Let's start with the new Class, the Tinkermage. It feels like a direct rip-off of the Artificer with one MAJOR exception, you get two 2nd level spell slots at 1st level. After speaking with the creators, they insist that this was done to make up for the lack of spells in later levels, which isn't how the game supposed to work; this reasoning only really makes sense if you insist all players start at 5th level or higher, otherwise, you get a 1st level PC that can cast Shatter in the first two rounds of combat. No power gamer worth their salt isn't going to dip into artificer before moving on to other classes. Also, at 1st level you get "Augment Item" which is way more powerful than the Artificer's "Magical Tinkering."

Now, let’s get into the Species. Now, an interesting feature of some of the species is that they have natural attacks and the damage for these attacks increase as the PC levels, similar to how cantrips damages increase, not a huge deal, I even like it; though I question whether a fox should start out with 1d6+dex damage, more damage than a fighter with a dagger, but it's not too broken. What we should really look at is the BEAR! A bear starts with a natural attack that does 2d6 + your Strength at 1st level and progresses as follows: 5th lvl: 2d8 10th lvl: 2d10 15th lvl: 2d12 This is insane for a single claw attack, but at 1st level the bear gets TWO attack per round!

I have a few other complaints that pale in comparison to the bear because they're not mechanically broken. Like I think the Raccoon and the Fox should get a climb speed. THE BEAR has a climb speed, but the raccoon apparently can't climb for shit. I also think several species, like the raccoon and Red Panda should be considered tiny, and not small. I also wish there were some physical restrictions on the smaller creatures’ strength scores; it's not a huge deal, but I think it's going too far when you can create a Koala with a 15 strength scores.

The biggest argument to my critiques would be that this is just a game, and players can make any changes they feel work. The basis of D&D is using the rules however you want and playing however you want, but a Dungeon Master shouldn't have to make huge adjustments to their campaign because you chose to go with a class and race from a 3rd party publisher. As a DM, I like that I can start a campagin with four players and the only imbalance I'll encounter is maybe one of them choosing to be a Gloom Stalker Ranger.

The rest of the book is good, but it doesn't compensate for its other flaws.

When I first got the PDF for this book, I was convinced it was a typo, that someone had overlooked a formatting error. In fact, I still wonder if their insistence that all these issues were done on purpose it's just a cover because they can't openly admit they messed up without offering refunds. This whole book feels like a rough draft that no one bothered to update. Maybe there were not enough hands and everyone thought someone else was dealing with these problems, and by the time they realized the issues weren’t being resolved it was too late. This theory is also backed by another claim that they were supposed to include art of certain backers’ pets as NPCs in the book, but it didn't make the final draft. I'm open any further discussion they would like to broach, but I don't think I'll purchase from Steamforged Games again. The only word I can use to describe this book is, "Irresponsible."

I love it, but I'm also conflicted because there are a few abilities with negative consquenses. I like the consquenses though! Instead of only getting a set number of uses for an ability, you risk consequenses, so the more you use an ability, the riskier it gets, not unlike Wild Magic. I'm eager to try it out! Defintely not OP; as a DM I wouldn't mind any of my players using this, but defintely useful and fun!