Monsters of Sin 4, Lust continues the series with what potentially could be the deal breaker for people, the sin of lust. Lust can be interpreted in many differentiating ways, and handled with about as many different levels of maturity. Regardless of the concept of complet-ism, this style of gaming book must be handled with care by a GM, for not every group handles this type of material well. That being said, lets take a look under the sheets, shall we?

11 pages boils down to 7 after we remove the covers, OGL and ad. The standard two column approach, with the monster entries following Paizo's standard text to the left, creature to the right look and feel. Opening as always with a quick opener to explain the author's viewpoint in this particular sin, we quickly step into this sin's template, the Lust Slave. An excellently handled game mechanic translation of what one can only call a groupie, or infatuated “fan”...this template could easily see some usage around my table making sure that my BBEG's have a following within a community. Well done.

First up for creatures this time out is the Inbred Orc. Born of inbreeding, these orcs are built with mutations, both of the fortunate (giving bonuses) and the unfortunate (negatives) type. This basically works the same way as traits and flaws do, but as a physical manifestation in a birth defect. As a creature, this simply doesn't work for me. As a template, sure, to a point. They are granted a bonus to hit simply because they are unpredictable, with the justification that players are used to fighting regular orcs, not a misshapen orc with birth defects...really?

The Lovelorn is our second offering, and took me back to my childhood and the ghost stories I so loved as a kid. The classic woman in white is obviously seen here in influence, and that is a total win in my book. The long and the short of it, we have here a ghost who believes the victims she sets her eyes upon are her lost loves from life, and they are intent on possessing these loves now. Some seriously cool abilities, like the Bleeding Eye Gaze – a nice gaze attack with one seriously creepy visual. But the cherry on top has to be the Lovelorn Embrace, she literally embraces her victims like a lover and kisses them, causing CHA drain as well as being able to perform any one action available to a grappling creature....Whole new appreciation of the kiss of death. The artwork for this particular monster is excellent by the way, and the inking job clearly helps drive forth the partial manifestation ability of this incorporeal creature.

The Truffle closes us out for the monsters this time around, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of this fey. Appearing as a small genderless child, this creature is fascinated by the concept of sexual identity, and what separates the genders of differing races, to the point that they will dominate others into “demonstrating” if they are unwilling to answer their curiosities. On the one hand these creatures could be dismissed as fey with their vastly different viewpoints on social concepts. On the other, what we have here is a creature with no regard for for boundaries forcing people into sexual situations...this is one seriously steep and dangerous slope, and one that a GM needs to be very certain they want to include in their campaign world...as not everyone will react to the idea of these things as being just curious harmless fey.

The Embodiment of Lust is presented as a 10 foot tall humanoid of almost impossible to resist temptation. Surrounding itself with a constant orgy of loyal followers and lust slaves the Embodiment communicates and controls its throng telepathically, or through bodily language. Of all the various ways to embody this sin, I have to say this outsider pretty much does the sin justice for this series, and presents not only a challenge to a group due to its high CR (21), but the sheer fact that everywhere it goes it is surrounded by a willing throng of “lovers” who will kill or die in an instant for it. Not to mention the fact that all within range of it must fight the urge to join the party.

As with previous entries to this series the sin is addressed within Midgard with a bit of setting fluff detailing the Red Goddess, Marena, and an interesting bit of knowledge regarding the birth of the Seven Cities, and how Lust played its part in their origins.

All in all, I liked the Embodiment, the Template and one Monster without contest. That leaves two monsters, one I flat out was unimpressed by, and one, well, that disturbs me. Perhaps I am reading far to much into it, but any creature that, as a normal part of its behavior, “forces” people in this regard...no. Not at my game table.

So, With five items on the block, I like three of them basically. Taking into account the small section on the Midgard setting, I am going to settle on a 3 star, as the Lovelorn really is that good of a creature in my opinion.

Book of Magic Signature Spells 2 weighs in at 13 pages, with 2 covers, the OGL/credit page, an ad and an intro. We also have 2 ½ pages of the class lists breaking down available spells (and the listings pretty much cover the base classes). OK, so quick math says that leaves us with 5 ½ pages of new spells. Formatting follows the standard two column approach, with only one noticeable grammatical hiccup (and it was in the intro, so no harm no foul).

New spells with names...I can honestly say I miss spells with names. Yes, I know they are still there, and we can call them anything we want around our game tables...but when you have called a spell something your entire gaming life...well, it feels odd to not. Dale and his gaming crew obviously agree with my thinking, as these are a collection of spells straight from his table. The introduction gives us some pretty cool insight into the back stories, and leaves me hoping to perhaps see a few of these characters he discusses show their faces within his books. But all the fluff in the world doesn't matter if the spells aren't cool right? So let's get to them.

Presented here are 31 spells by my count, so if you have guessed that I am not going to detail them all here, you should probably buy a lottery ticket, because you are good at this game. What I will do is cover an assortment of what caught my eye, and what earned a spot in my personal character's spell book (more on that later). So, without further ado...

Tamis' Burst of Life is what I consider a great tactical spell when battling undead, as it essentially removes their undead immunities, making them a lot easier to screw up with tactics your GM is not prepared for...(lol, yes, I know, I just advised players on how to further drive their GM's nutz...I'll send in my union card). Shallan's Shadowy Cloud is fog cloud, done Plane of Shadows style. Darker, grittier and more dangerous...well done. Riyals's Counterspelling Preparedness allows you to counterspell as an immediate action, and packs a really cool visual effect to boot.

Shallan's Shadow Marionette is hands down my favorite spell out of the collection, you take control of a creature's shadow, thereby forcing the creature to act as you desire...oh the potential for this one...

Mikard's Burning Eyes target the eyes of your foe, flowing flame from their eyes, with per round damage, and the potential for permanent blindness...very very wicked! Iggaria's Demonic Form lets the caster assume the form of a chosen demon, enlarging in size and weight, with all the perks that come along with a size increase. Limited demonic perks come along with it as opposed to the full roster, but this one still feels slightly overpowered at a level 4. I say slightly because I am not entirely sold on the idea that it is overpowered. Gravada's Deadly Disease makes me want to meet these player's of Dale's, as this is just wrong to do to someone...lol. OK, the short and unsweet version, it resets the time duration on contracted diseases as if no time had passed. Essentially making the disease continue to run rampant within your body for far longer than it should...that's just wrong, lol. Clarissa's Confusing Speech is probably my second favorite of the bunch, and the first spell offered within the book. The targeted creature for the duration of the spell has trouble understanding and being understood...if you can't see the mass potential in this spell, I would recommend buying the Beginner Box and starting over...this is sheer brilliance in crippling an opposing spell chucker!

So, 31 spells, a few spacing issues due to the joys of justified text (have no fears, I have no intention of pinging points for that), and only one true grammatical misstep. Several spells worth noting, a couple that didn't really do much for me, but there will always be a few in a collection, it is the nature of the beast. Final ranking on this, 5 stars and well worth the price of admission.

Oh, and the reference to my personal character's spell book...which spell got in? Let me explain first why this matters at all. I GM, it's what I do. I rarely if ever get to play. When I do it is usually in a high level one off, or perhaps a game that will stretch across a few evenings. I have a favorite character, as most of us do, who has evolved throughout the years. His spellbook is a collection of precision, nothing wasted, no filler spells for the sake of having them. The agreement I have with the small group I do get to play with is that if I find something I love, I may add it at the cost of two others, with no review required by them in anyway at all. Yes, this gives me the opportunity for abuse, but they trust me. It is rare that I find a spell I feel is worth making me look over his spell book to decide which two to sacrifice, but this book contained one such spell. Shallan's Shadow Marionette is perfect for the play style of my demented spell twister, and there was barely a hesitation in deciding that this spell had to be his. I thought, Dale, that you might enjoy knowing you made me make changes to a character I treasure deeply this evening, and that doesn't happen often. Well done sir, well done indeed!

6 Nonmagic Weapon Qualities for Weapons follows the standard look and feel of the Bullet Point series, so let us not waste time discussing those points, and get to why you are here, are these qualities worth it...lets see.

Weapon Qualities are a great thing to add to a weapon to help set it apart from the standard, without having to invest in magical enchantment, so I'm all for a larger variety, as options are almost always a good thing. First up we have the Back Spike, the classic spike of the reverse head of a hafted weapon, allowing for not only normal damage, but piercing as well. Basket Hilt trades off the option of 2-handedness for a better advantage against disarm/sunder attempts, as well as a shield bonus during the full defense action. Flamberge refers to those blades with an undulating pattern to them, causing some issues for a foe during parries. Although this weapon quality is written to allow pretty much any fantasy weapon to take it, I cant help but think this one I might limit to just the blades at my table. Ringed adds metal rings to a bludgeoning or slashing weapon, increasing damage from weight at the cost of some accuracy in attack. Ending with Springy is that quality for the player who understand the advantage of having a normally rigid melee weapon be on the more flexible side. Gaining a bonus vs. sunder/disarm against the player, this quality comes with a negative for when you attempt sunder moves of your own.

Parry Hooks are mounted spikes aimed forward upon a weapon designed to intercept and complicate parry maneuvers in which a foe will “ride” your weapon down to your hands. Now, given my initial read, I couldn't help but notice this quality blatantly states that it is the same thing as the Flamberge quality...but wait, wha? Hang on, have no fear folks. There are subtly differences here. First off, flamberge states that in a fantasy setting it "can" be applied to weapons other than blades ( of which I have already given my opinion), where-as the parry hooks make sense for hafted weapons such as spears, pikes, heck even long axes. Secondly, and this truly to me was the most important factor in deciding these two qualities are in fact different, the fluff. I personally would never build a character carrying a wavy bladed sword...sorry, I think they look stupid...my personal opinion. But, they idea of a well placed parry hook along the length of a two-handed sword...that I can get behind. In the end, the parry hook is far more restrictive in what types of blades are allowed (it lists the bastard and two-handed) then the flamberge, which further separates these two qualities.

Are they almost to similar to be in the same product as two separate qualities? Almost. But if Owen had included parry hooks later, I could see folks accusing him of simply re-skinning the flamberge anyway. Should he perhaps have written a "bonus" feat to make sure folks didn't feel cheated? Maybe...but he didn't. Is this collection still worth it? Of course.

After going back and forth on this one. One the one hand two of the qualities were nearly identical, which essentially would mean we got 5 for the price of 6 and the PDF failed to live up to it's promised material. On the other hand, they are not the same, they share some similarities in crunch, but that is all. One specifically permits non-bladed weapons, the other assumes in a fantasy setting it might be possible. Not to mention the concept of fluff, which to me is just as important as crunch...always has been, always will be. Without fluff, we are playing a boring board game of math...pure and simple. Taking this into account, I feel this PDF did deliver on the promised 6 qualities, and rate it at it's deserved 5 star rating.

A 12 feat Bullet Point for free?!?! Oh yeah...Megadungeon Delver's Player Options addresses those characters and playgroups that make their living far from the light of day and the support of a community, where certain forms of combat begin to develop in answer to the particulars of the environment they spend so much of their lives within...the biggest, the baddest....the megadungeons!

And pray tell, what do I mean by a megadungeon? Crawls of the nature of DungeonaDay, Rappan Athuk or the World's Largest Dungeon come to mind. Artwork far exceeds what one usually gets for a free product, and that simply speaks to the quality of SGG's stuff...as even their free product oozes awesome. Same format and style we all know and love, landscape with 3 columns, 5 pages this time with the cover/intro – do not skip over this, it doesn't have the traditional words that are usually here, lol, the OGL and an ad for DungeonaDay. So, two pages for the goodies, let's take a look.

Caged Fury aids in bull rushing in cramped quarters, while Corridor Combatant gives us mechanics for those wall bouncing stunt man moves we're seeing in every action movie out there. Delver's Saga is our feat for the bards – what? They might go in a megadungeon...if you put a boot on their back and kick them down a really long staircase...(insert evil laugh). Anywho...so delver's saga is an interesting twist on the inspire ability in that it is dependent upon how many levels the dungeon you are within has. Doorkicker lets you add your level to damage dealt in hp to an unattended inanimate object. Dungeon Stalker enhances the tracking class feature immensely in regards to identifying tracks within a dungeon setting. Earth Dragon gives you an additional caster level in determining CL for any spell associated with earth/rock/stone or the cold descriptor. Herald of Justice enhances your aura of courage ability to allow your allies to add the bonus to more checks.

Yeah, that's page one...there's an entire other page...but this PDF is free, and awesome for those looking to go into the deep dark dungeon for a while...so stop reading this review, and go download the PDF...I mean it, seriously, I'm just going to tell you the end, ruin it for you, so you'll go away and get the PDF already...an obvious 5 star rating, even if this wasn't a free product, I mean seriously...what Owen puts into a free product is easily worth paying for...so go get it already.

5 Unseen Servant Feats is yet another in the highly successful Bullet Point series from that rules monster Owen over at SGG... Following the standard Bullet Point landscape/3 column format with the type of editing that earns a 3PP a top spot amongst their peers, the look and feel of this PDF will be familiar to the fans of this particular series. Weighing in at four pages, with the classic intro/cover page, and OGL, we have two covering the new material, with two pieces of color interior artwork.

First up we have the Force Servant – making your unseen servants of the hardier variety. There really isn't much more I can say here without giving you this feat, literally, so, trust me on this one, it's decent! Greater Servant does exactly what you might assume here, it gives you a better version of an unseen servant when you conjure one. Unseen Actor is a brilliant usage of an unseen servant spell, utilizing the servant to add little physical effects to an illusion (kicking up dust, carrying small objects, lifting things, opening/closing doors, etc.). Gives a bonus to the save DC vs. said illusions, and I say again, is one seriously cool usage of a servant. Well Done!

Unseen Craftsman allows an unseen servant to partake of the aid another concept when allies are making skill checks. Unseen Squire allows a caster to “give away” their unseen servant, assigning it to serve another character. Now that opens up some interesting possibilities.

All in all, a good collection of feats to enhance and manipulate this spell, one in particular that I simply love. My one lone voice of dissent is in regards to the rather cartoonish piece of artwork, but that comes down to a personal taste matter, and is not worth an effect upon the rating of this material. Going with a 4.5 for this one, unseen craftsman didn't truly go there for me, but I am still rounding up to a 5, as a 4 is to low for this product.

7 Sinful Feats of Lust sees the return of Jenny Pousin to the covers of SGG product...I mention this purely because I imagine there will be a few fanboys, and girls, who buy this product for the picture, lol. And why not? Anyone who has ever grabbed a Bullet Point before will recognize the format instantly, and if you haven't...MY GAWDS MAN, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!?!?! OK, sorry...will try to control myself, seriously, won't happen again....

So, 7 feats, starting with the interesting Brazen, which grants a bonus to Cha and Init. Checks as long as you're dressed inappropriately enough, lol. Interestingly enough, the feat, as it is written, will not grant a female wearing the notorious “Fantasy Female Armor” any benefit at all, as the feat comes with a specific list of what one may wear while utilizing this feat. Lustful takes us down the path of that language everything speaks, sex appeal. Affect Diplomacy checks without even having a spoken language to work with, as well as gain a bonus of choice (simply to relate that “after glow” people tend to bask in after partaking in...yeah.

Masochist allows you to tap into the power that comes from enjoying the pain, giving you a bonus based upon the HD of the creature hurting or affecting you. While Sadist takes us the other direction, giving you bonuses based on the creatures you are hurting. Both of these feats require you to have Lustful, and is separate from whatever bonus you may already have going there or will gain from this feat, and stacks.

Wanton gives mechanics to those out there that literally seem to ooze sexuality, and bring it out of those around them. OK, any guy who has ever played flag football with a girl on the opposing team understands this next feat perfectly, and why its dangerous...Wriggle lets you distract those you are grappled or pinned by. Writhe goes right there with wriggle, letting spell casters take a bonus to a concentration check to cast while pinned or grappled.

This one ends with a full descriptor for the sinful feat type, in case you have not picked up any of the other sin inspired bullet points, and does a fairly good job of explaining the concept of these feats not being limited to the more evilly aligned characters.

Obviously this style of product is skating on an edge, and there are playgroups out there that are not mature enough to have this type of material made available to. There are also plenty of groups for whom this type of material is not their cup of tea, and that is fine as well, that is one of the beautiful things about the Bullet Points, if you aren't interested in the material, you can simply not buy one.

So, final thoughts on this collection of sin...hands down excellent. I know a few players I want to put these feats in the hands of, sit back and watch them terrorize their fellow players, lol. Another 5 in the chamber Owen, well done!

So What's The Armour Like, AnyWay? Continues this popular series with an excellent reference book for making armour so much more than a single line boring note on a character sheet. I could go into a long drawn out explanation of what this series aims to do for Gms, but I think it would be easier to demonstrate for those unaware...

Which would you prefer to have your GM describe to you, as a PC: The knight was wearing full plate. wow, give that GM a prize for description

The knight was armored in a suit formed to resemble a well muscled humanoid torso, with glints of gold running down the sides, chasing the sun. His helmet bears the face of a hawk, its beak open in a scream of wrath, the wings sweeps back across the sides of his head.

So, which GM you want? No seriously, that's what these books do for GM's...they are an absolutely brilliant collection of tidbits of that nature, arranged in list format assigned a number just waiting for you to either roll or blindly slap a finger on the page. This book has 8 pages of lists covering light/medium/heavy Armour and shields. Go word for word with the descriptions if you wish, or use them to spark your own thoughts, that in the end is what they are there for, to help you be more creative on the spot, with no prep.

And for those wanting some prebuilt, ready to drive off the showroom floor stuff, how about an assortment of famous and unique armors and shields? Four armors and one shield, fully detailed and ready to be slid into your storyline. Need some hooks, or complications? Not a problem. Two 1-20 random lists have you covered with one for previous owners, the other for random...randomness, lol.

In short, I can not recommend the books in this serious enough to you. Even the most creative GM in the world will find usage from a PDF of this nature, the time saving capacity alone makes this well worth the price of admission. An easily given 5 star rating!

One of the most impressive things in regards to Owen is his capacity to look at what another designer has done, and add to it, seamlessly. Louis Porter Jr's Machinesmith is the latest such thing to get the Owen treatment, Bullet style!!

Following the standard layout, landscape, three column, 4 pages...got it? Good, let's move on.

First up, Alchemical Admixture lets you add a taste of the alchemist's destructive capacity to the machinesmith's creations. Fast and easy breaks down to this, each time you take this feat you get to pick one alchemical discovery from a list, you may then add said discovery as an admixture to whatever it is your twisted little mind is creating next. This feat dominates the entire first page of this product, and may in fact have the longest write up for a feat I have ever seen in the bullet point series, as Owen tried to cover as much as possible of what might come up with this one. Intriguing to say the least, and a great way to take an already odd class, and give it an extra twist your players won't see coming. Ever notice when someone is really “all in” on something it tends to make you believe a little more as well? Well, Behold! is right there with you on that one, as the PC's confidence in their creations literally demoralizes those who can see and hear them. Rather amusing when you think about it, "BEHOLD ME MERE MORTALS, FOR I AM THE SCIENCE!" Anyone else picture Bill Nye while they read that? You are now, lol.

Better Than New has me wondering how many times Owen has repaired a home appliance, lol. Any time you got to put something back together, it literally is better, for a limited time, and by better I mean as in bonus better, with varying options of where you can assign the bonus. Creation Focus lets you add a temporary bonus to one item/day as long as you can dedicate the time to tinker with it throughout the day, and Emergency Activation allows you to fire up the toys faster. Non combat abilities only but seriously, we've all seen the tech guys suddenly "poof" some amazing crap right before the villain's eyes...right? Yeah, this feat RAWKS!!!!!!!

Final thoughts and such? An excellent handful of feats to accompany this class, and a solid addition to the Bullet Point series. 5 stars and well worth the price of admission.

5 Haste/Slow feats is yet another round in the never ending magazine of bullets Owen is firing off this summer. Following the basic look and feel of this excellent series, the PDF is presented in landscape, with a three column approach (although the third column is filled with artwork both times, lol) for the main body of the material, weighing in at 4 pages. Sporting three pieces of pretty decent art, and no true editing/grammatical speed bumps to speak of, this entry into the Bullet line lives up to usual standard of quality that I have come to expect from SGG. So, let's dive in and see what we have this time, shall we?

Distorted Speed is an interesting feat in that it goes both ways on the spectrum, being able to affect haste, or slow (or even blessing of fervor if you allow it within your campaign). Short and simple breaks down to this, those enjoying haste or fervor get to pick from a short list of variant perks instead of accepting the normal boost, while those suffering under slow are at your mercy with a new list of options for them as well. Nice, very very nice. Marathon of One gives you the ability to focus your speed spell of choice on a single target, as opposed to an area...got to say, am seeing some serious options for when this could be real handy. Master of Speed is one of those feats that proves once again Owen should have been around a long long time ago tucking his little nuggets of brilliance into the game...OK, follow me here...we've all been there, the play group roll their initiative rolls, the weakest non combat prepared players not only roll high, they roll really high...while your muscle rolls lower than the GM's critters/bad guys/insert evil thing here...crap...well folks, no more. With master of speed the spellcaster can “collect” the parties initiative rolls, and redistribute them as they see fit...yeah, you read that right, let it soak in. If a playgroup plays it right, the fighter will always be where he needs to be in rotation, the healer won't be wasted right off the bat, etc etc, you get the idea...Overlord of Speed really starts to give your speed spell chucking character some meat, any time a foe fails a save against a spell, SU ability or spell-like ability vs. you they suffer a slow[/] effect. Now, as cool as that is, this feat is not quite done yet...because if you have an ally in range, they get a [i]haste[/] just for being in the right place at the right time.

Which takes us to the fifth feat, Unrestrained Spell. Now, this feat is seriously useful for a spell chucking character, as it increases the the range between targets for ANY spell that defines a parameter of distance between targets....wait, wha? What does that have to do with [i]haste/slow? Specifically? Nothing. But, in the broader scope, everything. Haste and slow both are limited by the whole “must be within so many feet of each other blah blah blah”...as are many other spells. So, does this one belong here, yeah, technically....it's just uber cool that it also applies to a massive amount of other spells.

So, tallying it all up.....hmm, not much on the negative side there.....OK, not often do I look at the ratings and wish they went higher than 5...but here I am wanting a sixth star. I love the speed set, and being able better manipulate them makes me a happy GM. I'm going with an official 5 star, well worth the price of admission and all....but this one is a straight 6 as far as I am concerned.

Easily one of the cooler things I have picked up in the nature of card decks for GM tools. An excellent method of keeping an assortment of traps at one's fingertips, with both clear descriptions and excellent visuals to aid in utilizing these traps with little to no prep work required.

Very impressed with this product, and highly recommend that any GM add these to their toolbox.

Come on, seriously? It's a kobold...it's a bard...what more can you possibly want? This little dude is freaking awesome!

The collection included in this set ended up more cartoony than I would have liked, although it is hard to argue with the price, as the first image is a fairly good one of a pair of skeletal warriors.

Quite possibly one of my favorite pieces of stock art I've come across to date. I don't even have a present usage for it and I picked it up.

10 Luckbringer Magic Items opens the entertainment right off the bat, with a great bit of humor for the comic book fans out there on the credits page, 'nuff said!

Artwork is the blade featured on the cover, re-used once inside, and the covers for the other two Rite releases regarding the luckbringer class. Of the 7 pages here, three are dedicated to the ten new items, with the rest being tied up in the usual ways. Format follows the standard dual column, with a portrait oriented page layout. No bookmarks, but honestly, when you are only dealing with three pages of material, bookmarks are not necessary, so no harm no foul.

Auspicious Assault lets you roll an additional attack die, with the benefit of additional succeses past the initial adding a set die to the damage for the attack. The weapon itself is described as always being plated in precious metal, and bearing symbols of good fortune. Taking out that one line of description, and the construction requirements, and this weapon instantly turns into a feat or ability...cool concept, but doesn't feel like an item so much as an ability shoehorned into the collection. At most a weapon ability, not a weapon. The Baldric of the Prepared mind is a belt worn sash style over the shoulder, and is typically worn as a means of carrying a weapon. The cool thing here is it allows you to utilize a small assortment of weapon-centric feats, but unfortunately due to a copy/paste snafu the limitations per day of usage are mixed up with another items, and we do not have a clear ruling on how many times a day the baldric works. Boots of Adventitious Timing make sure you are always standing in the right place, at the right time. Additionally, they give you a move action along with your standard action during the surprise round. Cape of Risk is the classic shiny distracting cape...sorry, this one did nothing for me. The Gloves of Fortunate Deeds are pretty fortunate indeed, giving you an automatic 20 on a small list of skills a set amount of times/day depending upon the power level of the gloves, as well as allowing you to take 10 on the same list of skills, even when distracted.

Luck's Aegis is an interesting suit of armor that shields its wearer with a 50% miss ratio, and that includes spells. Now before people start screaming about balance, relax, it comes with a negative to hit and a limit of per/day usage. Still, very cool armor. There's a very good chance I simply did not understand Ring of Fate's Unraveling, as reading over its descriptor and abilities, I'm left scratching my head. As I understand it the ring holds 7 gems, each of a different type, and this is a profoundly disturbing effect causing targets to save vs. a potential negative luck penalty on dice rolls....so a ring having 7 stones will screw people up? I've got to be missing something here, or the wording is not making the author' idea clear enough..not sure which.

The Ring of Peril brings us the first true grammatical hiccup, a word used in present tense when it should have been past...not a huge issue, just pointing it out. Symbol of Good Luck grants a bonus to any one D20 roll, with a full bonus if used before the roll, half if applied after, and you can grant the bonus to a party member, as long as your character is there with said party member and could feasibly help them. Which brings us to the Third Eye of Karma, the ultimate “one last blow before I go” item. A pendant on chain that activates upon a set list of parameters. Upon activation, you get one last attack upon your attacker before their damage/attack is finalized within mechanics, as long as you actually can attack them.

Other than the few minor glitches I mentioned, editing was good. While not every item jumped to the top of the cool new kid status, there were a few shining examples (I'm looking at you Luck's Aegis), most of them are still cool enough to make a Luckbringer player a happier gamer. Am going with a 4 star rating for this offering from Rite.

Expanded Shaman marks the second book in Open Designs' New Paths series. Anyone paying attention is well aware of how well received the first installment (The Spell Less Ranger) was, and what type of pressure that places upon this book right off the bat. Question here then is, did Marc Radle have another bullet in the chamber? So let us take a look.

Weighing in at 16 pages, with 10 pages of new material, 2 sheets for tracking wildshape and a spirit guide, cover, OGL, credit and ad (which would not fully load in my version of this PDF). Artwork is handled by the talented Rick Hershey, as those familiar with his style can easily recognize from the cover. Formatting follows the dual column, portrait layout with very few editing issues (an occasional extra space, nothing severe), with embedded artwork and tables. My only complaint in regard to layout is that one particular table finds itself with a full page between it and the descriptive text meant to help one read it. Now, granted by now anyone who games should have no issues using the table, but the addition on the breakdown shows an acknowledgement that those new to the game might still need some help (and I applaud that thinking, as at one point we all needed some guidance), and it being so far after the table makes it almost counter-productive.

For those loyal readers of Kobold Quarterly yes, this is that shaman, expanded upon and re-introduced...for the rest of you, it's all here, so you are not missing anything (although I still recommend you start picking up KQ).

At first glance it is far to easy to dismiss this class as another variant druid, when it is far more. There are a few familiar concepts and abilities, but there is more than enough defining concepts as well. Take for instance the Totem Secrets. Essentially working the same as talents, with the PC gaining them at 1st, 3rd and every 4 levels after, we are given 12 to work with at this point. Of these 12, I would truly have a hard time as a PC deciding on what to pick as there are some really interesting abilities here that I would love to play around with...Invisibility, Protective Spirits, automatic stabilization from 0hp if on home plane, see the incorporeal, ethereal etc., Unleash a furious attack 1/day of spirits upon a target dealing force damage, lull into a trance to commune with the spirits and gain a 20 to one Int check...or my personal favorite out of them all, intestinal divination/sign reading – flight paths of birds, sand particles in the wind...a balanced game mechanic to do what we all imagine the shaman does. Very, very cool, with a nice array of bonuses depending upon what form of “reading” is done with this particular talent.

But fear not, there are more class abilities beyond the Totem Secrets, we have the Animal Spirit Guide, Wild Empathy, Woodland Step, Wild Shape, just to name a few before we get to the more class specific...Shaman's Touch – essentially the cure spells starting at light and working its way up progressively as you increase in level, Spirit Dance allows the shaman to call to the spirits to augment their magic via dance (pretty cool story driven concept actually), Spirit Step – shaman can go ethereal as if using ethereal jaunt, and Vision Quest where upon a shaman can release their spirit from their body for a time.

The Animal Spirit Guide, whereas is pretty class specific, felt a great deal to me like the druid's animal companion, and was one of the reasons I think I kept looking at the shaman looking for the similarities, and differences. 16 base statblocks are presented covering 24 different potential animals that the shaman can pick through, with choices ranging from predatorial birds to manta rays. The list felt more designed for the min/maxer to me, as almost every animal on the list is one with an attack, one would not see as a waste on a character sheet. When I think of shamans, and their guides, I think of the turtle, the rat, the mantis. Animals who, traditionally have been presented throughout fantasy as having something to teach. Not that I am entirely knocking the animals that are here, as they are decent choices, I just would have liked to have seen a few less “combat friendly” choices is all. The spirit animals of course come with their own list of cool abilities, being the very reason one wants them in the first place, lol. Everything from delivering your touch spells to acting as an intermediary to the spirit realm, going incorporeal and granting bonus spells. The options for the spirit guide in regards to abilities is pretty decent and gives plenty of options to handle a variety of builds.

We are given three archetypes, the Elemental, Primal and Medicine Doctor. The elemental, you guessed it, is more attuned to the elemental forces, and swaps out the animal spirit guide for an elemental one, as well bonus spells and their wild shape being one of an elemental. The primal gives up some spell-casting with a smaller quantity of spells daily in exchange for an enhanced wild shape (that comes with a built in healing that is freaking awesome), as well as primal dance – altering the spirit dance to augment the wild shape ability instead of spell-casting. The witch doctor goes the other route, diminishing their wild shape in favor of more spells and a closer relation to the spirits. The witch doctor and primal both have separate tables showing spell progression.

New spells come in the form of Elemental Blast – exactly what it says, Rain of Fangs – yeah, again exactly what it says, very cool visually speaking, and River of Moonlight – transfix opponents with a line of moonlight shaped by you as you choose, hanging before their eyes in the air.

We end with four new feats, Extra Wild Shape, Improved Shaman's Touch, Practiced Spirit Dance and Prolong Spirit Dance. The first two are pretty self explanatory, the practice feat allows you to pull off the 3 full round spirit dance in 3 move actions and requires you to take prolong, which extends the spirit dance an additional 2 rounds. I am assuming this wording means that the prolong spirit dance feat adds 2 rounds to the duration of the spirit dance's benefit, not the amount of rounds required to do a spirit dance in the first place.

The addition of the two additional sheets to add to a character sheet for the tracking of information for wild shape and the spirit guide are a flat out genius move, and a great way to help sell the idea of trying out the class to someone. Clear, concise and well organized, they would be an easy addition to any character portfolio, regardless of what sheets they are currently using.

So, final thoughts and tally...I liked the class, a great deal. And I owe Mr. Radle an apology, I stated early in this review that Rick Hershey handled the art, failing to mention the Radle piece from the interior. Editorial, it is close enough to perfect to not even merit nitpicking (lol), and the presentation is beautiful. I see from End's review that bookmarks were added, so I re-downloaded my copy to check, and I still have no bookmarks. Material wise, the class abilities have some nice surprises and new favorites for me, but I did think the spirit guides were missing something, more in their variety and the theme of them than anything else. I would have liked to have seen some more specific spells for the shaman class, as well as more feats, but I'm sure someone out there cough Owen cough will do something cough Bullet Point cough about that soon...sorry, had something caught in my throat there.

OK, so balancing my issues with the animal choices for spirit guide against the new options for abilities and over all flavor of the class, as well as the lack of bookmarks, I'm going to settle on a 4 star rating.

edit- I see in the comment threads that the Paizo version has the bookmarks, so I am willing to bet this has been addressed, and am raising my rating a full .5 star, settling at a 4.5 rating.