Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the PDF version of this product for the purpose of this review. This review does not cover any physical cards.

This is a full-color, eight-page product - although, like Brutal Beasts, four of the pages appear to be identical copies of the OGL as front/back sides for the cards.

The monsters included here are the Arc Hound (Challenge 3), Gallows Golem (Challenge 8), Pelt Amalgam (Challenge 5), and Steel Stallion (Challenge 2). Each creature comes with its full statistics, an image, and a general description of what the creature is and how it behaves, essentially making this product a mini-bestiary of themed creatures.

My feelings here are essentially the same as for Brutal Beasts - four extra creatures on a given theme isn't bad, especially at a price and format that makes them easy to organize if you get physical copies (either as cards or by printing them), but the redundant copies of the OGL make this product slower to navigate than it really needs to be.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the PDF version of this product for the purpose of this review. This review does not cover any physical cards.

This is a full-color, eight-page product - although four of the pages appear to be identical copies of the OGL, one for each of the four creatures contained here. If I understand this right, these are meant to be front-and-back sides (which would make sense for an individual physical product, legally speaking), but it's still slightly jarring to see in PDF format.

The monsters included here are the Apex Ram (Challenge 6), Ridgeback Stalker (Challenge 2), Skullcracker Wolf (Challenge 3), and Tundra Savager (Challenge 8). Each creature comes with its full statistics, an image, and a general description of what the creature is and how it behaves, essentially making this product a mini-bestiary of themed creatures.

Overall, I'd rate this a 4/5 - I really don't think it needs three extra copies of the OGL, and even if those are meant to be included for physical copies, people can simply print out multiples of one copy if need be. That design choice does generally detract from the product, and I'd recommend changing it in the future unless they have a specific reason not to.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product for the purpose of this review.

This is a 15-page, full-color PDF. Or, well... two PDFs, actually, but as far as I can tell they're exactly the same (not even a grayscale printing one... uploading error?). Nine pages are actual content, and after a brief bit of story, this product jumps straight into things. Helpfully, many of the references include online hyperlinks.

Options present here focus on new Occult Rituals (the rules for which are introduced in Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Occult Adventures). Don't be fooled by the similarity to spell blocks - these are not spells. Options include rituals like Unnatural Appetite (which push people towards cannibalism), Eternal Slumber (permanently stopping the decay of a body so resurrection can be done later), and the Ward of Pain (which creates an area that can constantly damage others). Most of these rituals are meant to be used by the GM, but clever (and mostly evil) player characters might also find use for them in certain games.

One of the options includes rules for creating a Mummy Lord, although I question the use of black text on dark red highlights at this point - as a general rule of thumb, highlights should always be on the opposite end of the brightness spectrum (dark if the text is light, or light if the text is dark). It's not a huge problem, but it does make some ability names hard to read, and it really should have been caught on even a casual glance through the final product... so I do have to knock a few points for that.

Otherwise, though, this product is essentially exactly what it presents itself as - a collection of new occult rituals focused on the undead. You'll probably want to have a plan for them before you get the product - a BBEG focused on occult lore and undead? - but they'll work quite well as either things for the enemies to cast or for the players to interrupt.

My final score for this product is 4.5/5. Points were lost for a proofing error that should have been caught, but gained for the nice hyperlinks. For the purpose of this platform, I've decided to round down this time.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product for the purpose of this review.

This is a 16-page, full-color (if mostly rather gray) PDF, with ten pages of rules material.

The Time Assassin is a mid-BAB class with good Reflex saves, and 6+ skill points for level across a decent spread of class skills. The class itself is among the most straightforward you'll find, as there are few choices outside of picking weapon groups for proficiency at various levels. The class is also almost entirely Intelligence-based, eventually gaining the ability to apply their Int modifier to their attack rolls, damage rolls, AC, and even skill choices not normally triggering off of that stat.

The main resource for the class is their Paradox Pool, which determines capacity by their class level plus their intelligence modifier (so, likely to be 5-6 points at the start of the game, depending on how high they were able to pump their Int score). The Paradox Pool can be used to apply a variety of small, non-scaling buffs, or to fuel things like their Time Split ability (which allows them to be in more than one place and take additional actions, albeit with limits on what can be done).

Starting at fourth level, they also get access to Temporal Rifts, which are quite expensive for class abilities (especially when they trigger off the same resource pool as everything else). The ability to move objects in an area backwards in time (to open doors, clear collapsed hallways, et cetera) is free to use, but the other options cost 3-6 points per-use, rather sharply curbing what they can do for the day.

This product also has Favored Class Bonuses for the core races, and two archetypes that provide the only real customization the class gets. (Seriously, everything else is pretty locked into place.) The Time Madness archetype is basically more for fun than anything else since the duplicates take on a random alignment (and may thus be quite unpredictable - or able to get through alignment-based things!), while the Focuser emphasizes watching opponents for awhile and then striking for all the damage at once. This is probably a good choice for people who don't want to do too much in combat, and notably, it also distinctly shrinks their Paradox Pool and makes it harder to use other abilities.

As you've probably picked up by now, the Time Assassin is geared towards a fairly specific style of play - more so than most classes, because the only real decisions you're making are "which weapon should I use?" and "do I play normal or Focuser?". This isn't inherently a bad thing, though most classes in the game try to be more flexible - in fact, this might be a pretty good option if you have a player who wants to fight but suffers from a bit of choice paralysis when they look at all the options in the game. It is, however, something you should know going into this product - there are basically just two ways of playing this class, and everything else is fiddly bits.

Overall, I feel this class is about a 4/5. It's relatively good at what it does - making up for its reduced accuracy by creating clones that can simply make more attacks instead - and it has a little bit of out-of-combat utility if a player is sufficiently creative with their first Temporal Rift and their time clones. That said, it's definitely a combat-focused class, and players shouldn't expect to do much else with it.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product for the purpose of this review.

This is a fourteen-page, full-color product, although only nine pages have actual rules content on them. (The rest is the usual OGL, cover, other legal stuff, et cetera).

The Astra is a full-BAB class with a good Will save, unsurprisingly focused on dealing damage to their enemies. They're proficient with all simple and martial weapons, but that's mostly just a support for the fact that they can create an astral blade as any slashing or piercing weapon they're proficient with. Most players are likely to stick with one form they prefer, but the variable nature of the blade means they can adapt to some defenses. The blade automatically gains enhancement bonuses every four levels, and is always treated as possessing the Ghost Touch quality (<- important in games with lots of incorporeal enemies).

That said, most Astras are likely to be Dexterity-focused characters, rather than Strength-based. The reason for this is that they actually have to be wearing light armor to get the most out of their defenses, as their Astral Protection ability gives them a scaling insight bonus to Reflex, AC, and CMD. They also get Uncanny Dodge and Evasion at higher levels. They also get the Astral Step class feature (referred to as Astral Slide in the table), which gives them 1/2 level + Wisdom Modifier in short-range, swift-action teleportations per-day.

Their most variable class feature is their Mantra - ways that Astras can personalize their astral blades. Mantras are learned at second-level and every three levels thereafter, and basically function as non-enhancement special abilities that can be activated in response to particular situations. If you're fighting a troll, activate the Flame mantra. If you're fighting demons, activate the Good mantra. And so on. Characters can have up to one Mantra active at second level (when they first get the ability), to a maximum of three at 16th level.

This product also includes favored class bonuses for the core races and a couple of archetypes (the Hundred Arms and the Phoenix Soldier, both focused on a rather mythological theme).

My overall feeling for the class, mm... I feel like the Astra largely does what it sets out to do, which is being a mobile close-range damage-dealer. Unfortunately, that's about all it does. As a general rule of thumb, I'm hesitant to approve of classes who only appear to have one role in the game, and dealing damage is a rather limited niche. Both the Kineticist and the Magus - which are the official classes I feel this most resembles - offer more out-of-combat utility, while Psionics' Soulknife offers a similarly-growing psychic blade and many diverse blade skills to go with it. At its core, the Astra is essentially a "you get to enchant your own weapon" class, and the additional effects of the mantras - mostly small defense buffs - don't really provide any more than that.

Thinking it over, I honestly can't rate this any higher than 3/5. It accomplishes its goal, but that doesn't help much if that goal isn't ambitious enough to really let players join in on the rest of the game. If you're looking for a class that essentially just does damage with a magic weapon, this is a good choice. Otherwise, there are similarly-powerful classes who also offer far more utility, and most people would probably enjoy playing those more. For future releases, I would recommend the publisher carefully consider how to give new classes some more out-of-combat options. You don't need another twenty pages for that, but there should be something to help keep players more involved when they're not killing things. Similarly, you don't necessarily need to one-up the other options a player has, but you should at least try to be in the same general region.

For example, the publisher may want to look at the Fey Adept from Spheres of Power, particularly their Shadowstuff ability and use of illusions. That kind of flexible utility power - redone with more of an astral touch here, and keeping in mind the expected magical limits of a full-BAB class - might work well if they ever decide to remake this class.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product for the purpose of this review.

The Second Tarot Variation is an alternative set of rules for Castle Falkenstein - namely, replacing the normal Fortune Deck with an expanded one that uses the 22-card tarot deck. This is generally something of a powerup, although the limit on how many cards a player can have in their hand at any time means they are giving up the normal benefits of the minor arcana. It's very much a player-focused system, as Hosts won't make much use of the tarot effects. The product itself is a six-page, full-color PDF.

I'm actually rather fond of this addition, since it adds an additional level of spontaneity and excitement to drawing cards... and in the end, aren't people present to have fun? That said, being unpredictable also means the Host needs to be good at improvising. For example, the Emperor allows a player to discard a card from the Host's hand for awhile - which could throw a wrench into your plans - while the Fool has the possibility of making a Feat succeed in, and I quote, "the most spectacular way possible".

To put it another way, this product is probably best for experienced Hosts, either with a number of Castle Falkenstein games under their belt or significant experience running other systems. I don't feel this is a drawback, exactly - not every product is meant for first-time players - but it is something to be aware of before you buy. Aside from that note, though, I enjoyed this product and it gets a full score from me.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product for the purpose of this review.

Babbage's Engine is a 28-page, full-color adventure for the Castle Falkenstein system with a generous helping of art sprinkled throughout. After a brief introduction to the main NPCs - there aren't many, so they'll be easy enough to keep track of - this product jumps right into the meat of the adventure. To avoid spoilers, I won't be describing the plot in too much detail - the description above should suffice for that.

The adventure itself is broken up into four chapters and an epilogue, most no more than a few pages at most. It's entirely playable as a standalone adventure, but the story is such that it's also a pretty good chance to set up future plot threads and introduce NPCs the players might meet in other games. Some advice on doing this is provided, along with several notable figures (Jules Verne, Mark Twain, etc.) who might be aboard.

Following the adventure, Babbage's Engine offers six sample Dramatic Characters appropriate for the adventure, complete with print-ready character sheets that can be passed around. These aren't enough to play all by themselves - players will need to be familiar with the Castle Falkenstein system to make sense of the sheets - but they're pretty handy for groups that would like to jump right in.

Overall, this is a very solid release, and I feel like it accomplishes exactly what it set out to do - provide a train-based dramatic adventure. It's probably best for linking other adventures together - I mean, literally, you're riding from one destination to the other, but it'd definitely be more fun than simply saying "now you're on the other side". The price is very attractive for the amount of content you're getting, too, especially because this is probably a full session's worth of material (unless you have very long gaming sessions). I'd definitely suggest trying to finish it in one sitting, though.

Overall, I feel like this product is about a 4.5/5 - maybe not quite perfect, but quite solidly put together, and certainly not something I'd hesitate to suggest Hosts take a look at. For the purposes of this platform, I'm rounding up.

Disclaimer: I support the Patreon campaign funding Spheres of Power's handbook expansions, and as such I paid the full price for this product.

After some delays, the next book in Spheres of Power's line of expansions is here! I'm not much of a Dark user myself, but it's a nice counterpart to the Illuminator's Handbook, and not exactly an uncommon choice for characters.

Falling into the regular format these Handbooks have developed, this product opens with seven new archetypes.

The Darkshaper is an archetype for the Armorist that focuses on manipulating the user's shadow, which can be animated as an extra limb, make attacks, and generally change shape to be useful.

The Invidian is an archetype for the Symbiat, trading their psionic partner for a shadow demon. Their main feature is the Blackened Psyche, which allows for things like granting cover to allies or designating opponents as flanked against certain attacks.

The Nocturnal Predator is Batma- I mean, a shapeshifter focused on killing their foes in the dark. Most notably, they gain the Dark Sphere at full caster level progression (and don't lose progression in Alteration), which is a fairly notable benefit. To help balance this, the Nocturnal Predator also gains two Drawbacks without any extra talents for it (unless they already had the Spheres from a different class, which most won't).

The Shadow Boxer is an archetype for the Unchained Monk, and as the name implies, they can manipulate their shadow to strike their foes. It's a lot like the Darkshaper, really, but they have excellent reach (in all directions, including up), and they also gain some minor use of the Dark Sphere and can spend their Ki points to fuel its powers.

The Skulk is an archetype for the Fey Adept, trading powers of illusion for darkness and gaining the ability to steal shadows and fake the target's powers. Duplicating a foe's powers can be fairly potent, and I'd definitely recommend diving all-in on the flavor for this archetype.

The Talent Thief is an archetype for the Unchained Rogue that's a lot like the Fey Adept, covering the same general ground of stealing abilities. There is a limit on this in that you need to confirm a critical hit - which rather noticeably narrows the variety of builds this archetype will be effective for. (I can't actually dislike that too much - archetypes are usually all about playing in a particular way to begin with, but it's important to know if you want to use it.)

The Void Gazer is an archetype for the Thaumaturge that swaps their usual invocations for those with a darker theme. They also get the Clouded Vision curse of the Oracle.

After all of that, we finally get to the most important part of this book - the new basic magic talents. I was very happy to see that, once again, a Handbook contains new types of talents for a sphere. The new types introduced are Blots (flat surfaces of darkness with particular effects) and Shadows (which manipulate a shadow directly) - both of which offer definite new possibilities for casters.

The talents themselves include things like causing targets to quite literally choke on darkness, blindfolding someone with their own shadow, and extinguishing mundane sources of light (and magical sources of fire - a minor but useful utility, especially because it doesn't cost a spell point to use).

We also get a few augmented talents - new abilities that can be acquired by taking a talent multiple times. This isn't new to Spheres of Power - Fast Divinations had this - but it's still fairly rare.

To cap out the new powers, the Advanced Magic includes some new advances talents (like animating your shadow for a long period of time and creating fields that null alignments) and an Incantation to summon up a revenant shade.

The next chapter focuses on player options, starting with a variety of new feats that aid in the use of the Dark Sphere. Among them, we see things like free use of the Obfuscation talent in areas of dim (or darker) light, and Sickening targets at the same time you Fascinate them to really stack those ailments.

We also get three new traits, a handful of new drawbacks (including one for the Light sphere), and new Alternate Racial Traits for Fetchlings, Tieflings, and Wayang. Familiars aren't left out, either, as they get a nice new Archetype.

Section 6 is pretty short - just two pages - but it includes a few Wondrous Items, a Minor Artifact, and several new enchantments for weapons and armor. Three of these are GP-based, rather than magical, so they can easily be added to newly-crafted gear. The book wraps up with a new template and a sample creature.

All in all, this book nicely fits into what I've come to expect from Spheres of Power's handbooks. I was especially pleased to see the new Talent types, since those are an excellent way to add variety to a new Sphere without deviating from its central theme. If you enjoy Spheres of Power and plan on heavy use of the Dark Sphere, you're definitely going to want to pick this book up.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product for the purpose of this review.

This product contains two separate downloads - in addition to the main product itself, there's a printable set of character sheets you can duplicate as-needed for your table.

Now, then. If you're anything like me, then you have... let's call them "feelings" about clowns. Well, vs. Stranger Stuff is pretty much all about the weird, creepy 80's movie vibe, so you probably already know whether or not this is something you want for your group. No, really. Some products are ambiguous without more information, but this isn't one of them. There's even a part of this product dealing with the fear of clowns (and the this-should-be-obvious note that this probably isn't a good choice for anyone with that fear. With that not-so-cheerful thought, let's get into the technical details, then the content.

The main product here is a 54-page, full-color file. As with most releases, the full rules for playing - including character creation - are included so that you only need to purchase this product in order to enjoy the game. Well, that and the basic supplies - pencils, paper, and a deck of normal playing cards. If you're not familiar with the VsM System, it's extremely simple and straightforward - people can easily dive in even if they've never played it before, making this appropriate for both long-term gaming groups and a party with friends or family.

Once we're past that, however, they really are sending in the clowns... starting with a page describing various plots that could be used for a clown-oriented adventure, from cannibal clowns to animatronic clowns desperate to get back at anyone who laughed at them. If you'd like something a little easier - or at least a good guide for creating your own adventures - this product also comes with three complete games worth of adventures. Note that as with most VsM system adventures, it's honestly not going to take too long to get through any one adventure. You could realistically play through all three of them in one session.

Now, that's where most products would stop... but by the time we're through the appendixes of the adventures, we're only at Page 45. The rest of the product contains useful extras, especially if you're printing them. Page 45 is essentially a draw-your-own-clown page (which can be as funny or as serious as you want), and there's also a paper puppet, some printable clown miniatures, and a couple of maps suitable for the adventures published earlier in the book. The final three pages include two of advertisements and the back cover.

At this point, though, there's honestly only one question that need answering: Is this a good "evil clowns" product? Personally, I think it is. I mean, the subject alone is really the selling point here, but I do think it holds up to what it set out to do. Fat Goblin Games has published quite a few products for this system now, and I definitely think they've got a good handle on this.

That said, part of the success of the game will come from the atmosphere you create and the players you have. This isn't a game for everyone, so make sure your intended group is onboard with the idea of playing it.

And other than that? Just don't sleep. The clowns might eat you...

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product for the purpose of this review.

All right, going into this product, I had absolutely no idea what it was about. I mean, seriously, just look at that name. It turns out that this is a 44-page, full-color murder mystery adventure for the Castle Falkenstein system. The adventure is divided into a prologue, three chapters, and an aftermath. For spoiler reasons, I obviously can't get into too many details on the plot, but simply knowing it's a murder mystery is probably enough to tell you whether or not your group is interested in playing it. The credited author, J Gray, has contributed to quite a few quality titles in the past, and that's always reassuring since mystery adventures tend to be very hit-or-miss.

That said, I probably wouldn't run this as the first Castle Falkenstein adventure for a given group of players. That's not a knock against its quality, by the way - it's just that this is the sort of adventure that works much better when players have a good understanding of their abilities and what they can accomplish. After all, if they don't know that (for example) a feat in Education or Tinkering can help them get certain kinds of plot-relevant information, they're not likely to try that and may instead be reduced to blindly trying to figure out the way forward. (Groups of veteran gamers who have thoroughly studied their characters and the system, or those who have played a lot of mystery adventures in the past, are exempt from this suggestion.)

Similarly, this game will require a certain amount of preparation to run properly. There are a few places where content from the book can be read as-is, but the game master will probably want to write up scene information and dialogue that they can read to the players while also being sure they don't accidentally rattle off information they're not supposed to. Given the nature of this adventure, I think having clear text for the GM to read (as seen in many other roleplaying adventures) would have been a better way to create this. Running a mystery game is complicated enough as it is.

On the more helpful side, the product does tend to include a variety of responses for things that Dramatic Characters (i.e. players) might choose to do in any given situation. It's always possible that players will go further outside of the bounds than the adventure has planned for, of course, but it's nice to see they aren't expected (or required) to do things in exactly one way.

Overall, I feel like this is a solid mystery adventure that fans of the genre will enjoy. It's definitely something to talk over with your gaming group before you get it - not everyone enjoys a big helping of mystery during their gaming sessions, after all - but anyone who does enjoy it is probably going to come away from the table satisfied. I do have to knock off a few points because of the extra preparation a GM will need to do, giving us a final score of 4.5 (rounded down to 4) stars.

Disclaimer: I backed the Kickstarter for the Legendary Planet Adventure Path and received a copy of this as part of that.

Dead Vault Descent is Part 3 of the Legendary Planet Adventure Path (not counting the prologue), and by this point, you probably have a pretty good idea of whether or not you want to keep playing it. That is, I'm honestly not sure my review here is going to sway you one way or the other... but I would like to briefly talk about the contents.

The previous adventure was something of a scavenger quest on a barren world, and like the other adventures in this campaign, Dead Vault Descent goes somewhere new - a tidally locked world where the sun hangs stationary in the sky and deep vaults burrow underground. Of course, in order to get there, the players are going to have to find a way through the next gate, and that's never as easy as they'd like... alas, I can't say much more because of spoilers.

Suffice it to say that Dead Vault Descent continues to maintain the level of quality we've come to expect from this Adventure Path, and there's plenty of content in addition to the material. From a nasty new construct swarm to what is definitely not a lightsaber (you can make ranged attacks with it, too!), there's a lot of good stuff to be found in this book and I'm looking forward to the point when my players reach it.

If you liked the previous adventures, know that this is a solid follow-up that will continue to challenge your players... and prepare them for the greater challenge to come.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product for the purpose of this review.

All right... the first thing you really need to do is take another look at the title of this work, then at the cover image there in the description. That alone is probably going to tell you whether or not you're interested in this work, and I'm not really sure what else I can say... but I'm going to try anyway.

This is a 54-page, full-color product that functions as a fully standalone roleplaying game. Featuring, yes, intelligent rodents - don't think too hard about it, because this product is clearly more about having fun than worrying over the small details. It is, however, newcomer-friendly - many of the common terms of the industry (like d6, Tabletop RPG, and so on) are defined in the document to help give people a better sense of what it's talking about.

After a brief introduction, this product delves right into character creation - reassuring people that they don't need to worry about terms they don't understand, because all is explained in due time - and the friendliness remains as basic choices (like which race of rodent to play) are outlined in nicely straightforward terms.

I'm not going to go into the nitty-gritty of character creation, but I will note that it's a moderately-involved process, and newcomers will probably want to do it with someone who's played the game before and can give advice. Skills like Acrobatics, Sneaking, Swimming, and Chemistry are present in the game, and use a flat difficulty check (ranging from a roll of 5 or higher for easy tasks to 20 or higher for truly difficult things).

Characters can level up during the course of the game - it's recommended to give out XP at the end of sessions - and can achieve a maximum of 10th level. The main character creation rules and guidelines for play end around Page 30 - starting on Page 31, we have the complete feat list (with more details on each), and that continues on for 10 pages until we get to Items & Equipment. Page 46 is the start of the game mastery suggestion (with lots of advice for those who haven't done it before), and also offers a number of sample bad guys that can be used during play.

Overall, this is an amusing, self-contained system. It doesn't take itself seriously, and you probably shouldn't treat it that way unless your group actually likes the idea of playing a grimdark rodent game (I'm not judging). I'd definitely ask people if they were interested prior to buying this, but if what you've heard in the description and here in my review sounds like fun, know that you'll be getting a complete game to play.

Just don't forget your cheese.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this product as one of the rewards for backing the Strange Magic 2 kickstarter. I did not pay the price you'd be paying here, but I did pay for this product.

Ultimate Herbalism is part of a new series of systems by Interjection Games, following on the fun of systems like Ethermagic, Composition Magic, and Truenaming. Now, those who have bought from Interjection Games in the past will know that Bradley Crouch is a systems guy - and being honest, I love new systems. These are the sorts of things that truly change the feel of a character, helping to make them distinct and memorable.

Now, this product itself is a 162-page PDF, with a full-color cover page and numerous pieces of colored artwork sprinkled throughout. At the time of writing, only a PDF version is available, but it's my understanding that physical copies are likely to be available at a future point. Aside from the generous amount of art, this product is essentially solid content - it jumps right into the table of contents and continues on right to the OGL on the last page.

Now, with that in mind, what do we actually have 160 pages of? Well, plants, and the people who use them. (That was pretty obvious from the name, though.) Herbalism is a system focused around gathering plants, then mixing them together in specific combinations to produce various effects - poisons, healing items, debuffs, and so on. Characters using Herbalism essentially prepare for the day by going out and collecting plants, rolling a dice for their current biome (forest, mountains, etc.) to see what they can actually collect. This is made a little easier by the way characters can learn to cultivate plants and get a more reliable supply of those they use the most often. The classes have ways to mix plants together, but many plants can also be consumed individually for specific effects. Essentially, this gives classes at least two different ways to use the herbs they gather (assuming they know recipes for them), which is a nice touch.

Anchoring this system are three new classes.

The Gourmend is a low-BAB class specializing in cooking, and quickly gains the services of an animal companion created out of food (yes, really). They're also defined by their skillsets - for example, a Gourmend who works with baking can learn to create Gingerbread Cookie Golems (yes, really), while a Gourmend who works with MEAT! (yes, it's spelled that way in the book) can butcher fallen foes and cook meals that provide morale bonuses to physical scores. There is a bit of a limit on the class - they need to revere nature somehow (it's how they get their stuff, after all), and it is possible to 'fall' like a Paladin. Honestly, though, that's probably not going to be much of a problem for anyone who wants to play this class.

The 'main' class in this system is unsurprisingly named the Herbalist, a mid-BAB class which uses plants in a more raw form. They learn recipes for using plants at first level, second level, and every even level thereafter, allowing them to create poisons, provide insight rolls to knowledge checks, or negate many weather effects.

The Herbalist also comes with a number of distinct archetypes, from the Aromatologist (who creates therapeutic incense) to the Gardener (who emphasizes their cultivation pots). Like all good archetypes, these represent distinct changes in the way the class plays, and they're definitely worth taking a look at before you start to build your character.

The last of the three new classes is the Naturalist, who collects fewer plants than the other classes but, at the same time, is noticeably better on the front lines thanks to their ability to raise, and I quote, "enormous, autonomous carnivorous plants" (yes, really). That alone is probably enough to tell you whether or not you want to play that class.

The rest of the book - starting on Page 90, actually, so a little less than half the content - is focused on supporting the classes. It opens with a selection of Herbalism-focused feats (grow things faster, learning how to cook more, etc.), then moves into the herb finding tables for the classes (at 6 and 10 points per-roll - which one is used depends on which class you're playing). Following this is an extremely nice touch on Interjection Games' part - biome summary tables that briefly explain the effects AND, more importantly, have a blank space for people to write down their current quantity. These are definitely meant to be printed out for use at the table, and I thoroughly approve of anything that makes it easier to track the many resources these classes have access to. (Seriously, other companies? Take note of this if you have a resource-heavy class.)

The book wraps up with three final sections. The Herb Log provides the basic rules for using herbs (attacks of opportunity, administering them to people who can't act, etc.), as well as a detailed list of each herb and its normal effects when used. The Recipe Book holds the various mixes than can be created for more powerful effects, and finally, the optional Microcosm rules deal with plants that might be found in rare areas (fey territory, battlefields, places of extreme good or evil, and so on). I would definitely recommend implementing these rules, since players in general tend to enjoy finding rare things and it really drives home the variety of things that Herbalism classes can find.

Overall, this PDF is a very solid product, and it compares quite favorably to previous releases by Interjection Games. It's definitely different, but you know what? Different is often fun, and I didn't see anything that looked horribly game-breaking. (Like I said, the author is a systems guy. He gets this stuff - not just how to come up with ideas, but how to make them fair, reasonably balanced, and fun. Many kudos are deserved.)

Now, I feel that ratings are a bit superfluous for this product - I mean, either you're interested in playing one of these classes or you aren't. This is by no means a general product that everyone ought to have, but if it sounds fun to you, know that you'll be picking up a creative, well-done system that adds a genuinely unique twist to the way characters get and use their powers. It gets a well-deserved five stars, and I'm looking forward to my chance to pick up a physical copy when the rest of Strange Magic 2 is done.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product for the purpose of this review.

This is a full-color, 86-page product. As the name suggests, Horses and Mules focuses on things relating to steeds and their use. The product opens with a section detailing the biology of horses, with occasional notes on how donkeys and mules are different. Normally, I don't actually think too highly of these sections - but I felt this part of the book actually came in useful, since some of the things it addressed might be relevant to players using steeds in creative ways. For example, the inability to see certain colors, or their drastically improved hearing, might actually come into play every now and then. Towards the end of this section, the various terms are all broken down into game mechanics - for example, moving at a trot would be considered hustling, while a gallop is the equivalent of running.

Starting on Page 20, we get statistics for different kinds of horses, from large warhorses to small, dog-sized breeds. There's also a table for horse personalities, helping to give added flavor to a creature whose activities are often just hand-waved by a group.

Page 35 is where we start to get into the real material of this book, and it opens up with a section on horse-related skills. These are mostly copied from the CRB, but there are a few new options inserted. I'm not actually sure how to feel about this - on the one hand, I dislike too much copying of CRB content. On the other hand, having all of this could be helpful if someone wanted to print out the section for use at a game table (although they could also print the CRB's stuff, when you think about it). Having additional options helps, but it's difficult for me to call this part either good or bad.

The section on feats is similar, acting as a mix of new and old brought together in one place for easy reference. This is quite helpful for those who don't want to search every book they own for related feats, but also serves to pad out the content. I mean, don't get me wrong, there's new material here - but not quite as much as you might expect if you look at the page count. This continues until around the time we get to the Hussar, a new full-BAB base class focused on the use of mounts. In that regard, it's fairly similar to the cavalier, and includes a few archetypes for added specialization.

After this class, we get a little more magic, including some notes on how to obtain magical steeds, a list of horse-like creatures by CR, and statblocks for quite a few of them. As before, though, a lot of this is collecting information from different sources into one place.

In the end, I think that's what stops me from giving full marks to this product. Don't get me wrong - having a lot of rules for one concept brought together and expanded on in one product is not a bad thing. In fact, it can be very useful. However, I really would like to see a little more original content in this line. To me, this product is a solid 4/5 - it certainly accomplishes its goal, and I have no major complaints about it, but it doesn't go quite far enough with offering new content to earn full marks.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product for the purpose of this review.

This is a 32-page, full-color PDF. As the name and color scheme imply, this is very much a holiday product, themed around the kids' (i.e. player characters') adventures as they deal with the evil of Krampus. These games tend to be quick, so it's very possible to play all of the adventures in a single gaming session - and indeed, this may be the best way to run them, given their interconnected nature. Note that this is very much a horror product despite the festive wrapping - with adventure names like "Slay Bells" and "Holiday Hell", it's pretty clear what you're in for.

Each adventure is composed of several "acts", short scenes that serve to reveal information and/or advance the plot of the game. Each adventure has one or two combat scenes as part of the adventure - and the end of the book includes some notes on how to allow healing, since this is a little different than the way the game is normally meant to be run. The end of the product has a couple of maps - one relatively serious and one distinctly more amateurish to show the average house - something I'm pretty sure is intentional and intended to help set the mood of the game.

You'll probably want access to a printer before playing, if only to get copies of the maps and the character sheets. Overall, this is a very solid product - and an excellent entry point to the vs. Stranger Stuff system, since the basic rulebook is included and will teach you the details of play. This isn't something you're going to play over and over, but it's priced very attractively and serves as an outstanding one-off for a game with your friends. I'm happy to endorse it for that purpose, and since I noticed no meaningful flaws with the product, it gets a full 5/5.