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A sequel to 20 Minor Magic Items, this basically gets the same rating as that product. An adequate selection, similar writing issues (that may stem from not knowing English), also missing rarites (and probably not fair as all common items).
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An adequately interesting selection of minor magic items. Unfortunately, this product is not written very well - though I assume English is not the author's first language. A bigger problem is the lack of item rarities - it's possible these are all meant to be common items, but uncommon would be fairer for most.
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Three new cleric domains for D&D 5th Edition, plus a selection of new spells.
- Blood Domain: This is OK, but essentially just a cleric that will benefit (more than usual) from killing things. This might be mechanically appealing, but there's not much here for roleplay.
- Exorcism Domain: The most thematically interesting of the three, and probably the best designed, but (as they warn) a bit specialized.
- Spirit Domain: An oddball, this feels like it would be more at home as a druid subclass, rather than a cleric option. Or possibly as its own class altogether (note an alternate name is "shaman").
- New spells: Angelic Boon allows you to basically damage or heal on the fly; mechanically useful, but it feels a bit cheap as a result. The cantrips overall feel too strong; also, Spirit Claw being intended for just one domain seems against 5th Edition standards. The other spells are fine.
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A third-party sourcebook on gnolls for D&D 3rd Edition. This includes details on biology and culture, combat tactics, roleplaying tips, rules for gnoll characters, adventure hooks, and a sample gnoll settlement. The book elaborates adequately well on the core gnoll concept, but doesn't introduce much that's unexpected; the flexible social structure of their packs, and their dependence on slave labor, are probably the most notable ideas. There aren't any particularly interesting gnoll variations, and the section on PC gnolls is very basic. Be warned that the book assumes that gnolls have innate characteristics, and doesn't shy away from some nastier behaviors. The book might appeal most to those that prefer an AD&D 1st Edition style of gaming; this is especially reflected in some of the more casual writing in sections of the book. (Originally posted on Goodreads)
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This module has a number of things going for it, including the Egyptian theming; the strong support for multiple classic editions (Original, all three versions of Basic, and AD&D 1st Edition); the material for expanding the adventure into a full campaign; and most importantly, its being a free product. On the other hand, the temple dungeon is merely OK, and they seem to over-emphasize the child-murder aspect. The main thing that lost me, however, was the inclusion of a trap that compels victims to have sex with any creature around them - including animals - which is just unpleasant. (Also posted on Goodreads)
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This adventure - produced for the RPGA - includes an interesting backstory, and has a very well-structured design. (One nice touch is that the adventure can be run alone, or as a sequel to the previous RPGA adventure, and there's material supporting both.) These advantages, plus some inventive challenges, elevate what otherwise could have been just another dungeon crawl. However, a little more plot would have helped, and things get a bit too complicated in the latter half as far as traps and puzzles. (I'm also not sure there are enough clues for players to figure out the "best" ending.) This could make for a good game, but be prepared to make adjustments for your particular group.
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An adventure for AD&D 1st Edition (but billed as 2nd Edition compatible) in the Greyhawk setting (not that it's especially relevant to the plot). This lighthearted scenario has the player characters hired to help a pair of gargoyles find their stolen wings - a premise apparently based on an art error from the original Monster Manual. Unfortunately, while the adventure is adequately well-designed, it's trying too hard at times to be funny (did we really need so many random accident tables?) and much of the progress seems to depend on players doing things in just the right order. (The players also have very little direct influence on the finale.) Note, the adventure clearly intends for you to use the pre-generated characters in the book, so it might require some adjustment for original PCs. Not a bad adventure, if you're looking for something sillier, but this feels like it could have been executed better. (Originally posted on Goodreads)
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A decent selection of new underwater monsters for D&D 5th Edition. Note the product is clearly converted from Pathfinder, although it hides it better than most such conversions (outside of a few with more complicated mechanics than usual for 5th Edition). There are also a few minor formatting issues, but nothing that's a major problem. The toothwraith (featured on the cover) is probably the best monster of the lot, although the dracopus, harpoon weed, and sarcophagus clam aren't bad either. (The rest are adequate.) As a bonus, the product also includes a new (and Small-sized) aquatic character race, the piranha-man, which is OK. At $3.95 for just 9 pages of material, this is best purchased as part of a bundle or sale.
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A weird but fun little adventure that makes great use of the fey monsters and lore from Volo's Guide to Monsters. Also includes a bunch of equally weird-but-fun new magic items throughout. A well-designed adventure that would be a good choice for a one-shot... and best of all, it's free!
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A bard subclass centered around trick-or-treating. The flavor is fun, but the formatting is shaky, and the mechanics a little odd. This also wouldn't fit well into any sort of serious campaign. At least the price is more than fair!
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A fun concept: a bard subclass that's centered around cat stuff. How well this works depends on how serious you want it to be. Read as a joke subclass, this is pretty entertaining, especially their final "Kitty" feature (which stupefies targets with cuteness). However, if taken as a proper subclass, this falls a bit short: the Gift of Claws feature is a bit odd and complicated (a Bardic Inspiration plus claws that recipients can pass on) while Kitty is just too silly. (Also, $1.99 for five pages of material is slightly too much.)
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A neat concept - an artificer focused on plants, rather than magical machines. Similar to the official Artillerist and Battle Smith, the botanist chooses from one of three types of plant allies that increase in power as they level. Unfortunately, unlike the Artillerist or Battle Smith, nearly everything is focused on the plant ally, which makes this subclass less versatile than its official counterparts. The other major issue with this product is that while the mechanics seem sound, it's all formatted in a very amateurish way. Also, the price is also slightly too high for just three pages of rules content. Not a bad product all in all, but it could stand to be better.
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A role-playing game for adventures set in the Doctor Who universe. The basic assumption of DW: AITAS is that you'll be playing a Doctor and companions, but the rules aren't bound to that, and they do provide alternate models (such as games featuring UNIT or completely original characters).
The core mechanics of the game are very straightforward and interesting: roll two six-sided dice, add relevant bonuses, and compare the result to a difficulty... but then the degree of your success or failure suggests a range of possible results (including partial successes and not-quite failures). Characters also have a supply of "Story Points" that can be used to adjust the narrative in various ways. In addition, turn order is based on characters' intended actions, with "talkers", "movers", and "doers" all getting to go before "fighters". This last design choice is one of many in the book that shows just how much the designers understand Doctor Who and its tropes.
Going chapter by chapter:
- Chapter 1 is a general overview of the game... which gives us an example of play before providing a basic explanation of the core mechanics (odd choice).
- Chapter 2 goes through the process of character creation, and provides good advice along with a solid range of traits and skills. It's pretty plain that many traits were reverse-engineered from actual show characters, but that's not exactly a problem.
- Chapter 3 goes over the game's core rules, with highlights including the different types of conflict (physical, mental, and social) as well as ways to handle potential character death. The chapter also includes various sub-systems, such as chase rules (a particular standout) and rules for gadgets. Occasionally it feels like they should have streamlined some of these rules, but overall they're solid.
- Chapter 4 is an almost entirely lore chapter on time travel in the Doctor Who universe - well considered and very insightful, with good guidelines for play. This chapter is probably the most interesting to read.
- Chapter 5 provides stats for various foes of the Doctor, covering all the major players from various eras: Daleks, Cybermen, the Master, etc. It also provides guidance for building your own aliens and monsters, which is fine but seems slightly too loose; some advice on balance would have been nice.
- Chapter 6 provides gameplay and gamemastering advice. Most of this advice is decent but pretty generic, and likely stuff you know if you're an experienced roleplayer. However, it's better when focused specifically on Whovian tropes.
- Chapter 7 provides adventure design guidelines, which assume you will structure your campaigns like the TV show - good if you feel up to the task, but one wonders if that raises the bar too high. It ends with some sample scenarios (one per Doctor) which are mostly just OK, and often very derivative of existing stories (though a few stand out).
- The Appendix at the end of the book includes sample characters (including the Tenth, Eleventh, and War Doctors), some pre-built character templates, and a handy one-page rules reference.
Overall, this is a well-considered game with great core mechanics, made by folks who clearly understand the source material. There are some rough spots in the rules and their presentation, but none of them are deal-breakers. If you're a fan of Doctor Who and role-playing games, it's definitely worth picking this up, or one of the other versions of the core rules. (Originally posted on Goodreads)
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Four new druid options:
- Circle of Rebirth: A druid with better healing at lower levels, and death-themed features at higher levels. The concept is fine, but the execution feels merely adequate.
- Circle of Seasons: A druid that gets different themed abilities for each of the four seasons. Again, the concept is good, but the execution is a bit too basic. (Also, why is electricity the theme for autumn?)
- Circle of Witchcraft: A druid with a "witch" theme. An interesting idea, and probably the most distinctive of the three archetypes, but it gets odd and then overly powerful at higher levels.
- Wild Shape Alternative: Optional rules that genericize how the Wild Shape feature works. It's fine, but I don't know what incentive druid players would have to choose this over the default.
Overall, not a terrible collection of new options (although the Witchcraft druid has serious issues), but not a very impressive one either. At least the price is fair!
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Over two dozen new subclasses that (as the description states) are inspired by Overwatch. In fact, these subclasses are so blatantly inspired by specific Overwatch characters that many have pretty fuzzy core concepts, and a number have conglomerations of abilities that don't make a lot of sense otherwise. As a result, many of these would be odd fits in a traditional D&D campaign, and a DM would likely need to account for them in their worldbuilding, or reskin features as needed. The author apparently tried to mitigate this with some new Realms lore for the subclasses in a few cases, but it doesn't help that much.
Going class by class:
- Barbarian: The Path of the Enforcer is centered around using a chain-hook (which is immune to nonmagical damage for some reason), and also gets a random free short rest; extremely specialized. The Path of the Ironfist brings some unarmed combat capabilities to the barbarian, including some fun special techniques, although the last feature is just bizarre out of context. The Path of the Primal Storm is strangely similar in terms of ideas to the Storm Herald barbarian from Xanathar's Guide to Everything. Ironfist seems like the winner of these, outside of the final feature; Enforcer is too narrow a concept, and you're better off using the official Storm Herald over Primal Storm.
- Bard: The College of Sound allows generic thunder damage and allows a bard's nearby allies to heal and increase their speed, which is a pretty bland concept out of context (and also seems to step on other classes' turf). The College of Comedy and Tragedy just feels like a random collection of features. Sound is the better of the two, but both have issues.
- Cleric: The Astral Domain is a potentially interesting concept... that unfortunately has little to do with anything Astral, since it's drowned beneath Overwatch-inspired features. The Frost Domain is the better of the two cleric options, centered around cold, although the Ice Form Channel Divinity is another feature that just seems weird out of context.
- Druid: The Circle of the Vigilant seems like a stretch as a druid concept, focused on being a sentry fixed in place; it also seems underpowered.
- Fighter: The Arbalist is a super-archer, but randomly has morale-centric mechanics as well. The Crusader is a super-protector, which is a pretty solid concept, though the magical force barrier that emerges from your shield at higher levels is odd out of context (and kind of complicated). The Hospitaler is the most interesting, a sort of battlefield medic that also stealthily includes elements of the 4th Edition warlord, although the 15th level feature is extra random. The Hospitaler is probably the winner here, although the Crusader isn't too bad.
- Monk: The Way of Balance features orbs of force that can be charged with healing or harming energy, which is interesting. Their final feature only seems to provide healing despite ostensibly combining both energies, which is disappointing. The Way of the Dragon Blade brings some swordplay to the monk, and seems fun enough, though it's now overshadowed by the Kensei monk from Xanathar's (which is presumably better balanced). Neither are bad options, although the official Kensei should likely be used instead of the Dragon Blade.
- Paladin: The Oath of Mercifulness has a solid concept (a healing-focused paladin), but a shaky name and another with a broad concept done better in an official book (Redemption, from Xanathar's). Oath of the Dark Star's archetypal concept (drawing on extradimensional energy to bring balance) doesn't quite justify its otherwise flavorful - and probably too powerful - abilities. Mercifulness is the better of the two, but you'd be better sticking with the official Redemption paladin.
- Ranger: The Dragon Archer has a decent theme that adequately ties its features together; though it might have been nice to vary from radiant damage, which no core dragon has. Watchful Healers can heal or debuff targets with their shots, which is neat, though they might be a little underpowered. Neither are too bad.
- Rogue: The Arcane Infiltrator has some fun (if random) abilities, but it doesn't define its concept well enough to avoid competing with the Arcane Trickster. The Lantanese Outlaw is a gunslinger subclass, which also gets "stun grenades" later on for no clear reason. Lolth's Talon has some fun spider theming, but overcomplicated mechanics. The Outlaw is probably the best, though as it uses guns, it won't fit in all campaigns.
- Sorcerer: Forge Spirit has neat lore, tying them to a primordial fire spirit, but some decidedly un-sorcerer mechanics with its focus on a "forge spirit totem." Volatile Primordial also has neat lore, tying them to the Elemental Chaos generally, but also relies on un-sorcerer mechanics (traps and explosives). These two probably suffer the most from being so close to their Overwatch inspirations.
- Warlock: Eldritch Power is both random and bland, the least impressive in this product. Lord of the Dead grants shadow and death-related powers, and would work better with a more solid core concept (what they describe sounds more appropriate for a cleric). Natural Warden has a lot of random and complicated mechanics, and steps on the concepts of both the druid and ranger. Lord of the Dead is the definite winner of the three, despite the concept issues.
- Wizard: School of the Arcane Warrior is fun, but doesn't really suit a wizard - it might have worked better for fighter or rogue. (Artificer would be the obvious choice among non-core options.) Further, it's not clear why this has a new "Arcane Blast" spell associated with it, instead of taking advantage of existing cantrips. School of Chronal Acceleration has a similar problem, being clearly suited to a more combat-focused class than the wizard; it also makes the dangerous decision to mess with the restrictions on concentration spells. Both of these subclasses are also very blatantly close to their inspiration. Neither are bad, but are among the least suited to generic campaigns.
Overall, this product would be useful if you're specifically looking to replicate your favorite Overwatch characters in D&D. However, it could be difficult to use most of this material unchanged in other types of campaigns. The product might also be slightly overpriced ($5 for 25 pages); so if you do want this, it might be best to wait for a sale or bundle.
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