On to ludacrise speed!
Rapid Movements
Cost: 2 PP per level
Activation: minor action
You move so fast its hurts! After activating this power, you can make one attack per round as a minor action for (Magic) combat rounds. At the end of those combat rounds, experience drain equal to the 2 x level of this power, which you can resist as normal.
Thoughts?
Just give me a second!
Manipulate Earth
Traditions arcane
You shape a box of stone around your space. You create a 5-inch-think box of stone around your 5-foot-space, or what ever sized space you occupy. The box has AC 10, Hardness 14, 50 hit points, and is immune to critical hits and precision damage. It lasts until the start or end of your next turn, your choice, and is air tight allowing you to breath comfortably the air that was in your location during your turn.. Upon taking its total hit points in damage, it falls into pebbles and disappears. You can choose to make a one way viewing window when you make this box.
Thoughts?
Product– Shadow fo the Weird Wizard
System- Shadow of the Weird Wizard
Producer– Schwalb Entertainment
Price– $19.99 here https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/457226/shadow-of-the-weird-wizard?affiliate_id=658618
TL; DR– A LOT more but not what some expected. 99%
Basics– Family friendly fantasy Schwalb! Shadow of the Weird Wizard is Schwalb Entertainment’s family friendly fantasy RPG. Let’s look at the basics then the breakdown.
Base Mechanics- This game is d20 based with the normal base numbers you would expect. There are only four attributes (strength, agility, intelligence, and will). The interesting part is your abilities directly determine a bonus to any roll. If you are asked to make a will roll, you look at your will attribute, subtract 10, and add that number to a d20 roll. So if you have a will of 13, then then the bonus is +3. Simple. This goes for everything from attacks to opening a lock. The number you are aiming for most times is a 10 for a success.
Boons and banes- Aside from a d20, the other die this game uses often is a d6. If you have an advantage in a situation, then you roll a boon or a d6 and ADD the value to the d20 roll. If you have a disadvantage you roll a bane or a d6 and you SUBTRACT the value from the d20 roll. If you have multiple boons or banes, you roll multiple dice but combine only the most extreme penalty or bonus to your d20 roll. Boons and banes counteract one another, so two banes and three boons mean you get one boon on the roll.
Combat- Combat is a bit simpler than Shadow of the Demon Lord. Here, each side takes a turn with the GM or Sage going first. All their NPCs go first moving, attacking, or casting spells, and then the players can choose whatever order they want to take. Each turn a player can move and take an action. These actions are attacks, spells, and anything else a player can think of.
Leveling up– This is the biggest change Schawlb brings to the world of RPGs. Leveling up in all the Shadow games is simple and occurs quite often. After a four hour adventure, you level up. Not after multiple sessions. Not at specific XP levels. Just after every completed game. Leveling up is also predictable. Level 1 and 2 you get levels in your base class or your novice path. Level 3 and 4 you choose an expert path. 5 is back to your novice path. 6 is your expert path. 7 and 8 are a master path. 9 is your expert path, and finally 10 is the master path final level. The classes/paths are split into four basic areas: fighter, rogue, wizard, and cleric, and this is the same for both the expert and master paths as well. So you can be a novice cleric, then a mountebank (rogue), and finally an alienist (wizard) and the flow will be fun and works well.
Ok, now my breakdown.
Mechanics or Crunch– I like the Shadow games. This is no different. This one doesn’t have the slow/fast turn mechanics of the Shadow of the Demonlord, but that will make this appeal to a wider audience of gamers. Aside from that, this game’s goal is to be fast. Schwalb wants to make an approachable game that flows fast. And this does. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– Schwalb is not known for being family friendly. His other stuff is just bizarre and gross AND I LOVE IT. This is meant to be a very different experience. It’s well done, but if you want the gothic horror of Shadow of the Demon Lord, you will be disappointed. However, if you want a family friendly game then this is the Schwalb Entertainment that you would bring to the table. 5/5
Execution– This is a solidly put together game that meets all the base requirements I need and want in a book. There is art that breaks up text blocks. There is a solid layout to ease reading. And there are hypertext to make this a breeze to move through quickly. The one thing I do not like is the lack of a walkthrough of making a character and leveling up. I know it’s not hard, but those things are something I think really helps the new players. That said, this is a near perfect book for production. 4.9/5
Summary– I have always loved what Schwalb Entertainment puts out. It’s a very different philosophy compared to other RPGs and companies. This is no different, but it is a change from the normal tone of Schwalb. Not bad, but different. You have to know exactly what you are getting here. This is a player book, not a full system book. The original Shadow of the Demon Lord was an all in one book. This is not that. If you think that this one book will do it all, you will be disappointed. But this book doesn’t skimp on content as you get a crazy amount of things for your money. I just would like a few more examples for perfection. 99%
Let’s make something new!
Weapon Ward
Prayer name: Lamentations of St. Gilfane
Duration: 2 Turns
Range: 30′
A small shower of rain falls upon the ground around a single creature of the caster’s choosing, which is bestowed with supernatural resistance to weapons.
Small Cuts: The subject is unharmed by small cuts from weapons.
AC bonus: The subject gains a +2 bonus to AC versus weapon attacks.
Weapon-based damage: Reduce weapon damage by 1d6 attack.
The Miracle of St.Gilfane, the protector: When war came to the small village of Craftwood, the elder priest gathered the town into the small church. The warlord who came to the town looked for man and women to slaughter, but finding none came to the church demanding their champion step out. Gilfane limped out of the church denying all others exit as he would bear the brunt of this madman. Gilfane faced the warlord but would not attack. The gods blessed this selfless act by preventing a single of the warlords blows from harming him and all arrows bounced of his skin. Tired the warlord left in disgrace. Patronages: Town fathers, (pacifists), (parents)
Thoughts?
Near misses count for more that hand grenades and horse shoes!
Invested Magical
Usage worn gloves; Bulk L
These simple brown leather gloves are covered in minor scatches indicating many near misses and close hits. Once per round when you make an attack roll (melee, ranged, or spell) and miss by 1, you may instead convert that miss to a glancing hit that does minimum damage however but still counts as a success.
Type Lesser Glancing Gloves Level 6 Price 245 gp
Type Glancing Gloves Level 12 Price 1,750 gp
The gloves functions just like the lesser verion but cause a glancing hit up to 2 below the AC.
Type Greater Glancing Gloves Level 18 Price 19,000 gp
The gloves functions just like the lesser verion but cause a glancing hit up to 3 below the AC.
Let’s do this… later!
Slow
You just don’t a jump on anything.
• Bonus: 12 Karma
• Game Effect: You permanently lose one minor action..
Thoughts?
Just drop a spell!
Sudden Spell
Where did that come from?.
• Cost: 12 Karma
• Game Effect: You can spend three edge to cast one spell as a minor action. You may only do this once per round.
Thoughts?
If all the bad things happen quickly, no one needs to remember anything!
Concentrate Mental Subtle
Traditions occult
Range 30 feet ; Target 3 creature
Defense basic Will
You cause the target to forget the the last six seconds.. You or another creature can explain to the targets what happened in the previous six seconds with a successful deception check.
Thoughts?
Product– Nightfell
System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed
Producer– Grim Moon Studio
Price– Coming soon! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grimmoonstudio/nightfell-a-grimdark-fantasy-setting-for-pathfinder
TL; DR-Almost perfect grimdark for Pathfinder 2nd Ed. 97%
Basics– In a world ruled by the moon, there is only darkness! Nightfell is a grimdark setting. Previously it was published for DnD 5e. Now they are making a Pathfinder 2nd Ed port. It has multiple new character options, a new world with many new dark elements, and even two new classes.
Mechanics or Crunch– What’s here is good. This is a grimdark world, so EVERYTHING is dark. But their classes are a spiritualist (a spellcasting summoner type), and a lunar cultist, (possibly a paladin-like fighter). I like what is presented. There are spells, actions, and even a whole insanity/possession system set up to reinforce the world. There is even a free, decently sized adventure with multiple characters. You get to try a spiritualist, but not a lunar cultist. I am pretty impressed with what they are giving away for free. The crunch works here. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– This is an interesting world, but I am missing a key piece. The world is presented in GREAT detail for a preview. You get such detail as lunar phases and how that affects characters. There is a new religion, new races/ancestries and a whole host of information. But I don’t really know any history. Why is everything so grim and dark? Were things ok, then they started to suck? Tell me a few pages on how we went grimdark and you will hook me more. 4.8/5
Execution– This stands on the edge of greatness, but misses one key thing. The book reads well. I love what I see. The layout is good, the text is great, and the pictures are dark and amazing. But no hyperlinks. This is a 90+ page book and I have to jump all around trying to find where the parts are. That’s fine in a simple book, but this is longer than most published Paizo one-shot adventures! That’s the one stumbling block that hurts this. 4.75/5
Summary– This review is the definition of me looking a gift horse in the mouth. What’s here is very well done. Even I, who gets a bit tired of grimdark being just the darkest of grim, am interested in the Pathfinder port of this work. My issues are things I absolutely expect to be in the main book. If they fix that up in the final, then I am in! Check out their upcoming project and the free book located here: https://www.grimmoon.com/nightfellpf2quickstart 97%
