of Earth comes as a single bookmarked pdf file that consists of a simple one column layout. Editing and layout is generally good, with no obvious errors within the text or layout. There are a few pieces of really good art by artist A.M. Downs that make the pdf look solid and presentable. The pdf is not graphics intensive, and so should be fairly easy to print out without using up too much ink.

The pdf starts with a brief introduction to bloodline classes, and then follows this up by introducing a new planetouched race, the elekin. The elekin are descendents of elemental outsiders, and two of the bloodline classes presented are different bloodlines of the elekin. In order to access a particular bloodline, characters need to take a lineage feat. Lineage can only be taken at first level, and grant access to a particular bloodline. Five lineage feats are presented, all earth-related, that grant a variety of different bonus to things like natural armor or climb checks when climbing rock or stone. Given that this pdf is the first in a new series, in the future we'll get to see lineage feats and bloodlines for other races and creatures.

The three bloodline classes presented are earthkin (earth elemental blooded), mercalil (elekin warrior blood), and lithal (elekin mage blood). Each is presented as a full 10 level bloodline class, including such flavor details as playing these bloodlines, how they are viewed in the world, lore known to others about creatures with these bloodlines and advice on running these bloodlines in game. Generally these were well presented, although one or two abilities might require some attention from DMs, such as the Lithal's spellcasting. Lithal have their own spell list, in addition to that granted by another spellcasting class, and are capable on spontaneously casting spells from this list much like a cleric or druid can spontaneously cast cure or summon spells, a very extensive ability gained at 1st lithal level. The classes present a good earth-flavor to each of the bloodlines and for those wishing to explore these they're worth the look.

The pdf continues with a selection of new feats for earthblooded creatures which are useful, and then presents three new prestige classes - Earth Glider (a specialist in the earth glide special ability), Knight of Mohorovic (fierce earth warriors against anything borne of elemental fire) and the stonecaller (a bardic earth-based prestige class). All the classes are only five levels, but provide a handful of new options for earthblooded characters. Ample detail is also provided describing the classes and their roles within a campaign setting. Not the best selection or use of the material presented, but still solid.

Lastly the pdf presents a new swarm made of stone and ten new NPCs with backgrounds utilizing the material in the pdf to provide sample encounters. There were a number of stat block errors within these, but generally they showcased the material and did a good job of making everything even more useful. I certainly look forward to seeing this series expanding.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: This is a solid pdf that presents a large variety of new options exploring the element of earth and earthblood. The concept of the bloodline class is transformed into something useful and flavorful, and Dire Press does a good job of presenting a nice looking pdf with good material.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: There were a number of stat block errors in the NPCs presented, and the prestige classes were a little uninspiring and more could've been done to utilize good material to create something a little more unique. There wasn't enough background information on the elekin, something that would've been interesting to read.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Magic of Arcanis is a mammoth 226 page pdf devoted to all things magic in Arcanis, The World of Shattered Empires. The pdf aims to provide you with everything needed to creature spellcasting characters within Arcanis, as well as to learn about the magic of Arcanis - how it is viewed, how it is wielded, what the nature of the struggle is between the Sanctorum of the Arcane and the dreaded Harvesters of Ymandragore and much more. This is a book filled with extensive new material, including a host of new feats, prestige classes, base classes, spells and more. If it's magic you wanted for Arcanis, this is the quintessential guide to it.

Magic of Arcanis comes as a single, bookmarked pdf file packed with very dense text in a two column layout. The pdf looks very good and professional on the inside, with some excellent art that is visually attractive. For some reason, though, the top section of the cover is cut off, leaving only two-thirds of the word 'Arcanis' on the cover. General editing and layout was excellent, although in one or two places there were a few things missed out (lack of bolded text, 'ehe' instead of 'the', etc.), but quality overall was of a very high standard. It certainly feels like a quality book when reading through the vast amounts of material contained within its pages. Judging by a quick look at the OGL declarations, this pdf also utilizes material from about forty other sources, something that's good to see.

The pdf is divided into ten chapters and also includes two appendices. The majority of chapters are devoted to extensive new feats, spells, prestige classes, and base classes, but there are also valuable chapters describing magic in Arcanis, the Sanctorum of the Arcane, and the menace of Ymandragore. This pdf certainly succeeds admirably in achieving what it set out to do - provide a comprehensive guide to magic in the Arcanis setting. For Arcanis players this will be a valuable resource, but most players in other settings will find the material within this pdf easily portable to another system or setting, and there are some good ideas in here that are worth doing just that.

Chapter One deals with magic in general on Arcanis. It takes a look at what magic is (manipulation of the residual energy of Creation), the cosmology of Arcanis, and the views of the general populace and important organizations with regard to magic. This is an extremely useful chapter and lays a solid foundation for the rest of the material. The cosmology in particular is interesting, and the pdf certainly doesn't shy away from going into a lot of detail. The background provided gives a fruitful understanding of the use and nature of magic in Arcanis, something that can be built upon to create campaigns or flesh out characters.

Chapter Two presents an extensive overview of the Sanctorum of the Arcane, and in particular its organisation and relationship to the Harvesters of Ymandragore. The Sanctorum itself consists of a number of safehouses scattered throughout Onara that house and train mages in the arcane arts while fighting a mystic 'cold war' against the Sorcerer-King of Ymandragore. This chapter gives all the information needed to run a Sanctorum-based campaign, or to flesh out characters with backgrounds related to the Sanctorum itself. Some examples of the more important safe houses for Sanctorum members are also presented.

Chapter Three provides a brief overview of the core spellcasting classes in the World of Shattered Empires. All core spellcasting classes such as cleric or sorcerer have undergone some revision within Arcanis, and this section aims to highlight these and present all the pertinent details of the differences as relevant to the material in this pdf.

Chapter Four presents six new base classes, although the word 'new' should probably be qualified since the ideas behind the classes are somewhat familiar. The six classes presented are: Altherian Artificer, Hedge Wizard, Shaman, Spellblade, Suromar or Psihunter and Warder. While class concepts such as the spirit driven shaman and the hedge wizard are familiar, Arcanis does offer an interesting mechanical implementation of even the more familiar classes. These should make for fun roleplaying, particularly the shaman, or for those interested in mechanical clockworks or mechanical technology, the altherian artificer might be fun. Each base class provides excellent background material, as well as material regarding how these classes relate into the Sanctorum of the Arcane.

Chapter Five is about feats, and lots of them. This chapter presents scores of feats, including some updates of feats from other Paradigm Concept products or the Player's Guide to Arcanis. There are some interesting and novel feats in here, such as the variety of bardic tradition feats, and there's a lot here to customize any character. A lot of thought has gone into the variety of feats, and there is something for every spellcasting class, race or even region. And given the sheer quantity of them, this chapter presents a marvellous selection of eclectic feats.

Chapter Six details more than forty prestige classes, offering an enormous number of options to take for both paths within the Sanctorum, divine paths or more warrior orientated paths. The majority, however, are probably more suited to arcane spellcasting classes, but the selection of warrior or divine prestige classes is fair. There are a number of really good classes and ideas here, such as the Via Sapientia (a prestige class for specialist wizards), the Ehtzara (tribal sorcerers), and the Death Lord of Neroth (clerics of Neroth that give their lives to the paths of undead and eventually become liches). A very good selection and variety, even for psionic characters, and its good to see some support for psionic classes. Balance-wise there may be one or two minor issues, but for the most part the selection is easily playable and insert able into any campaign outside of Arcanis.

Chapter Seven is a brief chapter devoted to equipment. The majority of the equipment is alchemical in nature, although there is a fair selection of mundane equipment as well. The items include such items as the potion and scroll bandoliers that I wished were in the core rules.

Chapter Eight is the largest chapter of the pdf and is devoted to spells and spell lists. More than 100 spells are presented and they offer a fantastic variety of different spells that support the core classes as well as all the new base and prestige classes found within the pdf. Variety is once again the key here, and the pdf succeeds very well at providing support for as many spellcasting classes as possible. I really enjoyed this section of the pdf, and there are some useful spells in there, even something such as brainstorm, that allows a party to pool their collective knowledge. Good variety, good recognition of different classes (although a few powers for psionic characters would've been an added benefit), good balance, sensible selection, and some gems of spells.

Chapter Nine deals with Ymandragore and the threat it presents to spellcasters and the Sanctorum of the Arcane. It provides details on how the Harvesters go to work, the percentage chance of being noticed when using magic, and a number of feats, prestige classes and spells for Harvesters. Most are on a slightly higher power level than normal, but there are thankfully in-game reasons for this. A new creature type is also presented, the bio-construct, used for the Ymandragoran thralls. Not a chapter in as much detail as that of the Sanctorum of the Arcane, and it would've been useful to see more. Given that a lot of this material is presented within relation to these two organisations, more material on the 'evil' side would've been more useful.

The last short chapter, Chapter Ten, deals with the dream world of Dreamtime, and provides some brief suggestions and properties of using the dream world in your campaign. Following that are two appendixes - the first dealing with the constructs of Arcanis, in particular clockwork constructs ala the Altherian Artificer, and fetishes, that can be created using the Craft Fetish feat. The constructs in particular are well done, providing a large number of enhancements that can be added to the base construct.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: Magic of Arcanis is a book filled with enormous variety and option. It's a beautifully looking book that offers players and DMs alike some exciting new material to use in both Arcanis and other settings. There are some really good ideas within this product that are worth looking at an exploring, in reference to feats, spells and prestige classes. It's a very solid product of a high quality and excellent value for money.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: This is a very mechanics or crunch heavy pdf. While a lot of the crunch also contains good flavor and variation, there wasn't enough advice on, for example, roleplaying spellcasters in Arcanis. As a comprehensive guide to Arcanis, it also lacked something different that is not the norm - it's fine to present more feats, spells, base classes and prestige classes, but I'd have liked to see more that's unique to magic in Arcanis, for example, in the form of new rules for magic in Arcanis or the like. This is not a negative in any way, merely a comment as to what would've made this crunch heavy pdf truly outstanding.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Battlemaps Lairs: Orc Sighting Tower is a 14 page pdf providing maps and adventure details, in the form of a NPC and plot hooks, for a orc sighting tower that can easily be inserted into any campaign. The Battlemaps Lairs series aims to provide small monster lairs with high resolution maps at 150 dpi, typically having three to four rooms per lair. In addition the series features a NPC villain that can be used in conjunction with the maps provided.

The product comes as a single bookmarked pdf file, complete with all the details needed to use the orc sighting tower. This particular pdf starts with a single page of introductory material to the series, as well as a written description of the tower and two plot hooks. The written material in this pdf is well edited and written, while 0One Roleplaying Games surely sets the standard with their maps and other artwork.

The pdf comes with a number of different views for the maps provided. First there is a summary or overview page which gives small floorplans of the tower in addition to a full 3D rendered image of the tower itself. Following this are color and greyscale floorplans of each of the three floors' layouts - color maps to one page, and greyscale maps to another. And lastly the pdf gives full one page floormaps in color and greyscale to each of the levels of the orc sighting tower.

In addition to wonderful looking maps and visually impressive work on the details, the maps are slightly customisable in that the details of a particular floor can be hidden or made 'empty' using a simple tickbox. This is all very useful in the odd event that a DM may wish to provide something different in the map that given in this product. As to the interior of the maps, the outer staircase enters into a forgotten armoury on the ground floor, the second floor is a crude common room with dining table, and an open and leaky rooftop contains a signal fire.

The NPC provided is a 4th level rogue. Full background details and statistics are provided in addition to a complete set of tactics for using the NPC within the tower complex. This was done with clever tactics and some innovation so should make for an interesting and challenging encounter for most PCs that venture into the NPCs domain - the orc sighting tower.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: This pdf provides complete details on an orc sighting tower with wonderful maps and ample plot hooks and information for using this tower in any campaign. The NPC comes with some good and detailed tactics that make for a rewarding and challenging encounter. I appreciated the number of different varieties of the maps provided.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The only negative about this pdf was that the greyscale maps were lacking in contrast and probably contained too many grey levels.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Shrouds of the Aether is a 37 page pdf product that comes with full bookmarks and high resolution images of one of the interior art images. The aim of the book is to address the death of characters by providing a ghost casualty class, or a class that can be taken after death and allows dead characters to continue adventuring as they gradually transform into ghosts. This means that characters need not immediately seek a cleric to cast raise dead, or create a new character and provides other avenues to continue adventuring. The layout and art of the pdf is solid, with some fitting stock art photographs taken to enhance the general appearance and feel of the pdf. Editing was generally good.

The pdf starts with a few lines of introductory text explaining the aim and nature of the pdf and then dives into introducing mechanics to allow characters to take levels in the ghost class when they die even though they may not be in a position to do so through normal levelling. It's done in a suitably clever way that is simple to implement and shouldn't be time-consuming in the execution.

The ghost class is essentially a new type of class called a casualty class. While the name identifies it as such, it's very much a base class of 20 levels with a few added rules to govern the taking of the base class, much like prerequisites for prestige classes (the main one being that the character needs to be dead, of course).

While the prerequisites presented are relatively simple, the pdf does go a step further and present a whole host of optional prerequisites that DMs may wish to include in their ghost class. Examples of these include limiting creature types or alignment prerequisites, to more elaborate requirements such as requiring a purpose when becoming a ghost. This provides some useful customisation on the class, something that I quite liked. Providing variants to base classes allows DMs and players some form of customisation that gives added value to the class itself.

The class itself is mainly made up of bonus feats, and, given that the majority of this product provides dozens of feats that mimic abilities of the ghost template and expand on them, there's plenty to choose from when customizing the class. Characters that become ghosts start out incorporeal and then gradually work their way up to becoming ethereal and capable of manifesting, and eventually becoming undead.

While the idea behind the mechanics of this makes sense, one can't be sure how one can be a ghost and not be undead at the same time, and the pdf unfortunately does not explore this in much detail. At 1st level, for example, characters with levels in the ghost class become incorporeal, yet not longer eat, breathe or sleep. At the same time they retain their original type, be it humanoid or monstrous humanoid, a concept that is difficult to fathom within the core rules.

The class is also, however, very powerful. Characters that die, for example, and take a level in the ghost class gain the incorporeal subtype and all the benefits the subtype gives. I can imagine that spellcasters will be hoping to die and become incorporeal, particularly if they have feats such as Eschew Materials. This can be very powerful, also because you are not forced to advance in the ghost class but can continue to advance in the class you had in life as long as you have one level of the ghost class. The world would be filled with incorporeal spellcasters or even ethereal spellcasters that can be devastating at the power level they are at. This is probably a class that is best suited to higher level play where opponents are capable of dealing with incorporeal and ethereal creatures.

The pdf does provide a lot of solid and useful advice on playing ghosts, how ghosts are viewed in the world and also gives information on ghost lore and superstitions for characters wishing to know more of ghosts. This will make the roleplaying transition to the ghost class much easier. In addition, further customisation of the ghost class is given in the form of various disadvantages that can be assigned to ghost characters, such as certain vulnerabilities.

The remainder of the pdf, almost 20 pages (barring the glossary at the end which provides useful snippets of reference material from the SRD) is made up of feats. There are a lot of feats here, all good and all which allow ghost characters to take on their own distinctive character. Feats are arranged into so-called chains, or feats with a given theme. Themes includes Banshee, Corruption and Dread among others. This is a nice approach to organising so many different feats. By a quick count there are about 75 feats, useful to general ghosts using the template, and all 'minor' ghosts that only have a few levels in the ghost class.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: This is a good pdf with lots of useful material and ideas for creating ghost characters with levels in the ghost casualty class. The class provides useful customisation for DMs and players, and extensive feats to create unique ghost characters and allow ghost characters to expand on the classes they had in life.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: There are a few conceptual problems with the pdf, and these probably extend over to the balance side as well as already mentioned. Most DMs will probably need to do some careful thinking or tack on some of the disadvantages listed before making use of this class.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Bits of the Wilderness: Into the Open is a 74 page pdf product that is aimed at providing busy and harried GMs with plentiful descriptions and ideas related to open grasslands, plains and the like. Into the Open forms part of Tabletop Adventures' 'Harried Game Master' line, each product in the line related to another terrain or theme. This particular product features 100 bits (descriptions that can be randomly selected to describe open terrain) and 84 shards (more lengthy descriptions that are meant to be selected rather than randomly picked) of very flavorful and well-written descriptions.

The cover art for the product is identical to that of other products in the Bits of the Wilderness line, providing a 'series' feel to the whole line. It's by no means spectacular, but it captures the theme. Interior art is good, including a number of photographs used in an article about the plains and open terrain. The layout and writing cannot be faulted in this product, with excellent descriptions all round and solid presentation. Note that this product is not system-specific, in other words it hasn't been designed for d20 or GURPS or any other system, but provides generic descriptions for any fantasy system and setting.

After providing a useful introduction to the product and guidelines for its use, the pdf jumps into the 100 bits of the wilderness. While each bit is described in the main body of the pdf, each bit is also provided in a handy card format at the end of the pdf, so that it can be printed and randomly selected from a pack of 'cards'. The cards themselves provide descriptions only, so should be no more difficult to print than any black and white text. This is a useful feature for those wanting to make full use of the product. I think one of the best things about this product is the index - a list with page references that makes it really easy to select a particular bit or shard from the product. Want something about a tent, select bit 28. Want something related to flash flooding, then perhaps shard 65 will do. An extremely useful addition to the pdf.

The bits themselves are great. Very descriptive, evocative, inspiring and full of ideas to use and expand upon. Some of them were perhaps a bit leading, in the sense that instead of offering a simple description, it's almost certain that the descriptions contain something the characters may want to take a look at. While nothing wrong with that, some GMs may not wish to waste time waiting for characters to examine things when the intent was merely to provide a flavorful description. The bits are divided into a number of different sections related to different topics - general, signs of inhabitants, animals, weather, waterways and miscellaneous sights. It's very pleasant to read through these refreshing descriptions.

The pdf next deals with shards, longer bits that require DM considered selection before use. These include the same topics as the bits, although several other categories have been included such as times and seasons, campsite and prairie fire. These, like the bits, are wonderfully detailed and well-written, and each shard is provided with its own title to make the shard more unique. Shards provide some nice ideas to work with and the descriptions are useful to mine for other ideas and thoughts.

Lastly the pdf provides a very useful article entitled 'The Many Faces of the Plains'. A color version of the article is included in the product in addition to the normal copy in the main pdf text. The article examines a variety of aspects of plains, detailing them and explaining them with the aim to help GMs create their own plains environments and write their own descriptions. Very useful, informative, detailed and with lots of advice to DMs on using the plains in campaigns and adventures. Truly a strong pdf with lovely descriptions and ideas.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: This is a very good pdf with evocative and inspirational descriptive bits and enjoyable shards that can be used in any campaign. It's a valuable resource to any GM looking to add a good description to a game or setting, and there's more than enough information in here to keep any DM going for a long time. It's thoroughly enjoyable to read, the index is a great addition, there's plenty of variety, the article on plains was very informative and the cards for the bits make this even more useful.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Not much can be said on the negative side, except that perhaps a few of the bits were too leading instead of being purely descriptive and probably more suited as perhaps shards, and one or two may blend in with others in a similar vein.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Alortun: The Crown of Skulls is a 12 page pdf product from Eternal Knot Games, an imprint of Misfit Studios. This is the first product in the Alortun series of products, each aimed at providing something interesting that can be inserted into any campaign or used together as part of the Alortun setting. This particular product has been updated from an earlier 6 page version to the current 12 pages with added information and background material.

The layout and presentation is simple. Cover art consists simply of two crossed swords, and interior art has two digitally created images of the Crown of Skulls and one of the kings that wore it. The interior layout is in three columns. The headings are written in some sort of 'gothic' font that makes it difficult to read, but otherwise the general layout is presentable. There are no bookmarks, nor is there a table of contents, but for a short pdf that's not such a major issue.

The Crown of Skulls, once known as the Crown of Victors is presented with a detailed history from the viewpoint of three different races - humans, elves, and dwarves. Each history provides additional details, occasionally overlapping, but the general idea adds a little more background to the crown's history. Originally discovered in a remote dwarven temple, the crown has left in its wake a bloody mess of wars, strife and other untold horrors. The general history is interesting to read, but it brings me to a sticking point with this pdf. Writing, editing and punctuation was very poor, and it was often difficult to make out what was being said as the writing tended to be confusing in places. There were a lot of editing errors - a handful or more on most pages, that were both obvious and detracting to read. While one could eventually get the full detail of the crown's history, it was sometime difficult to ascertain.

Following the crown's history, the pdf provides a number of legends, again from the viewpoint of the three races involved in the crown's history. Each legend is provided with an appropriate DC, which again brings me to a sticking point in the pdf. Mechanics was generally incomplete - to know a legend, for example, one needs to pass a Knowledge check, but it's never listed what kind of knowledge check, nor whether a bardic lore check for example would suffice. The legends themselves were a nice touch, and allow DMs to flesh out the background of the crown as characters progress through a campaign. Plenty of campaign ideas were also provided, forming a solid background of history and ideas related to the crown.

Game wise the crown is described and its abilities listed. The abilities of the crown depend on the user of the crown, and a full list of possible abilities is given as well as the abilities the crown had in relation to particular users of the crown in the past. While this is an interesting idea, it would've been useful if more information could've been provided on how to determine what determines the crown's abilities - does a strong character gain a Strength bonus or does a weak character? Does a king get granted a bonus on his Diplomacy score? This kind of information would've made a DMs work a little lighter when using the crown.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: This product provides a detailed history of an artifact, along with legends, description and plot hooks. The idea of presenting it from three different viewpoints puts a different slant on the description and makes it more interesting to read, also providing roleplaying opportunities in relation to those races.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Editing and writing was very poor, in addition to the incomplete mechanics that was present. Punctuation in particular led to confusing sentences and difficult reading. Using this crown in a campaign will require some work from the DM on getting the mechanics straight.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Disappointing<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Disappointed<br>

Races of Twilight: The Sarkuvans is a 24 page pdf detailing a new race, the sarkuvans. This product is the third in Silven Publishing's Races of Twilight series, each product in the series aimed at detailing a new race that is experiencing its 'twilight' years, in other word is facing extinction. The sarkuvans, once created by a society called the Morphic Society, are such as race that has been hunted to extinction as a result of their inherently evil nature and hatred of all things good.

The layout and presentation of the pdf is good, and it comes with bookmarks and a detailed table of contents. There are two pieces of good art in this pdf, one being the cover art that is reused within the text itself. There are one of two minor editing errors, such as 'acobra' rather than 'a cobra' but nothing that detracts seriously from the text itself. This is an easy-reading pdf that's well-written and clear in the various mechanics involved making it easier to understand the writer's intent.

The sarkuvans are a created race, and hence incapable of breeding. An ancient cabal of wizards, the Morphic Society, created them in times past as a means to generate an army that would help them gain the power from the empire and shape the world around them. The Morphic Society was eventually destroyed, but many sarkuvans remained alive in the underdark or deep places of the world where they strive to learn the secret of procreation before their species becomes extinct. The pdf provides plenty of details on the race itself, including nature, characteristics, religion, society, lifecycle, community and much more.

Physically the sarkuvans are a race of amorphous creatures that can take the shape of one specific other humanoid creature. In natural form they're ooze-like, while otherwise they appear as the type of creature they can turn into. Essentially this is a mini-doppelganger type race. Full characteristics and abilities are provided in both the sarkuvan's forms, although the dominant one is its ability to change form into a single creature, something that made them useful to the Morphic Society in blending in. Overall it?s a well detailed and presented race, with some interesting uses, although a doppelganger in most cases will be a lot more useful than a sarkuvan that can only assume one humanoid form other than its ooze-like form.

The pdf continues by looking at several sarkuvan deities, all well written up and fitting the context of the sarkuvan race. Each base class from the core rules is also discussed in relation to the sarkuvans - finding sarkuvan druids or barbarians is rare, for example, while wizards and rogues are common among the remaining individuals of their race.

The latter half of the pdf is more mechanical in nature, and deals with skills, feats, prestige classes, spells and new equipment. The Craft (poisonmaking) skill is introduced (presumably taken from one of the OGL sources listed in the OGL declaration) and several sarkuvan-only feats are listed, most expanding on their racial abilities, such as granting additional humanoid forms and higher bonuses for their disguise capabilities. Three good, yet game-wise strong, prestige classes are presented: the living weapon (sarkuvans that specialise in turning themselves into weapons), the mimic (sarkuvans that can take the form of other creatures and objects), and the morphic mage (a powerful transmutation caster that gains many spell-like abilities). I think some balancing might be required here, particularly with the morphic mage which gets full caster progression and a large number of additional abilities such as baleful polymorph, polymorph and other spells as a spell-like ability, and a feat or two.

The last sections of the pdf present two new domains (Poison and Transmutation) and new spells. Most of the spells deal with poison and there are some good ones in there, such as Envenom Object that allows you to place poison on an object for a limited duration but limitless use. New equipment is also presented, including several new poisons, a grenade-like weapon that deals Constitution damage, and a new figurine of wondrous power, the alabaster cobra.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: This is a solid pdf that presents a new race with enough information and descriptive detail to create something interesting from it. The supplementary mechanical material is useful, and the prestige classes will give sarkuvan's an added edge in a campaign setting. I generally liked the idea and most of the material presented, in particular some of the spells, and the concepts behind the prestige classes. The sarkuvan background and history also made for enjoyable reading.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Minor editing and balance issues aside, there wasn't a lot in the pdf that stood out and could be considered excellent material with a 'must use' factor. There's no mistaking that it's a solid product with lots to offer, but the material wouldn't be classified as inspirational or exceptional.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>

Slaves of the Moon: The Essential Guide to Lycanthropes is a 98 page pdf product that forms part of Paradigm Concept's Races of Legends series. It's written by industry veteran Mike Mearls who's well known for producing quality supplements. In this regard Slaves of the Moon is no disappointment, and is very close to being true to its title - an essential guide to lycanthropes.

The pdf itself comes as a single fully bookmarked file with highly professional layout and presentation. There is some visually stunning art in the pdf, although much of it is unfortunately too grainy when viewed on a high resolution screen setting. A table of contents is provided, although it would have been better to actually have a chapter designation rather than a loose collection of material. Certainly different sections of the pdf related to different topics could've started on a new page or at least not at the bottom of the second column in a two-column layout. The presentation issues aside, this is a quality looking product - professional, well presented, well edited, and with very good art.

The pdf start with a brief introduction to lycanthropes - a look at these creatures through the ages of history, the legends and the origins of the various different lycanthropes in our modern world. This provides some useful background information on the myths and legends of lycanthropes and where they originated. Not necessarily gaming related, but the idea that different myths and legends can exist in different cultures is always an important part of creating a game world with verisimilitude.

The next section of the pdf delves extensively into the cultures of lycanthropes, in particular the five main lycanthrope races: werebears, wereboars, wererats, weretigers and werewolves. I wish the pdf had at least said something about other types of lycanthropes, but it remains silent on that matter. This is a very detailed and excellent section of material and extremely useful (although not everybody may agree with the particular lycanthrope characteristics presented in the pdf). Each lycanthrope culture includes details on culture, characteristics, origin of the species, behavioural traits, views of the world, organization, pantheons and gods and lots more. It's fascinating and enjoyable reading, and has the right 'I want to play a lycanthrope right now' feel to it.

Part of the intent of this pdf was to introduce ways of making lycanthropes accessible to player characters. As such the next section looks at lycanthrope characters and in particular natural lycanthropes, afflicted lycanthropes and wereblooded characters (those with lycanthrope ancestry). The pdf then present solid classes for lycanthropes, all which as useable irrespective of the means through which lycanthropy was contacted, or if it was inherited. I think this makes for a very good solution to developing both lycanthrope characters at lower levels, and dealing with characters that are afflicted with lycanthropy. These rules present a strong alternative to the lycanthrope template in the core rules, and can be used in conjunction with it.

Prestige classes are very common in most d20 supplements that are published these days, but I don't think there are many that can claim to have a large number of quality prestige classes such as those presented in this pdf. The prestige classes are good. Better than good, in fact. There were some really strong ideas (herald of decay being an example with strong flavor), good new mechanics rather than always rehashing abilities from the core rules, and good flavor text. All these prestige classes are presented in relation to either a particular werecreature or to all lycanthropes in general. The only annoying thing about this section was that spellcasting progression in a prestige class was referred to as '+1 caster level' in tables rather than '+1 level of existing class'. There's a mechanical difference between the two, although the text does explain it correctly.

Feats, spells and magic are next. There are some interesting and novel ideas here. In particular the pdf deals well with the concept of changing form and wielding magical or mundane items, and also introduces a new type of spell component, the bestial spell component. Spells with this component can be cast normally in any form, much like Natural Spell would normally allow you to do. Other than that, a solid collection of material that enhances a strong pdf.

The last section contains some really valuable and important information on dealing with lycanthropy in your campaign. It details perceptions of lycanthropes in society and racial views of lycanthropes as well as lycanthropes that have the various core rules races as their base races. More importantly it offers considerable advice on dealing with characters contracting lycanthropy, and the idea of spreading the disease and the issues surrounding it. The advice is solid, offers strong alternatives to dealing with these issues, and also significant material on curing lycanthropy and even the symptoms of lycanthropy and lycanthropy and the moon. This is an invaluable part of the pdf, answering some questions that DMs may wish to ask when dealing with lycanthropes. A solid end to the pdf.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: There's not a lot that isn't to like in this pdf. The background and cultural information is well detailed, informative and very useful. The classes are great for playing lycanthrope characters and the prestige classes are very good. I appreciated the thought that had gone into the pdf to make it as detailed as possible and answer as many questions DMs and players may have as possible. A very good pdf overall.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Some minor issues related to layout and presentation and the resolution of the art. Also some minor mechanical issues in the prestige classes section related to spellcasting progression.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Feudal Lords: Household Knight is a 14 page pdf product presenting a new core class for any campaign setting, although aimed at Alea Publishing's Feudal Lords Campaign Setting which is to be released at some stage in the future. The pdf comes with two files, a screen version and a print version. The latter is identical in layout to the screen version, but does not contain the borders or background detail of the screen version. Layout and presentation is good, although there were a number of small, yet minor editing errors that slipped through. The pdf contains a number of good images selected to accompany the material contained in the pdf.

The household knights are landless knights that reside with the lords they serve, the latter providing them with upkeep and any provisions that they might need. The pdf briefly details the nature and characteristics of these lawful knights before presenting the 20-level core class. Household knights are strong believers in law and tradition, fight ferociously on the battlefield and for the honor of their lord, and at the same time are well versed in all the etiquette of the courtly life that they can fit in well in those areas.

Mechanically the household knight is a strong mounted warrior with the ability to command and the very presence of leadership. The class is mechanically well executed, and captures the feel of the mounted warrior and leader of many in its concepts and ideas. The household knight is not ordinary knight, but rather one who takes charge of the battlefield both in commanding allies and in fighting from horseback. Household knights gain a number of unique abilities related to the class, including powerful charges, mounted combat feats, the ability to command allies to greater things, and the ability to strike fear into those that oppose them in battle.

The two more intriguing aspects of the class are the command ability and the knight's heraldry bonus that increases with level. Commands are essentially just that - commands that a knight gives his troops or those fighting along side him. Commanded allies can gain a number of benefits depending on the command issued (and a full list of commands and their effects is presented in the pdf), such as bonuses to hit while charging, bonuses to damage, bonuses to Strength checks and grapple checks, and bonuses against fear effects. The size of these bonuses depend on the heraldry bonus of the knight, something which probably brings about some balance issues given that the heraldry bonus increases steadily and more experienced knights can add their Charisma modifiers to it. Essentially this means that the household knight can easily grant large bonuses to his allies that even spellcasters can't match. Paladins that typically have large Charisma scores will be very powerful as household knights in the battlefield. An epic household knight is also included that progresses the class into epic levels.

Following the mechanical presentation of the class the pdf discusses heraldry and a number of aspects related to it. A household knight can, for example, request an audience with powerful nobles, or even request a fief complete with guardsmen and the accompanying land. Allegiances of knights are also discussed, as well as things like fame and infamy regarding knights. All this is well presented and written, and good examples are provided to explain the underlying mechanics of each situation.

The pdf concludes with a number of feats and a welcome addition in the form of a table that presents NPC household knight statistics up to 20th level. Household knight at 5th and 10th level come with more complete stat blocks, all looking correct on casual inspection.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: The pdf does an excellent job of taking the concept of the household knight and presenting a mechanical execution that captures the feel and flavor of the concept. The household knight class is good, offering lots of opportunities for both those that wish to roleplay an interesting class and those that wish a strong leader in battle. The idea behind commands is compelling. The additional information on heraldry and allegiances rounds of a solid pdf that makes a good start to the Feudal Lords Campaign Setting.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: There were a few minor editing errors in the pdf, and the household knight is probably a bit on the strong side, particularly when mounted and at higher levels when issuing commands.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>

Liber Sodalitas: The Pneumaphagoi is a 12 page fully bookmarked pdf product and the 4th product in Highmoon Media Productions' Liber Sodalitas line of products. Each product in the line presents a ready to use organisation that can be inserted into any d20 fantasy campaign. The organisations comes detailed with history, tenets, and all related game mechanics. The Pneumaphagoi, the organisation of this particular product, are eaters of the spirit, a group of people that eat haunts (lesser ghosts) and ghosts, deriving benefit from their often dangerous pursuit that can lead to addiction. The pdf comes with a solid yet simple layout, a single piece of artwork by Nathan Rosario, and is written by Scott G. Carter.

The idea of people eating ghosts is certainly intriguing and this pdf does a good job of presenting both background material and rules text to support the idea of ghost eaters. The pdf starts by presenting a detailed history of the Pneumaphagoi. While more is written about the development of the organisation through the centuries rather than its origins, it provides a solid framework to build an organisation on. Essentially the Pneumaphagoi are a group of smaller organisations that loosely work together as they hunt and eat ghosts. Pneumaphagoi learn to eat ghosts through various texts written by the founding members or more experienced Pneumaphagoi, or are taught by other members of the organisation how to do so, and, almost more importantly, how to catch the haunts or ghosts that you wish to eat.

The organisations lives and abides by certain tenets, loose rules that govern the behaviour of its members. Tenets include respect for other members' hunting grounds (each particular city or town is divided into sections and each section allocated to a ghost eater) and dealing fairly with other ghost eaters (ghosts or haunts can be trapped in containers and then shared between ghost eaters). Organisation is largely loose, rather than formal, and consist more of informal gatherings where ghost eaters get together. There are both groups that support the aims of the founding fathers of the practice, as well as those who would undermine these groups. Ample detail is given on the structure, community, and membership of the Pneumaphagoi to make inserting this into any campaign simple and easy.

Following this good and interesting introduction to the organisation, the remainder of the pdf (8 of the 11 pages of game text) is devoted to mechanics and NPC stats and descriptions. The three NPCs provided come with detailed stat blocks and histories, along with roleplaying notes that makes them useful to either introduce ghost eating to a party or as members of the community that can aid characters in matters related to ghosts and haunts. Each NPC is presented at a different stage of addiction. It was pleasing to see that the stat blocks were almost faultless as well on casual examination.

For an organisation with such an unique pursuit, adequate game rules are needed to support the practice and make it work. These are provided in the form of rules and feats that give access to the lore of the ghost eaters. The basis of ghost eating involves acquiring the required feats (Ghost Eater), catching a ghost using either clever mechanical methods, puzzles (stacked coins that simple minded haunts can't resist or warped mirrors), or magical spells, followed by inhaling the spirit which requires a Will save to achieve or otherwise the haunt or ghost proves to strong for the character to consume.

All these details are covered neatly and with strong mechanics to support the ideas. New spells are provided that can be used to detect or trap ghosts, and for those ghost eaters that aren't spellcasters, incantations are provided. An incantation is essentially a spell that can be cast by anybody, although it requires much more effort in the form of greatly extended casting times (typically 1 hour).

Either ghosts (as per the ghost template) can be caught or a new type of lesser ghost, called a haunt. A full template is provided to create haunts essentially using the ghost template but with minimal special attacks and special qualities. This works well to create a lesser ghostly creature. A trapped ghost can be eaten which results in any number of different effect, depending on the feats a character has. Generally, though, eating a ghost has only a minor influence on a character, granting a bonus to saves, temporary hit points and a penalty to attack and damage rolls due to the euphoric state one enters on consumption.

The last parts of the pdf deal with addiction. Each time a ghost or haunt is eaten, a character risks addiction but can avoid it by making successful saves. Saves will eventually fail, however, and most that pursue ghost eating for extended periods will become addicted and suffer suitable side effects. Rules are provided to cover all the scenarios, as well as overcoming addiction or even ghost eating overdose. Examples are given to fully explain some of the mechanics, a helpful addition to the pdf. A few new items are also provided to enhance the ghost eater's arsenal.<br><br> <b>LIKED</b>: This is an interesting pdf dealing with a very different subject. It provides a unique organisation that can be inserted into your campaign, complete with solid rules, NPCs to use to introduce the concept to characters, and more than enough detailed information on the Pneumaphagoi to use it successfully in any campaign. It contains a lot of enjoyable and useful material that will make for a different encounter in a campaign world.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: The only thing that would've made the material more useful would've been a number of plot hooks related to the ghost eaters, and perhaps some solid suggestions for incorporating or using the Pneumaphagoi in your campaign based on these plot hooks or in general. Not a pdf that's geared towards player characters, but that's not to say that it can't be used as such.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Very Good<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>