An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of RSP's Village Backdrop-series is 13 pages long, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of advertisement, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving us with 7 pages of content, so let's take a look at the settlement!

The village of Arcmoor in its 5e iteration is included in its entirety in the Dwellers Amid Bones-adventure, word for word – so if you want this plus the adventure, get that version instead.

Arcmoor as a settlement has its origins steeped in conflict - it is the place where the hero Therald Arcmoor fell, commemorating the final battle between the civilized races and the orcs of the severed ear - 300 ft. away from the feared tuskwood. With a majority population of halflings, the settlement obviously comes with a massive array of supplemental information: We receive information on the village's demographics, whispers and rumors, nomenclature and clothing habits as well as local lore and marketplace-information. The marketplace information has been properly adjusted to represent the realities of 5e as a system, and the checks noted have similarly been adjusted.

That being said, as always, the map provided is glorious and represents the privacy the local populace cherishes with the village being relatively dispersed - one can even see where halflings and humans live. The village also provides 4 NPC write-ups one can encounter here, and these are depicted in Raging Swan Press’ usual, fluff-centric presentation, sporting no stats, and instead focusing on mannerisms, etc. Beyond that, the village, being close to the ancient battlefield, has drawn a less than nice person living in the village, one with a strange agenda.

The 5e-iteration features the new and expanded content created for the stand-alone supplement version of Arcmoor: This content elaborates on the life in Arcmoor, provides more detailed notes on local trade and industry, and we now get a full 20-entry table of dressing and events that allows us to bring the village closer to life. Similarly, the aforementioned Tuskwood is not only fully mapped, it does also include a variety of different pieces of information regarding the surrounding locality.

As for the keyed locations of the village itself, the presentation has improved over the original PFRPG-presentation: The respective write-ups now feature easy to paraphrase read-aloud texts, suggested random encounters for the nearby battlefield, and lists of strange and unique goods that may be scavenged or unearthed from the chaotic general goods store.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to RSP's smooth, printer-friendly two-column standard and the pdf comes with full bookmarks as well as a gorgeous map, of which you can, as always, download high-res jpegs if you join RSP's patreon. We get pretty neat b/w-artwork. The pdf comes in two versions, with one being optimized for screen-use and one to be printed out.

Fabian Fehrs’ Arcmoor (additional design by Creighton Broadhurst) is a cool, solid village for 5e – the expanded materials are available for the first time for 5e here, and unlike the PFRPG-version, nothing was cut here. This is the supplement to get if you’re not interested in the Dwellers Amid Bones-adventure; if the module sounds like fun, get that instead. As a whole, this is a nice village, and hence, my final verdict will be 4 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of RSP's Village Backdrop-series is 13 pages long, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of advertisement, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving us with 7 pages of content, so let's take a look at the settlement!

The village of Arcmoor has first appeared for Pathfinder in the Dweller Amid Bones Collector’s Edition.

Arcmoor as a settlement has its origins steeped in conflict - it is the place where the hero Therald Arcmoor fell, commemorating the final battle between the civilized races and the orcs of the severed ear - 300 ft. away from the feared tuskwood. With a majority population of halflings, the settlement obviously comes with a massive array of supplemental information: We receive information on the village's demographics, whispers and rumors, nomenclature and clothing habits as well as local lore and marketplace-information. In an odd design decision, the Pathfinder settlement statblock information, including danger rating, which was very much present in the Collector’s Edition (CE), has been cut here. Beyond that, the original CE-version of the settlement had a solid haunt, which has also been removed in a decision I frankly don’t get.

That being said, as always, the map provided is glorious and represents the privacy the local populace cherishes with the village being relatively dispersed - one can even see where halflings and humans live. The village also provides 4 NPC write-ups one can encounter here; in an odd decision, the fully realized statblocks for some of these villagers from the CE have not been included here. Beyond that, the village, being close to the ancient battlefield, has drawn a less than nice person living in the village, one with a strange agenda.

On the plus side of things, the stand-alone supplement version of Arcmoor does have new content that elaborates on the life in Arcmoor, provides more detailed notes on local trade and industry, and we now get a full 20-entry table of dressing and events that allows us to bring the village closer to life. Similarly, the aforementioned Tuskwood is not only fully mapped, it does also include a variety of different pieces of information regarding the surrounding locality.

As for the keyed locations of the village itself, the presentation has improved: The respective write-ups now feature easy to paraphrase read-aloud texts, suggested random encounters for the nearby battlefield, and lists of strange and unique goods that may be scavenged or unearthed from the chaotic general goods store.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to RSP's smooth, printer-friendly two-column standard and the pdf comes with full bookmarks as well as a gorgeous map, of which you can, as always, download high-res jpegs if you join RSP's patreon. We get pretty neat b/w-artwork. The pdf comes in two versions, with one being optimized for screen-use and one to be printed out.

Fabian Fehrs’ Arcmoor (additional design by Creighton Broadhurst) is a per se cool little village that manages to feel lived-in and alive – and in many ways, this supplement presents the superior iteration of the settlement. On the other hand, I was seriously puzzled and somewhat irked to see the cuts made to the village, when the respective content not only already exists, but is serviceable. This could have been the expanded, superior edition of the village; as presented, it removes some meatier aspects and adds several really nice flavor components; don’t get me wrong: I like Arcmoor as presented here more than I did enjoy the version of the village first presented, but I can’t help but be puzzled by the decision to cut perfectly functional Pathfinder content; ideally, you’ll have both this and the Dwellers Amid Bones CE for the whole picture, but why go that route? As such, my final verdict can’t exceed 3.5 stars, rounded down.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the amazing Pop Culture Catalog-series clocks in at 33 pages, 1 page front cover,1 page editorial, 4 pages of SRD, leaving us with 27 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue at the request of my patreon supporters.

All right, as you know by now, the Pop Culture Catalog-series has the robust fandom-engine that makes being a fan of something actually matter mechanically; I’ve explained that engine a couple of times, so let’s get right to the main course, shall we?

Now, it should be noted that, while I am pretty deeply immersed in US culture, me being German, I probably won’t get all of the allusions featured herein, so please do bear that in mind – you might consider some of these funnier than I do. The first chapter begins with showing us the respective (chains of) restaurants that you can find in the Xa-Osoro system – these note the type of restaurant it is, the locations, price modifiers and a tagline. A total of 19 such restaurants are presented, with 4 associated brands added for good measure – and yes, all of these do get their own logos, which is damn cool! Speaking of which: Each of these entries notes not one, but several signature dishes! “I’ll have the Lance-A-Lot!” Awesome.

Now, as for the restaurants: We have “Anything on a stick”, a kobold-owned diner chain that focuses, well, on putting food on sticks, and there have been some scandals and social media wars lately, with their competitors Raptor Shack! Brattigans (awesome name!) is a chain focusing on the youthful “palette”[sic!] (should be “palate” – that’s a consistent hiccup here; pretty sure that’s an autocorrect glitch), with attractions allowing beleaguered parents to have some peace of mind – it’s the number 1 birthday destination for kids. And it has animatronics from 1010 Robotics. Five Nights at Freddy’s, anyone? Awesome: The fandom lets you better filter out background noise, which got a huge chuckle out of me. Do you want a cold one and some hearty fare? Brotara’s Table is a great chain of pubs ran by a retired asteroid miner and his husband. The hearty fare can enhance your Fortitude saves, but as usual, the more powerful fandom perks require brief resting and Resolve expenditure to use again. The Dancing Helix is also a place I’d visit: Molecular gastronomy, with awesome flavors in delicate crystalline structures, balls of foam, etc. – unsurprisingly, the fandom here helps with Physical Science.

The Famished Isopod (with an amazing logo!) caters to the tastes of insectoid races – including bug shots, worm steaks, etc. – and know what? I’d eat there. All edible insects that I’ve had, including the insect burgers around here, have been really delicious. If they’d be slightly less expensive, I’d use them as a full-blown replacement for traditional meats, so as a futuristic vision, I can picture how delicious that fare could be. Insectoids frequently dining here can look forward to a fortified biochemistry. Je Tessir is a high-class, expensive bakery/candy shop, and Krusak’s Steakhouse is a vesk steakhouse that made me so want to dine there. Mama Cecile’s has a very homely, old-school style that is very much appreciated, and excellent ingredients and numerous executives frequenting the place will be a great way to motivate PCs to go there. Nuggets!!! (only original with 3 exclamation marks) is all about, you guessed it, nuggets. And this is where I start moaning about the fact that KFC has the best nuggets around where I live. I don’t do McD or BK.) Not even kidding you. I wished we had more such cuisine here. Anyhow, in the Xa-Osoro system, the company has turned Nuggets McCheesy into the Nuggysoki super-success – pretty much all ysoki love these! The fandom perk nets you a bonus to saves vs. starvation, because you’re accustomed to sub-standard nutrition. That got a chuckle out of me.

Planet Infosphere is essentially the Xa-Osoro Planet Hollywood version, and Prawns! Prawns! Prawns! Made me flash back to my brief trip to New Orleans – what I’d give for good seafood right now. This pdf is making me seriously hungry with its logos and succulent descriptions. This restaurant is also manned exclusively by skittermander workers, which makes total sense, considering these amazing beings. Seriously, skittermanders should be core.

The Protean Repast is a place I would not frequent – it’s a buffet chain, and I’m too allergy-riddled and germophobe to go that route. Plus, the Ai-and holo-system that shows you each plate you’re billed may be accurate, but also super creepy. Whole Biome Biuffet is a bit more expensive, but also more wholesome. The Quantum Gourmet, as the name suggests, is a super high-class restaurant (x4 price modifier!) that provides culinary synaesthesia, which allows for literally impossible tastes to be enjoyed. I’m glad I can’t go to this place – with my luck, I’d get hooked on all of them… Anyhow, the holographic food consumed here does help you deal with illusions and holographs in particular. For fine dining, you may also wish to check out the Radiant pool that caters to dining for aquatic races, with open air tables included as well.

Red Mithral is also a nice idea: Here, you can listen to abyssmetal played exclusively by daemons, devils, demons, or some combination thereof, with waiters presenting the illusion of tormented souls – being a regular here makes you more comfortable with evil outsiders. The gas giant Ulo’s only outdoor restaurant Serenity makes for a great place to visit when there, with bubble rooms lazily floating on semi-solid clouds. Just picture that and Ulo’s storms – this is some seriously fantastic imagery here. I’d also be super excited about Yoishi’s teppanyaki, run by the swashbuckling kitsune hibachi chef Hirokyu…

Cornucopia provides the best high-class food-synthesizers; food trek (XD) is the prime mover of food, and K&K Chef’s Gear and Nine Tail Delivery further add to the material here.

After all of these, we go through all the races of the Xa-Osoro system, including the ones from the Starfarer’s Companion and the Star Log.EM-series, and learn about their diet and cooking, dining traditions if applicable, and traditional dishes. Catfolk are, for example, into Ch’rowl, which is catnip wine! (And yes, it is statted as a proper drug, and uses the excellent scaling drug rules from Pop Culture Catalog: Vice Dens) Nashi have baked sunkiss sprinkled with chocolate covered ants and served with dried kelp toast and an assortment of jellies. Come on, that sounds delicious! Beyond the vast details presented here, we also have a sidebar for advice regarding the description of alien food.

And the pdf classifies restaurants: Frequency and category are properly classified, and prices for celebrity chefs, culinary synthesizers, delivery (neighborhood to system-wide), chef gear, costs for personal chefs – all included. Want your own arthropod boiling rig? A beverage fountain? Proper grub tongs? Yep. Love this.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good on a formal and rules-language level, apart from a few typo-level glitches, I found nothing to complain about. Layout adheres to the series’ two-column full-color standard, and the pdf comes with plenty of nice full-color artworks. The pdf comes with detailed, nested bookmarks for your convenience.

Alexander Augunas and George “Loki” Williams deliver a true, massive winner here: The pdf is not only detailed, it really inspired me; it made me long for these places, these foods. Beyond providing inspiration for adventuring galore, and adding a ton of flavor (haha!9 to the game, this book further cements something we really need: An optimistic vision for the future. In an age where even Star Trek has become depressing and anti-science, this is a glimpse at a future that I’d love to live in. The booklet managed to make me think of a LOT of unique angles of how to use these restaurants in my game. In short, this is a fantastic offering. 5 stars + seal of approval.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of RSP's Village Backdrop-series is 13 pages long, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of advertisement, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving us with 7 pages of content, so let's take a look at the settlement!

You’ll hear Carillon before you see it. You’ll hear its bells, set on top of the bell tower, and arriving, you’ll hear the ever-present chimes ringing in, what many a traveler, would dub a deafening (or at least grating) cacophony. Yet, the folks of Carillon are happy, prosperous people, which reflected in the appearances and dressing habits, which are included alongside the nomenclature.

Apart from the noise, Carillon seems like a happy place, and PCs doing their proper legwork can confirm as much; heck, even the whispers and rumors seem to underline this notion. Largely self-sufficient and happy, if noisy, the 20 entries of dressing and events do a good job underlining the per se bucolic idyll. The three sample NPCs (all in Raging Swan Press’ usual, fluff-centric style, with personality, mannerisms and background noted) also are no villains. Notable bells for sale, a subtable of events and some suggested quests are provided, making the village behave in a dynamic manner.

The village comes with a proper marketplace section, with the individual items relegated to the proper places where they can be purchased – nice. Less nice: There is no settlement statblock information included. A minor nitpick would be that I think that the constant noise would have warranted some global, rules-relevant effects, but that may be me.

…I know what you’re thinking. Why care about this place? Because there is something desperate about the noise. The constant ringing, clinging, chiming. There is something in the woods. It is known only as the Hush. It is not explained (GOOD CALL!) and it hates sound. In some way, the villagers could almost be called prisoners. Almost. This has some serious potential for use in a dark fantasy, regular fantasy, or horror scenario. From sentient silence to elder gods to specific creatures, this is wide open and just asks that you add your individual take. I love it for that.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to RSP's smooth, printer-friendly two-column standard and the pdf comes with full bookmarks as well as a gorgeous map, of which you can, as always, download high-res jpegs if you join RSP's patreon. We get pretty neat b/w-artwork. The pdf comes in two versions, with one being optimized for screen-use and one to be printed out.

Jacob W. Michaels delivers a great settlement – usable in a plethora of ways, Carillon is a prime example of how you can use overt and covert themes to build tension and adventuring angles; it’s also a good example of supplement that knows what to only hint at, and what to leave to the GM. In short, this is nigh perfect.

Apart from the PFRPG-integration not being as pronounced as I’d have liked it to be, this is nigh perfect, which is why my final verdict will be 5 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of RSP's Village Backdrop-series is 13 pages long, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of advertisement, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving us with 7 pages of content, so let's take a look at the settlement!

You’ll hear Carillon before you see it. You’ll hear its bells, set on top of the bell tower, and arriving, you’ll hear the ever-present chimes ringing in, what many a traveler, would dub a deafening (or at least grating) cacophony. Yet, the folks of Carillon are happy, prosperous people, which reflected in the appearances and dressing habits, which are included alongside the nomenclature.

Apart from the noise, Carillon seems like a happy place, and PCs doing their proper legwork can confirm as much; heck, even the whispers and rumors seem to underline this notion. Largely self-sufficient and happy, if noisy, the 20 entries of dressing and events do a good job underlining the per se bucolic idyll. The three sample NPCs (all in Raging Swan Press’ usual, fluff-centric style, with personality, mannerisms and background noted) also are no villains. Notable bells for sale, a subtable of events and some suggested quests are provided, making the village behave in a dynamic manner.

The village comes with the individual items relegated to the proper places where they can be purchased – nice. The 5e-iteration makes proper use of 5e’s default NPC-stats, but adds no new features to them. A minor nitpick would be that I think that the constant noise would have warranted some global, rules-relevant effects, but that may be me.

…I know what you’re thinking. Why care about this place? Because there is something desperate about the noise. The constant ringing, clinging, chiming. There is something in the woods. It is known only as the Hush. It is not explained (GOOD CALL!) and it hates sound. In some way, the villagers could almost be called prisoners. Almost. This has some serious potential for use in a dark fantasy, regular fantasy, or horror scenario. From sentient silence to elder gods to specific creatures, this is wide open and just asks that you add your individual take. I love it for that.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to RSP's smooth, printer-friendly two-column standard and the pdf comes with full bookmarks as well as a gorgeous map, of which you can, as always, download high-res jpegs if you join RSP's patreon. We get pretty neat b/w-artwork. The pdf comes in two versions, with one being optimized for screen-use and one to be printed out.

Jacob W. Michaels delivers a great settlement – usable in a plethora of ways, Carillon is a prime example of how you can use overt and covert themes to build tension and adventuring angles; it’s also a good example of supplement that knows what to only hint at, and what to leave to the GM. In short, this is nigh perfect.

The 5e iteration of this supplement is akin to the PFRPG-version, in that I wished this had sported some global effects for the constant sound, but that is the only niggle I can properly field here. 5 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of RSP's Village Backdrop-series is 13 pages long, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of advertisement, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving us with 7 pages of content, so let's take a look at the settlement!

You’ll hear Carillon before you see it. You’ll hear its bells, set on top of the bell tower, and arriving, you’ll hear the ever-present chimes ringing in, what many a traveler, would dub a deafening (or at least grating) cacophony. Yet, the folks of Carillon are happy, prosperous people, which reflected in the appearances and dressing habits, which are included alongside the nomenclature.

Apart from the noise, Carillon seems like a happy place, and PCs doing their proper legwork can confirm as much; heck, even the whispers and rumors seem to underline this notion. Largely self-sufficient and happy, if noisy, the 20 entries of dressing and events do a good job underlining the per se bucolic idyll. The three sample NPCs (all in Raging Swan Press’ usual, fluff-centric style, with personality, mannerisms and background noted) also are no villains. Notable bells for sale, a subtable of events and some suggested quests are provided, making the village behave in a dynamic manner.

The village comes with the individual items relegated to the proper places where they can be purchased – nice. It should be noted that the prices have been appropriately adjusted to reflect the increased rarity and value of magic components, and terms have been modified to appropriately represent the realities of old school systems.

…I know what you’re thinking. Why care about this place? Because there is something desperate about the noise. The constant ringing, clinging, chiming. There is something in the woods. It is known only as the Hush. It is not explained (GOOD CALL!) and it hates sound. In some way, the villagers could almost be called prisoners. Almost. This has some serious potential for use in a dark fantasy, regular fantasy, or horror scenario. From sentient silence to elder gods to specific creatures, this is wide open and just asks that you add your individual take. I love it for that.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to RSP's smooth, printer-friendly two-column standard and the pdf comes with full bookmarks as well as a gorgeous map, of which you can, as always, download high-res jpegs if you join RSP's patreon. We get pretty neat b/w-artwork. The pdf comes in two versions, with one being optimized for screen-use and one to be printed out.

Jacob W. Michaels delivers a great settlement – usable in a plethora of ways, Carillon is a prime example of how you can use overt and covert themes to build tension and adventuring angles; it’s also a good example of supplement that knows what to only hint at, and what to leave to the GM. In short, this is nigh perfect.

In the system-neutral iteration, I can’t well complain about wanting a representation of the sound on a global level, which leaves me remarkably bereft of means to complain about this supplement. Indeed, this iteration of Carillon ranks among my favorites in the entire series. My final verdict will be 5 stars + seal of approval.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This module clocks in at 13 pages, 1 page front/back cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, leaving us with 9 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue at the request of my patreon supporters.

This module, as always for the series, was penned with the OSRIC-rules in mind; as always, we have some deviations from OSRIC’s formatting standards, though – there are no italics in the formatting for things traditionally formatted thus, instead using bolding indiscriminately for spells, creatures and items. As always, the adventure features no read-aloud text, and otherwise adheres very much to the classic standards and presentation, including fonts used, etc.

The adventure is designed for 6-10 characters of first to third level, and it is in many ways a module I’d consider suitable as an introductory adventure to old-school gaming for experienced players. While the adventure suggests packing a ranger, this is not required to solve the module. Difficulty-wise, this is a difficult beast, but it is fair in its challenges. If anything, one can picture this as a take on the vanilla-adventure done right.

…and this is as far as I can go without diving into SPOILERS. Potential players should jump ahead to the conclusion.

… .. .

All right, only GMs around? Great! So, there is this notion of the “vanilla” adventure; for me, that would be the generic standard dungeon, with goblins, orcs and perhaps a ghoul or two. As a boss, we have an ogre or a shadow, and if it’s a shadow, the entity can probably be beaten by turning off the magical light or using it in some way. I’ve read essentially this set-up so often it really pisses me off. Not because the concept is bad, but because almost every module using this set-up does so in a way that is incredibly redundant and bland, plagiarizing essentially a card-board cutout standard for first modules.

Redtooth Ridge does have a similar set-up, but executes it in a genuinely FRESH and EXCITING manner.

Let’s start with the set-up: Redtooth Ridge is a butte in a forest, but not any ole’ butte: Instead, it was once part of an area where the rich and powerful had their mansions, and it once contained a massive guest house. Regarding environment, we thus already have something infinitely more compelling than “hole/cave in the ground.”

And then we proceed: For once, while there is a goblin presence, it boils down to hunting/scouting parties. These are led by smart leaders, and behave in an organic manner…oh, and the ogre? He kicks off the module. In many ways, the first encounter is a trial by fire: An old cobbled road leads its winding way up the butte, and the ogre is currently having a break, consuming the disgusting equivalent of a snack there. The PCs, if they handle the situation well, can get the drop on the ogre (rewarding smart play), who btw. does not necessarily want to fight to the death (teaches the importance of morale). Moreover, the encounter can turn nasty, for the ogre is currently being observed by a goblin scouting party. Players waiting might well witness the party attacking the ogre and pick off the two parties, teaching that sometimes waiting is smart. Moreover, if they beat the ogre, their state is important – do they mop the floor with him? Bluster about? Or whine? The goblins are watching, and if they think they can kill the PCs, they’ll try to! If they observed less armored targets, or spellcasters in particular, that’s where they’ll concentrate fire on. In many ways, this encounter teaches basic tenets of old-school roleplaying, of player skill and adaptability to new situations in a formidable, if deadly manner. It’s the first encounter, so if this does TPK the group (a distinct likelihood for 1st level characters), a new group can come without having lost much progress.

This is a trial by fire encounter, but it is a genuinely well-executed one. It also makes the players aware of the importance of their actions – for example, the second hunting party will come; and if the PCs are careless, they’ll be tracked – and potentially face an ambush or minor siege-like scenario. Another teaching moment would be one of the random encounters that PCs can happen upon – as a whole, the table is pretty conservative and manageable – but there is also a giant slug here that has recently arrived in the area. It is obviously tougher than all other challenges here. The world is not scaled for the PCs. If they attack it, they’ll learn that the hard way.

In many ways, this is an important lesson, and enhances the overall plausibility of the region depicted here, and one that also is the foundation of the very adventure hooks: You see, the primary hook is about the PCs securing a wooden cup made from oak, stolen from a dryad by small, man-like creatures. The mites and pesties have NO CLUE about the importance of the object, and indeed, have no real bearing on the locations. They just happen to live here after losing their home. The angle is basic, but its implementation enhances the whole notion of a lived-in world.

The eponymous ridge holds two primary adventure locales – one being an old mausoleum, the other being the ruins of the former guest house. The mausoleum only sports 7 keyed locales, and is in many ways a “teach you to handle ghouls” scenario – it is very much optional, and houses 14 ghouls. Striding in with brandished weapons is a bad idea, but small groups can wage a pretty efficient war of attrition on them, as their numbers don’t replenish. Still, as a whole, the mausoleum is perhaps best considered to be a little bonus-dungeon.

You see, the guest mansion with its massive grounds, stables, and the like? It is awesome. The mansion still houses a guardian statue that keeps evil creatures at bay – and once the PCs realize that, they may use it to their advantage. The mansion’s ruins make sense in many ways – from a huge amount of rats ruining many of the books in the library tower, to its structure. Speaking of the library tower: Enterprising players can deal with the rats and then salvage quite a few books, all coming with notes on weight, title and value, conveniently spelled out for you; you’re not selling some book; you’re selling “The Laws of Manip.” It’s small flourishes like this that make me really enjoy a module; this type of thing shows that the designer CARED.

Speaking of which: This commitment to plausibility can be seen in all details of the mansion. For example, there is a corpse haunted by the spirit of a prim and proper lady infuriated by the incompetence of a servant. This erstwhile guest can possess PCs to make them attack the “servants” – who is by now unfortunately a zombie in the cellar. This is not a save or suck, but an encounter that rewards rolling with the punches, and one that also tells the players something about the mindset of the former inhabitants.

Beyond that, no traps are placed in stupid places; secret doors make sense, green slime is in the pantry, where it makes sense…and obviously, the somewhat scandalous magical properties of the place can be found in specific…öhem…pleasure rooms…in the cellar. Did I mention that clever PCs have a chance to free planatars from their vigil? My favorite would, however, be the secret treasure room: In most adventures, that’d be after the toughest encounter. Here, it is hidden in a thoroughly plausible and CLEVER way. The treasure is guarded by a creature that has a very good chance of killing the PCs…but once more, player skill is the name of the game. If the party was smart, they may well have found a ring that allows them to bypass the guardian, potentially absconding with a phenomenal haul of loot. And while the treasure is significant, I think it is genuinely well-earned here! If the party finds this place, they certainly deserve the loot!

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good on a formal and rules-language level. Layout adheres to the series classic b/W-2-columnh standard, including old-school fonts. The adventure is lite on artwork, as usual. Cartography is functional, but no player-friendly maps are provided, which is the one thing the module kinda botches in my book.

Joseph Browning shows how you can execute not only a great, challenging adventure in a few pages, he also shows how you can execute a “vanilla” adventure without being boring. If I’d list the components on a sheet of paper, this’d at best elicit groans from me. As presented here, the adventure is exciting, challenging, fair, and frankly, one of my favorites in the entire series. It’s easier to write an outstanding module when you throw weird stuff everywhere – but executing the standards and wringing a captivating and concise identity from it? Now that is impressive. Now, sure – the mausoleum and lack of player-friendly maps are strikes against the module, but frankly, I genuinely didn’t mind as much here. This is a module that deserves a resounding recommendation. 5 stars + seal of approval.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This PF2-conversion of the introductory module clocks in at 35 pages, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of advertisement, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page designer’s foreword, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 27 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

All right, so what do we get here? The module is situated in the region around Gloamhold, the Duchy of Ashlar, and the module assumes Dulwich as a starting point, though that settlement is not necessarily required; in fact, it is depicted in a fully functional manner herein, including maps and the like. Even traveling events while on the road are accounted for, and the write up of Dulwich goes into details like streets, guilds and so forth. John Bennett’s take on this town is amazing, and it’s nice to see it included as a fully functional backdrop.

We also get an incredibly gorgeous b/w-map of the Duchy of Ashlar: The cartography by Simon Butler, Dan Dyson and Tommi Salama employed herein is...well glorious. Oh, and guess what? If you're like me and get a LOT of Raging Swan Press books to supplement your gaming experience...you'll notice something. The map tells you, which direction the lonely coast is, where Deksport can be found - and indeed, in this duchy, you can see Wellswood, Longbridge, Kingsfell, Ashford -some of the unique villages and places my groups have visited and come to love (or abhor) - oh, and the map also sports a wide array of as of yet unexplored places.

And, in case you're asking - this whole region, contextualized, can easily be dropped into just about any campaign setting, though theme-wise, grittier settings like Greyhawk, The Lost Lands or the like probably work best.

At the same time, it should be noted that this pdf does not necessarily feature themes explicitly designated as kid-friendly - it is not gory or grimdark or anything...it is just gritty, old-school fantasy, and while it can easily be run for kids, that’s not the designated focus.

In many ways, this is intended as a starting adventure for less experienced players, and we get a massive page on general notes pertaining the eponymous valley: These include lore DCs for the PCs to unearth, a couple of hooks to make the PCs get into the action and 6 sample whispers & rumors for further hooks. A big plus: This is NOT a minimum-effort conversion: Throughout the module, we have the module make constant use of PF2’s benefits: These include special states for critically failed or succeeded checks, and also for the other components. As noted before, this module is explicitly made for (relatively) new players and with the potential to use it with minimum preparation in mind.

Hence, the challenges in this adventure are somewhat less pronounced than veterans would expect; if you and your group are veterans, this’ll ease you into the system; the costs of items is properly adjusted, and indeed, the module does a pretty good job in A LOT of the details of the mechanics.

The module is designed for 4 first-level characters. One more thing - while this module introduces PCs and players to some of the classic tropes, its structure allows the GM to include ample options for rest...or not, allowing for pretty concise control over the pacing of the module itself. And no, thankfully my most loathed adventuring clichés for starter modules, the shadow and ogre bosses are absent from these pages. Thank Gygax!

The information design deserves special mention: We get both read-aloud text and bullet-pointed lists of themes, details, etc., which makes parsing the module quick and painless.

All right, this is as far as I can get sans diving into SPOILERS. Potential players of this module should jump to the conclusion NOW. ... .. . All right, only GMs around? Good.

The valley itself can be pictured as a sandbox of sorts that sports, obviously, multiple tombs - said tombs are the mini-dungeons in this book, but they are not the only graves there: Cairns can be looted and a table of items can be found there. Similarly, a dressing table for the valley allows you to customize the dressing and generate more atmosphere. From the small waterfall to tracks, the valley has several distinct locations as such, and my one gripe with the module pertains to exploration mode not being as well-executed here; overland travel etc. could have been slightly more exciting, but this is just me wanting to see Pathfinder 2’s potential fully realized. On the plus-side, the module does a SUPERB job with encounter difficulty, etc.

Anyways, the interesting component, at least to me, would be that the mini-dungeons (usually only a couple of rooms) sport unique challenges: In the tomb of the stone woman, one can, for example, face an animated statue, with some traps that are painful, but not necessarily lethal, teaching this component of adventuring. The traps here deserve special mention: If anything, they make full use of PF2’s great hazard engine, and are easily the best and most rewarding iteration of the module.

And yes, from chests to sarcophagi, the level of detail provided in this pdf is excessive and makes running this very easy – once more, the PF2-conversion, with BTs etc. included, is seriously neat. This detail also extends to NPCs, with attitudes, distinguishing features, etc. all included.

The tomb of the champions features unique adversaries and has a completely different flavor - inside lie the now undead remains of two erstwhile champions of the hobgoblins, emphasizing the component of combat in the exploration here. Finally, there would be a third mini-complex, wherein a young owlbear (kudos for getting that in PF2!) and its young lair - these caves can be seen as introductions to animals and terrain - with bat guano, a bat swarm, uneven footing and the like, the focus here is admirably different. It should btw. be noted that the young owlbear is part of the dynamic aspect of the adventure: We get several “planned” random encounters that can be used to further control the pacing of the adventure.

This, however, is not nearly the extent of adventuring the pdf contains - the module also sports a rival adventuring group that can act as a major complication for the PCs, feigning friendship and loyalty, while waiting to backstab them. Like all creatures herein, we get proper statblocks for these rival adventurers.

Beyond these low-lives, there is another optional encounter that will introduce the necessity of ROLEplaying to PCs and players alike: The ghost of a perished adventurer haunts this valley's lake and putting her to rest is one of the more unique and rewarding challenges in this pdf. It's not hard, mind you - but it makes it clear that sometimes, words are more powerful than thrown spells and drawn swords. The aforementioned add-in-encounters, including the potent young owlbear, obviously can also be used to save the PCs - if the aforementioned adventuring group's too much to handle, for example...well, then the arrival of a pack of wolves or said owlbear may act as a save...and teach the valuable lesson of considering that the world is dynamic and that actions have consequences.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good for the PF2-iteration, on both a formal and rules-language level. Everything is functional. Layout adheres to Raging Swan Press' elegant two-column b/w-standard and the pdf features copious b/w-artworks (some of which I've seen before). The cartography is excellent, though no map-key-less versions are included. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience and in two versions - one optimized for screen-use and one for the printer. Kudos!

Creighton Broadhurst’s Shunned Valley is a great introductory module, and it remains that in PF2 as well – it is a bit creepy, but not overly so; it introduces a wide variety of challenges from all walks of the adventuring life and allows for sufficient control regarding the components of the pdf. The insertion of John Bennett’s Dulwich, originally included first in the PFRPG-collector’s edition, adds additional, quality bang for buck to the offering.

Mechanically, this is by far the best version of the module so far, courtesy of its use of the streamlined and improved systems PF2 has to offer; it is more rewarding than the PF1-version, particularly regarding hazards and degrees of failure/success, and showcases how PF2’s tight design can really elevate the gaming experience; the content may be the same as in the other versions, but how e.g. traps work, the adversaries, etc. – all of that works incredibly smoothly. Now, this is a conversion, and as such, it does not utilize everything PF2 has to potentially offer, but it doesn’t have to; if anything, it shows how, massive differences in systems notwithstanding, you can run classic modules in an objectively improved manner in the new system. This is a well-executed conversion, and the comparatively low difficulty, combined with the old-school aesthetic, make this is a great module to introduce hesitant groups that like old-school modules to Pathfinder’s 2nd edition. 5 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This module clocks in at 38 pages, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of advertisement, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page designer’s foreword, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 30 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

All right, so what do we get here? The module is situated in the region around Gloamhold, the Duchy of Ashlar, and the module assumes Dulwich as a starting point, though that settlement is not necessarily required; in fact, it is depicted in a fully functional manner herein, including maps and the like. Even traveling events while on the road are accounted for, and the write up of Dulwich goes into details like streets, guilds and so forth. John Bennett’s take on this town is amazing, and it’s nice to see it included as a fully functional backdrop.

In many ways, this is intended as a starting adventure for less experienced players, and we get a massive page on general notes pertaining the eponymous valley: These include lore DCs for the PCs to unearth, a couple of hooks to make the PCs get into the action and 6 sample whispers & rumors for further hooks.

We also get an incredibly gorgeous b/w-map of the Duchy of Ashlar: The cartography by Simon Butler, Dan Dyson and Tommi Salama employed herein is...well glorious. Oh, and guess what? If you're like me and get a LOT of Raging Swan Press books to supplement your gaming experience...you'll notice something. The map tells you, which direction the lonely coast is, where Deksport can be found - and indeed, in this duchy, you can see Wellswood, Longbridge, Kingsfell, Ashford -some of the unique villages and places my groups have visited and come to love (or abhor) - oh, and the map also sports a wide array of as of yet unexplored places.

And, in case you're asking - this whole region, contextualized, can easily be dropped into just about any campaign setting, though theme-wise, grittier settings like Greyhawk, The Lost Lands or the like probably work best.

As noted before, this module is explicitly made for (relatively) new players and with the potential to use it with minimum preparation in mind. Hence, the challenges in this adventure are somewhat less pronounced than veterans would expect; if you and your group are veterans, this’ll ease you into the system. At the same time, it should be noted that this pdf does not necessarily feature themes explicitly designated as kid-friendly - it is not gory or grimdark or anything...it is just gritty, old-school fantasy, and while it can easily be run for kids, that’s not the designated focus.

The module is designed for 4 first-level characters, but the pdf also provides extensive scaling advice for each encounter, which means that you can also run this for more seasoned adventurers sans the players becoming bored. One more thing - while this module introduces PCs and players to some of the classic tropes, its structure allows the GM to include ample options for rest...or not, allowing for pretty concise control over the pacing of the module itself. And no, thankfully my most loathed adventuring clichés for starter modules, the shadow and ogre bosses are absent from these pages. Thank Gygax!

The information design deserves special mention: We get both read-aloud text and bullet-pointed lists of themes, details, etc., which makes parsing the module quick and painless.

All right, this is as far as I can get sans diving into SPOILERS. Potential players of this module should jump to the conclusion NOW. ... .. . All right, only GMs around? Good. The valley itself can be pictured as one that sports, obviously, multiple tombs - said tombs are the mini-dungeons in this book, but they are not the only graves there: Cairns can be looted and a table of items can be found there. Similarly, an 8-entry dressing table for the valley allows you to customized the dressing and generate more atmosphere. From the small waterfall to tracks, the valley has several distinct locations as such - but the interesting component, at least to me, would be that the mini-dungeons (usually only a couple of rooms) sport unique challenges: In the tomb of the stone woman, one can, for example, face an animated statue, with some traps that are painful, but not necessarily lethal, teaching this component of adventuring. As a minor nitpick, the trap disarming doesn’t require the usual thieves’ tools here – this MAY be intentional, though, so in dubio pro reo, I guess. And yes, from chests to sarcophagi, the level of detail provided in this pdf is excessive and makes running this very easy. This detail also extends to NPCs, with attitudes, distinguishing features, etc. all included.

The tomb of the champions features unique adversaries and has a completely different flavor - inside lie the now undead remains of two erstwhile champions of the hobgoblins, emphasizing the component of combat in the exploration here. Finally, there would be a third mini-complex, wherein an owlbear and its young lair - these caves can be seen as introductions to animals and terrain - with bat guano, a bat swarm, uneven footing and the like, the focus here is admirably different. It should btw. be noted that the owlbear is part of the dynamic aspect of the adventure: We get several “planned” random encounters that can be used to further control the pacing of the adventure.

This, however, is not nearly the extent of adventuring the pdf contains - the module also sports a rival adventuring group that can act as a major complication for the PCs, feigning friendship and loyalty, while waiting to backstab them. These deserve mention, as one of them uses the incorrect HD-size. Another issue I have with some of the 5e components, would be that e.g. a stone door has no damage threshold, which it probably should have.

Beyond these low-lives, there is another optional encounter that will introduce the necessity of ROLEplaying to PCs and players alike: The ghost of a perished adventurer haunts this valley's lake and putting her to rest is one of the more unique and rewarding challenges in this pdf. It's not hard, mind you - but it makes it clear that sometimes, words are more powerful than thrown spells and drawn swords. The aforementioned add-in-encounters, including the potent owlbear, obviously can also be used to save the PCs - if the aforementioned adventuring group's too much to handle, for example...well, then the arrival of a pack of wolves or said owlbear may act as a save...and teach the valuable lesson of considering that the world is dynamic and that actions have consequences.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good, I noticed no serious glitches apart from minor blank spaces or full stops missing in a very few places. Everything is functional. Layout adheres to Raging Swan Press' elegant two-column b/w-standard and the pdf features copious b/w-artworks (some of which I've seen before). The cartography is excellent, though no map-key-less versions are included. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience and in two versions - one optimized for screen-use and one for the printer. Kudos!

Creighton Broadhurst’s Shunned Valley is a great introductory module – it is a bit creepy, but not overly so; it introduces a wide variety of challenges from all walks of the adventuring life and allows for sufficient control regarding the components of the pdf. The insertion of John Bennett’s Dulwich, originally included first in the PFRPG-collector’s edition, adds additional, quality bang for buck to the offering.

Now, this module is honestly beautiful in its simplicity and level of detail, but if you’re a jaded veteran, this will not necessarily blow you away; this is intentionally made in a very classic manner. Jaded groups looking for something outré should get another adventure, while those looking for a classic adventuring experience will certainly enjoy this. John N. Whyte’s 5e-conversion is well-executed as a whole, and manages to remain dangerous, while being forgiving enough to make this a compelling starter adventure. My final verdict will be 4.5 stars, rounded up.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This module for PF1 clocks in at 25 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD,1 page back cover, leaving us with 20 pages, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue at the request of my patreon supporters.

All right, so, first things first – this is the second of James Thomas’ modules dealing with the frontier’s region of Ravenreach. The module focuses on a very Borderlands-ish feel and should slot seamlessly into such regions – or e.g. the River Kingdoms in Golarion. Of course, you can also use it in the Lost Lands-setting without any hassle. The module is intended for 4-6 characters of 4th to 7th level – a well-rounded group is strongly recommended. The module does feature read-aloud boxed text, and e.g. does come with extra boxes for looking through keyholes, creatures bursting through furniture and the like – kudos!

While this module does benefit greatly from being ran as the follow-up to “Menace in Ravenreach”, the adventure does feature several adventure hooks that allow it to be used as a stand-alone adventure. While the players will be slightly less invested in the proceedings, the module does not require exposition dumps or the like to catch them up – in a way, it behaves very much like a second episode, as it assumes that the PCs return to Ravenreach after being absent for a while.

Genre-wise, this module offers a dungeon, but its central premise is that of an infiltration – in the way that most such modules will devolve into fighting; the module very much assumes that your group won’t be Stealth-ing through the materials. The adventure also certainly has a touch of irreverence and very dry humor – I know the author doesn’t live in Britain, but I’m not sure regarding nationality; the humor? Pitch-perfect. And n, this is not a funny-haha-module, nor is it gonzo, but it does have plenty of scenes that can be funny at the table. Very subdued and subtle – I like it.

The module includes three nice, mundane/alchemical items – one type of toxin that helps deal with a specific monster defensive ability, and two means of delivering this substance. This does add a nice tactical angle here. Speaking of which: As a nice bonus, the full-color maps (with grids and scale noted) are included as player-friendly, key-less versions as well – and yes, they’re full color. As a minor nitpick, two of the maps use a 10 ft.-grid, when a 5-ft.-grid would have been more useful for PFRPG, but that is me nitpicking.

Now, as far as the system is concerned, this deserves some serious praise: More so than most Frog God Games modules, and modules that exist for multiple systems in general, it is readily apparent that the author really KNOWS PFRPG. Not just gets it, but knows how it behaves, how it plays. This can be seen in a variety of choices: We have e.g. reskins of monsters with custom attacks and special abilities presented herein, with said text being delivered in the most concise form possible: acid arrow 1/hour +5 ranged touch, 2d4 acid damage for 3 rounds – simple, easy to grasp, no book flipping, complete. Like it. In spite of the relative brevity of the adventure, there is thus more content herein than you’d expect. The module also shows off this degree of system familiarity with the challenges posed – this is an old-school module, and as such, it is challenging and can easily result in a TPK if your players act stupidly – but more importantly, it does provide very in-depth tactical information for the GM, which is particularly helpful in the final encounter, which is truly and aptly-named “boss battle.” These tactics are btw. obviously bred from contact with actual players – the module has been playtested, and it SHOWS. The capabilities of the characters actually influence the plot and are reflected by a narrative – the adversaries have enacted a plan that represents the abilities they have. This, in short, makes the module feel very much “realistic” as well. Authors, take note – this is smart. This is a module worth winning, and won’t require that you redesign every single NPC to be an actual challenge. So yeah, mechanically, the PFRPG-version is certainly one of my favorites from Frog God Games’ oeuvre.

All right, this is as far as I can go without diving into SPOILERS, Potential players should jump ahead to the conclusion.

… .. .

So, while the party was busy adventuring, Master Minder has enacted his master plan (pardon the bad pun) and seized control of Ravenrock – with the Baron geass’d into essentially an imprisoned vegetable, he put a simulacrum of the Baron, one subservient to his whims, in charge. See what I mean regarding capabilities? Anyhow, he has managed to do so without arousing overt suspicion, though his lockdown of the keep Ravenrock does raise some eyebrows. Worse, his experiments with troll bi-livers have yielded fruit, and thus, the keep’s charmed guard captain and his men now have a serious case of immortalities – i.e. they regenerate. If nobody stops Minder, things’ll look grim indeed. Enter the party of stalwart heroes.

Via one of the hooks provided, the party will need to get inside the keep and stop the nasty wizard’s plans – and thankfully, there is a convenient means of ingress, which will be shared with the party as the primary hook: There is an all but forgotten cheese cave that was abandoned when the sewage system of the keep started making it…well, disgusting. You can’t see it from the keep, and only the family of the erstwhile cheese-maker knows about it, knowing it colloquially as the “Raven’s Arse” – and it’s up that metaphorical rump that the party will attempt to secure access to the keep. Told you this had some dry humor.

Which does bring me to the perhaps most pronounced weakness of the module: While access via this brief dungeon is the intended route, the issue of PCs charming/sneaking/flying etc. into the keep is mentioned, and the GM is encouraged to point the players towards the dungeon. I get why. And yet, it represents a serious lost chance – the keep begs to be an infiltration scenario, it really does. However, there is no summary of the total inhabitants and most likely rooms anywhere, nor is there information on watch shifts and the like. The module teases a freeform, sandbox infiltration and then goes the safe route, telling you to urge your players to use the dungeon. With a single page, at the very most, this module could have had all the necessary information to allow for a truly free-form experience with a variety of vectors. You can still easily run the module as such with a bit of work – but you’ll need to map the vicinity of the keep (since no map of the surrounding area is included), and you’ll have to piece together the number of available characters, etc. This is work that is a) unnecessary, and b), ultimately detracts somewhat from what this module feels like it is set up to be.

In a way, the whole infiltration angle is ultimately just an excuse to delve into the dungeon, and treat the keep like one. This is, once more, not something that makes the module bad, but it most assuredly is an exceedingly puzzling decision, considering that the adventure has all the pieces in place to go that route. This structural decision also extends to a degree to the keep itself, making it behave a bit more like a dungeon than I would have liked.

That being said, the dungeon that is here? It is not a place that will have your players grumble for playing it – it is genuinely interesting. Aforementioned Raven’s Arse, as it turns out, has become the home of filth fairies, and the first part of the dungeon, where we explore the sewage system, is genuinely icky and hilarious – the fairies in PFRPG are an example, btw. one example of those heavily modified stats mentioned above – they are based of ooze mephits, but the players will never notice, believe me; the modifications are this helpful. This part of the dungeon also ties in with the region’s history and the legend of the dragon slain – one combat encounter features the immortal ire of the dragon, and the fairies have used bones and the like to generate some funny vistas.

Obviously, the main meat of the module will thus be covered by the party exploring the dungeon of the keep and the keep itself; the well-designed component of the module is reflected here in traps, in lists of Perception DCs that yield varying amounts of information and the like. It should also be noted that, from holding ells springing open to the labs themselves, the module does a good job blending themes and providing variety within a given adventure. Obviously, the PCs will have to defeat Master Minder (who’ll most likely have prepared a devastating ambush with his troll bi-liver enhanced super-soldiers), rescue the Baron and depose of the imposter-simulacrum to bring peace back to the region – but easier said than done…the wizard does have a pretty devastating tactical array, and the fact that the players might not want to kill everybody doesn’t make things easier either. That’s a good thing.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are excellent on a formal and rules language level, with only a terrain feature, namely a room that adds a bonus to a certain skill check not noting a bonus type being my only admittedly petty nitpick. Layout adheres to Frog God Games’ two-column full-color standard, including the usual amount of lots of text per page; locked door DCs are noted in the room headers, if applicable, which is a great way to handle that. The pdf does feature a couple of really nice full-color artworks, and I certainly appreciate the full-color maps, particularly the inclusion of a full set of player-friendly maps. Kudos! The IndieGoGo-version offered token in b/w and color – cool! I am not sure if those components are included in the retail iteration.

James Thomas’ second foray to Ravenreach is a module I actually enjoyed more than the first one in many ways; he seems to have found his own distinct voice, and the execution of the challenges herein is great. At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed by it. Because it is SO CLOSE to being a phenomenal adventure that embraces nonlinearity, and then elects to go the safe route in a pretty predetermined and linear dungeon-crawl. With but a single page, this could have been elevated to the ranks of modules that deserve to be called an example of excellence; as provided, the adventure is certainly good; whether you consider it to be very good, though, is mostly contingent on what you want from a module. If you want a great little dungeon-crawl that is challenging, at times funny and at times scary, then this delivers in spades. If you want a free-form adventure that presents multiple ways to tackle its challenges and focuses on providing a dynamic environment, then this might leave you wanting more. My final verdict will clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded down for the purpose of this platform.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

The 5e-iteration of this adventure clocks in at 28 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD,1 page back cover, leaving us with 23 pages, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue at the request of my patreon supporters.

All right, so, first things first – this is the second of James Thomas’ modules dealing with the frontier’s region of Ravenreach. The module focuses on a very Borderlands-ish feel and should slot seamlessly into such regions – or e.g. the River Kingdoms in Golarion. Of course, you can also use it in the Lost Lands-setting without any hassle. The module is intended for 4-6 characters of 4th to 7th level – a well-rounded group is strongly recommended. The module does feature read-aloud boxed text, and e.g. does come with extra boxes for looking through keyholes, creatures bursting through furniture and the like – kudos!

While this module does benefit greatly from being ran as the follow-up to “Menace in Ravenreach”, the adventure does feature several adventure hooks that allow it to be used as a stand-alone adventure. While the players will be slightly less invested in the proceedings, the module does not require exposition dumps or the like to catch them up – in a way, it behaves very much like a second episode, as it assumes that the PCs return to Ravenreach after being absent for a while.

Genre-wise, this module offers a dungeon, but its central premise is that of an infiltration – in the way that most such modules will devolve into fighting; the module very much assumes that your group won’t be Stealth-ing through the materials. The adventure also certainly has a touch of irreverence and very dry humor – I know the author doesn’t live in Britain, but I’m not sure regarding nationality; the humor? Pitch-perfect. And n, this is not a funny-haha-module, nor is it gonzo, but it does have plenty of scenes that can be funny at the table. Very subdued and subtle – I like it.

The module includes three nice, mundane/alchemical items – one type of toxin that helps deal with a specific monster defensive ability, and two means of delivering this substance. This does add a nice tactical angle here. While we’re on the subject of items – considering that 5e has less standard treasure books than e.g. PFRPG, I very much applaud the inclusion of a variety of magic items here. As a nice bonus, the full-color maps (with grids and scale noted) are included as player-friendly, key-less versions as well – and yes, they’re full color. As a minor nitpick, two of the maps use a 10 ft.-grid, when a 5-ft.-grid would have been more useful for 5e, but that is me nitpicking.

Now, as far as system mastery is concerned, Edwin Nagy did a surprisingly good job – the PFRPG-version excelled via its mechanics and the very well-DESIGNED components of its challenge; the 5e-version does not shirk from this challenge, and presents a surprising amount of different critters (which make up the bulk of the additional pages of this version), and the statblocks I checked do check out! That’s usually one thing that multi-system adventures fail horribly at, so kudos for providing proper stats AND getting the formatting for 5e right! The book also uses proper rules-language and default stats for guards etc. where applicable. Moreover, the version manages to retain the sense of being very tightly-wound and controlled, being well-designed as a hard, but fair adventure. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Big kudos for the conversion here. On the nitpicky side, I did notice some very minor formal hiccups here: A Languages line that reads “[stuff]”, a “Wand, uncommon” that’s not in italics, etc. – but the rules language-relevant materials? Precise and pristine. My only complaint here would be that the module has no inherent mechanic or rationale to prevent or dissuade from long-rest-scumming.

All right, this is as far as I can go without diving into SPOILERS, Potential players should jump ahead to the conclusion.

… .. .

So, while the party was busy adventuring, Master Minder has enacted his master plan (pardon the bad pun) and seized control of Ravenrock – with the Baron geass’d into essentially an imprisoned vegetable, he put a simulacrum of the Baron, one subservient to his whims, in charge. See what I mean regarding capabilities? Anyhow, he has managed to do so without arousing overt suspicion, though his lockdown of the keep Ravenrock does raise some eyebrows. Worse, his experiments with troll bi-livers have yielded fruit, and thus, the keep’s charmed guard captain and his men now have a serious case of immortalities – i.e. they regenerate. If nobody stops Minder, things’ll look grim indeed. Enter the party of stalwart heroes.

Via one of the hooks provided, the party will need to get inside the keep and stop the nasty wizard’s plans – and thankfully, there is a convenient means of ingress, which will be shared with the party as the primary hook: There is an all but forgotten cheese cave that was abandoned when the sewage system of the keep started making it…well, disgusting. You can’t see it from the keep, and only the family of the erstwhile cheese-maker knows about it, knowing it colloquially as the “Raven’s Arse” – and it’s up that metaphorical rump that the party will attempt to secure access to the keep. Told you this had some dry humor.

Which does bring me to the perhaps most pronounced weakness of the module: While access via this brief dungeon is the intended route, the issue of PCs charming/sneaking/flying etc. into the keep is mentioned, and the GM is encouraged to point the players towards the dungeon. I get why. And yet, it represents a serious lost chance – the keep begs to be an infiltration scenario, it really does. However, there is no summary of the total inhabitants and most likely rooms anywhere, nor is there information on watch shifts and the like. The module teases a freeform, sandbox infiltration and then goes the safe route, telling you to urge your players to use the dungeon. With a single page, at the very most, this module could have had all the necessary information to allow for a truly free-form experience with a variety of vectors. You can still easily run the module as such with a bit of work – but you’ll need to map the vicinity of the keep (since no map of the surrounding area is included), and you’ll have to piece together the number of available characters, etc. This is work that is a) unnecessary, and b), ultimately detracts somewhat from what this module feels like it is set up to be.

In a way, the whole infiltration angle is ultimately just an excuse to delve into the dungeon, and treat the keep like one. This is, once more, not something that makes the module bad, but it most assuredly is an exceedingly puzzling decision, considering that the adventure has all the pieces in place to go that route. This structural decision also extends to a degree to the keep itself, making it behave a bit more like a dungeon than I would have liked.

That being said, the dungeon that is here? It is not a place that will have your players grumble for playing it – it is genuinely interesting. Aforementioned Raven’s Arse, as it turns out, has become the home of filth fairies, and the first part of the dungeon, where we explore the sewage system, is genuinely icky and hilarious. In 5e, we have a wide array of supplemental creatures. This part of the dungeon also ties in with the region’s history and the legend of the dragon slain – one combat encounter features the immortal ire of the dragon, and the fairies have used bones and the like to generate some funny vistas.

Obviously, the main meat of the module will thus be covered by the party exploring the dungeon of the keep and the keep itself; the well-designed component of the module is reflected here in traps, in well-chosen DCs and proper application of 5e-mechanics. It should also be noted that, from holding ells springing open to the labs themselves, the module does a good job blending themes and providing variety within a given adventure. Obviously, the PCs will have to defeat Master Minder (who’ll most likely have prepared a devastating ambush with his troll bi-liver enhanced super-soldiers), rescue the Baron and depose of the imposter-simulacrum to bring peace back to the region – but easier said than done…the wizard does have a pretty devastating tactical array, and the fact that the players might not want to kill everybody doesn’t make things easier either. That’s a good thing.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are excellent on a rules language level, and evry good on a formal level, with only cosmetic nitpicks. Layout adheres to Frog God Games’ two-column full-color standard, including the usual amount of lots of text per page; locked door DCs are noted in the room headers, if applicable, which is a great way to handle that. The pdf does feature a couple of really nice full-color artworks, and I certainly appreciate the full-color maps, particularly the inclusion of a full set of player-friendly maps. Kudos! The IndieGoGo-version offered token in b/w and color – cool! I am not sure if those components are included in the retail iteration.

James Thomas’ second foray to Ravenreach is a module I actually enjoyed more than the first one in many ways; he seems to have found his own distinct voice, and the execution of the challenges herein is great. Edwin Nagy’s conversion to 5e manages to retain the strengths of the adventure, and is simply well-executed. The main complaint against the PFRPG-version, though, remains: I couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed by it. Because it is SO CLOSE to being a phenomenal adventure that embraces nonlinearity, and then elects to go the safe route in a pretty predetermined and linear dungeon-crawl. With but a single page, this could have been elevated to the ranks of modules that deserve to be called an example of excellence; as provided, the adventure is certainly good; whether you consider it to be very good, though, is mostly contingent on what you want from a module. If you want a great little dungeon-crawl that is challenging, at times funny and at times scary, then this delivers in spades, particularly if you like old-school style gaming and are fed up with sloppy conversions to 5e. This does actually operate properly in 5e. If you want a free-form adventure that presents multiple ways to tackle its challenges and focuses on providing a dynamic environment, then this might leave you wanting more. My final verdict will clock thus in at 4.5 stars, rounded down for the purpose of this platform.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

The OSR-version of this module clocks in at 24 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD,1 page back cover, leaving us with 19 pages, so let’s take a look!

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue at the request of my patreon supporters.

All right, so, first things first – this is the second of James Thomas’ modules dealing with the frontier’s region of Ravenreach. The module focuses on a very Borderlands-ish feel and should slot seamlessly into such regions. Of course, you can also use it in the Lost Lands-setting without any hassle. The module is intended for 4-6 characters of 4th to 7th level – a well-rounded group is strongly recommended. The module does feature read-aloud boxed text, and e.g. does come with extra boxes for looking through keyholes, creatures bursting through furniture and the like – kudos! The rules-system used herein would be Swords &Wizardry (S&W), which is based on 0e, and the adventure ultimately can thus easily be converted to other OSR rules systems.

While this module does benefit greatly from being ran as the follow-up to “Menace in Ravenreach”, the adventure does feature several adventure hooks that allow it to be used as a stand-alone adventure. While the players will be slightly less invested in the proceedings, the module does not require exposition dumps or the like to catch them up – in a way, it behaves very much like a second episode, as it assumes that the PCs return to Ravenreach after being absent for a while. Nice: The OSR-version makes use of the room freed by requiring less rules language for optional encounters

Genre-wise, this module offers a dungeon, but its central premise is that of an infiltration – in the way that most such modules will devolve into fighting; the module very much assumes that your group won’t be Stealth-ing through the materials. The adventure also certainly has a touch of irreverence and very dry humor – I know the author doesn’t live in Britain, but I’m not sure regarding nationality; the humor? Pitch-perfect. And n, this is not a funny-haha-module, nor is it gonzo, but it does have plenty of scenes that can be funny at the table. Very subdued and subtle – I like it.

The module includes three nice, mundane/alchemical items – one type of toxin that helps deal with a specific monster defensive ability, and two means of delivering this substance. This does add a nice tactical angle here. Speaking of which: As a nice bonus, the full-color maps (with grids and scale noted) are included as player-friendly, key-less versions as well – and yes, they’re full color. Two of the maps use a 10 ft.-grid, another a 5-ft.-grid.

All right, this is as far as I can go without diving into SPOILERS, Potential players should jump ahead to the conclusion.

… .. .

So, while the party was busy adventuring, Master Minder has enacted his master plan (pardon the bad pun) and seized control of Ravenrock – with the Baron geass’d into essentially an imprisoned vegetable, he put a simulacrum of the Baron, one subservient to his whims, in charge. See what I mean regarding capabilities? Anyhow, he has managed to do so without arousing overt suspicion, though his lockdown of the keep Ravenrock does raise some eyebrows. Worse, his experiments with troll bi-livers have yielded fruit, and thus, the keep’s charmed guard captain and his men now have a serious case of immortalities – i.e. they regenerate. If nobody stops Minder, things’ll look grim indeed. Enter the party of stalwart heroes.

Via one of the hooks provided, the party will need to get inside the keep and stop the nasty wizard’s plans – and thankfully, there is a convenient means of ingress, which will be shared with the party as the primary hook: There is an all but forgotten cheese cave that was abandoned when the sewage system of the keep started making it…well, disgusting. You can’t see it from the keep, and only the family of the erstwhile cheese-maker knows about it, knowing it colloquially as the “Raven’s Arse” – and it’s up that metaphorical rump that the party will attempt to secure access to the keep. Told you this had some dry humor.

Which does bring me to the perhaps most pronounced weakness of the module: While access via this brief dungeon is the intended route, the issue of PCs charming/sneaking/flying etc. into the keep is mentioned, and the GM is encouraged to point the players towards the dungeon. I get why. And yet, it represents a serious lost chance – the keep begs to be an infiltration scenario, it really does. However, there is no summary of the total inhabitants and most likely rooms anywhere, nor is there information on watch shifts and the like. The module teases a freeform, sandbox infiltration and then goes the safe route, telling you to urge your players to use the dungeon. With a single page, at the very most, this module could have had all the necessary information to allow for a truly free-form experience with a variety of vectors. You can still easily run the module as such with a bit of work – but you’ll need to map the vicinity of the keep (since no map of the surrounding area is included), and you’ll have to piece together the number of available characters, etc. This is work that is a) unnecessary, and b), ultimately detracts somewhat from what this module feels like it is set up to be.

In a way, the whole infiltration angle is ultimately just an excuse to delve into the dungeon, and treat the keep like one. This is, once more, not something that makes the module bad, but it most assuredly is an exceedingly puzzling decision, considering that the adventure has all the pieces in place to go that route. This structural decision also extends to a degree to the keep itself, making it behave a bit more like a dungeon than I would have liked. Particularly in the old-school version for S&W, this does feel like an unfortunate oversight when contrasted with comparable modules.

That being said, the dungeon that is here? It is not a place that will have your players grumble for playing it – it is genuinely interesting. Aforementioned Raven’s Arse, as it turns out, has become the home of filth fairies, and the first part of the dungeon, where we explore the sewage system, is genuinely icky and hilarious. This part of the dungeon also ties in with the region’s history and the legend of the dragon slain – one combat encounter features the immortal ire of the dragon, and the fairies have used bones and the like to generate some funny vistas. The filth fairies are presented as a new creature in the OSR-version.

Obviously, the main meat of the module will thus be covered by the party exploring the dungeon of the keep and the keep itself; the well-designed component of the module is reflected here in traps and the like – it is hard, but generally fair. It should also be noted that, from holding ells springing open to the labs themselves, the module does a good job blending themes and providing variety within a given adventure. Obviously, the PCs will have to defeat Master Minder (who’ll most likely have prepared a devastating ambush with his troll bi-liver enhanced super-soldiers), rescue the Baron and depose of the imposter-simulacrum to bring peace back to the region – but easier said than done…the wizard does have a pretty neat ambush ready…

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are excellent on a formal and rules language level. Layout adheres to Frog God Games’ two-column full-color standard, including the usual amount of lots of text per page; locked door DCs are noted in the room headers, if applicable, which is a great way to handle that. The pdf does feature a couple of really nice full-color artworks, and I certainly appreciate the full-color maps, particularly the inclusion of a full set of player-friendly maps. Kudos! The IndieGoGo-version offered token in b/w and color – cool! I am not sure if those components are included in the retail iteration.

James Thomas’ second foray to Ravenreach is a module I actually enjoyed more than the first one in many ways; he seems to have found his own distinct voice, and the execution of the challenges herein is great. Jeff Harkness does a great job converting the module to S&W, and all in all, the adventure holds up. However, system-immanently, the module loses one of its most pervasive strengths in this iteration – the system simply doesn’t offer as much tactical options, and since there are less rules to finetune, this impressive aspect is simply not there. Conversely, OSR-adventures do tend to assume that the players use their brains, that they can approach a challenge from various angles, and particularly in this context, the module’s baseline of railroading the PCs away from other means of ingress, ultimately, hurts the adventure. In this iteration, my final verdict can’t exceed 3.5 stars, rounded up due to in dubio pro reo – provided your players can stomach that. If not, round down. If you have the luxury of being able to choose your system, I’d suggest getting the version for a more complex rules-set instead.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This pamphlet roleplaying game is essentially a hack of Chris MCDowall’s popular underground game “Into the Odd.“ Pamphlet RPG? Well, yeah. The game is essentially 4 pages – one 2-page pdf for players, and one for the GM. If you print them, you can fold them alongside two dotted lines into a pamphlet like the ones you’d get in theater, etc. Much to my pleasant surprise, the game comes in two iterations – one for the A4 paper-size convention, and one for the US letter-size. Kudos for going the extra mile there.

One third of a page is the same for both the player booklet and the GM booklet: These contain the artworks that you can see on the cover – essentially, that’s the equipment list, and small indicators note the damage die of a given weapon – these range from d6 to d10, just fyi. Weapons that deal d10 damage require two hands to wield, and small items come in bundles of 5.

Character creation is simple – roll 3d6 four times, and you may swap two rolls. Strength (STR) denotes fighting, fortitude, etc.; Dexterity (DEX) is used for sneaking, athletics, etc., and Willpower (WIL) is your persuasion, shooting, tech understanding, etc. The fourth roll denotes the slugs – that’s the term used for ammo and currency.

After this, you roll a d6 for Hit Protection (HP); once this is depleted, you can suffer critical damage – 6 entries are provided for that, and you essentially can lose parts or be knocked out. If HP reaches 0, damage is applied to Strength, and once you take Strength damage, you make a Strength save to avoid critical damage.

Attacks and saves are handled the same way – you roll a d20 under the related ability score; 1 is always a success, 20 is always a failure; if you have advantage, you roll an additional die and choose the better result; the inverse holds true for disadvantage.

If it’s unclear who acts first, the player must make a Dexterity save to act before the enemy. On the player’s turn, they can move and perform one action. How far? Alas, not stated. Nor is initiative clearly explained – I’d suggest using the Death is the New Pink standard there.

A character dies at 0 Strength; at Dexterity or Willpower the character is paralyzed or catatonic, respectively.

But back to character creation: You then roll a random mutation and choose a specialty, and pick one weapon and 2 items. To randomly select a mutation, you roll a d6 twice: The first die indicates whether you check the combat mutation, utility mutation or mental mutation table. Each of these subtables comes with 6 mutations. Combat mutations include firebreath, acid spit, crushing pincers, etc.; utility mutations feature camouflage, web-spinners, regeneration, etc., and mental mutations feature mind control, inducing horrible visions, etc. These don’t feature range, but do come with a general duration formula – 10 minutes per experience level. When you use a mutation, you roll a d4; on a 1-2, you decrease the die size of the mutation by one; if the mutation already has a d4 for its die, it is spent for the day. Elegant.

What are specialties? Well, these are essentially the class-features/feats/Special abilities of the game. If you’re an assassin, you bypass HP and deal d12s damage versus helpless or unaware targets. Melee or ranged specialists are included, as well as being lucky (1 reroll per session). There is one that lets you always act first (what if multiple beings have this?), and there is one that nets a loyal pet.

The game features 4 fleshed out level titles for experience levels, and progression is based on finished adventures. In order to level up, you have to rest in a safe place. You gain 1d6 HP and roll a d20 for each ability score – if you roll higher than your ability score, it increases by 1, to a maximum of 20, and you get to choose either a new mutation, or a new specialty.

Now, regarding items: Basic items cost 1-5 slugs; weapons cost their damage die (I assume, maximum number) in slugs, and armor costs 10/25/60 slugs; armor acts as DR, with a maximum of 3, obviously. You can carry up to Strength items, weapons and armor; anything beyond is unsafe, but that aspect is not elaborated upon.

These are the pieces of information presented on both pamphlets; on the player pamphlet, we also have 2/3rds of a page devoted to essentially a character sheet, where you put HP in the drawn heart, armor in the drawn armor, melee weapon damage in the nail-studded club, ranged weapon damage in the drawn gun – the sheet is self-explanatory, and smooth – I like it. Chow, water and ammo also have their icons to track them.

Oh, and this humble pamphlet gets something right that many full-blown games botch: 1/3rd of one of each pamphlet’s pages is devoted to a nice, hand-drawn b/w-hex-map of the jungles of Ixx – and guess what? The version in the player-pamphlet has no annoying numbers and is player-friendly. Nice.

The GM’s pamphlet explains 7 interesting locales briefly – from the adventurer’s home (Scrapwheel Village) to the glowing maw, swamp rig, etc. – I liked these brief touches, and travel + random encounter tables for travel is included, as well as 6 entries of one-sentence adventure inspirations. Speaking of adventure: 1/3rd of the GM’s pamphlet is devoted to a sample adventure, the lair of the clonelings: This little dungeon is pretty nice, considering the very limited room it has, and we get a solid b/w-map here as well – oh, and guess what? It manages to be non-linear! A minor niggle: The dungeon references a WIS save, when that should reference WIL instead. Yes, I am nitpicking.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good on a formal and rules-language level. Layout is subservient to the requirements of the pamphlet formula, and the aesthetics deserve special mention – from the char sheet part to the maps and items, the b/w-drawings are nice and capture the vibe this goes for. The pamphlets have no bookmarks, but since they’re literally two pages each, that would have been patently absurd anyways.

I got Karl Stjernberg’s “Mutants of Ixx” on a whim, and promptly forgot about it. I shouldn’t have. This is a great example of efficient gaming minimalism in practice, and does a lot of things right. In fact, more than right. There are precious few concessions made to the minimalist presentation, and while a GM obviously will have to expand this when running it, there will only be the range and movement issue to truly contend with; both of these could have been easily clarified without breaking the formula or taking up too much space. So no, this is certainly not perfect.

HOWEVER, and some people will be surprised by this: I prefer this tiny booklet over DIY RPG Productions “Death is the New Pink (DitNP).” Not only in themes, which are subjective, but in character progression engine! Where DitNP uses essentially arcana substitutes, this little booklet presents a robust engine for both mutations AND class features that is easy to expand, and rewarding to use, taking a step away from the item-defined component. I genuinely think that this booklet has a better designed basic framework, and one that is very simple to build on. I love this from a design perspective – it’s incredibly elegant.

Now, it is not as streamlined, or expansive as DitNP, obviously – this is me comparing a 2-page booklet with a game that almost sports 100 pages. This pamphlet game is fiercely DIY in its aesthetics, and it’s not as precise as DitNP; I do have to account for that in my verdict. But I still seriously prefer it for what it achieves in its ultra-essentialist frame. As such, this is one of the few instances, where this gets 4 stars, but also my seal of approval. If you’re looking for a rules-lite post-apocalyptic game that can theoretically entertain you for years, for 2 frickin’ bucks, then get this.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This pdf clocks in at 2 pages – 1 page is an interesting artwork/hand-out-style version of the creature, the other page contains the text.

The pdf does not note a particular system or presents stats per se – instead, it lists the numbers that may be encounters, the suggested level range, and for Armor, it notes e.g. a name and then (as plate); similarly, weapons note analogues, like stating that it works like a two-handed sword. So yeah, you’ll need to do some adjustments.

The creature notes special defenses and attacks – in the former case, the creature here notes e.g. that they are only surprised on a 1-in-10, regardless of invisibility. The movement is noted as a normal person afoot, or thrice as fast when flying – nice: It mentions perfect maneuverability, which is helpful for plenty systems.

The panopticium is a race of peacock-feathered giants (12 ft. tall), with skin covered entirely with eyes; they can substitute their attacks with eye-beams,. And the pdf does note how certain spells may be used to counteract them – this includes a unique non-instantaneous delivery-method of the effects, which I considered to be rather cool – and no, I’m not spoiling it here. I also like that their AC can change, depending on how they’re fought.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are okay; I noticed a minor typo, but nothing bad. Layout adheres to a one-column b/w-standard, and the pdf sports a nice, collage-style artwork in full-color. The pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length.

Ian Woolley’s Panopticium is a cool concept for a creature; the design can be implemented pretty easily in most systems if you know how to design creatures for the game system you’re playing. To my pleasant surprise, the creature can be fought in a pretty unique manner, and rewards player-skill and tactics. All in all, I consider this to be a worthwhile creature. My final verdict will clock in at 3.5 stars, rounded up due to in dubio pro reo.

Endzeitgeist out.

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This pdf clocks in at 2 pages – 1 page is an interesting b/w-artwork/hand-out-style version of the creature, the other page contains the text.

The pdf does not note a particular system or presents stats per se – instead, it lists the numbers that may be encounters, the suggested level range, and for Armor, it notes e.g. Unarmored or Dressed for a Ball (as leather or mail); similarly, weapons note analogues: Attacks with their opium pipes are resolved as though they were black-jacks; radiant pistols use the stats for crossbows. So yeah, you’ll need to do some adjustments.

The Nautilium are essentially a highly-sophisticated race of pseudo-18th-century aristocrats that are known for being super-charming to those they consider to be their equals or betters. Bad news is that this doesn’t include most beings. In fact, they are small nautilus-like creatures that subsist on mammalian organs and brains, consuming them and then piloting the bodies of the victims.

If smoking, they may exhale 60 ft. conical bursts of opium that render non-nautilium confused and sluggish for 10 minutes or a Turn. (“Turn” here being used in the old-school way, not in the modern use of the term.)

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are okay. Layout adheres to a one-column b/w-standard, and I liked the collage-style artwork of this weird race. The pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length.

I like the idea of Ian Woolley’s strange critters here; the execution does suffer s a bit from being system agnostic, but personally, I was slightly more irritated by the prose, which the author can do better: “These well-dressed folks hail from the stars. They are an aristocratic people.” – you get the idea; not exactly poetry. All in all, this is a solid idea, but less interesting in its execution than it deserved. My final verdict will be 2.5 stars, rounded down.

Endzeitgeist out.