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Creatures of Shadows over Vathak (5th Edition) Mudwake Boar
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 03/17/2021 06:06:20

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This pdf clocks in at 2 pages, 1 page for the new critter, 1 page for editorial/SRD/etc., so let’s take a look!

My coverage of this series was requested by my supporters.

Note: This is imho a boss critter for a horror setting; at challenge 4, this fellow is a tough cookie for the challenge, but that’s how I like it, and its stats do allow clever players to deal with it.

Okay, so, the mudwake boar is actually more interesting than one would expect—and more scary. For one, the creature type is actually “elemental” and the Large boar thus has abilities associated with earth, such as the option to glide through earth and create an aura of mud; coupled with its Aimless Fury (tactical combat/opportunity attacks against this fellow are risky) and the expected Charge, the critter actually does a good job blending themes of a boar and an elemental. The math of the critter is 100% correct, and apart from Multiattack erroneously referring to a gore attack, when that should be tusk, there is nothing to complain about.

As an aside: As somebody who managed to scramble up a tree as a kid when attacked by a wild boar, this thing struck a chord with me. The critter feels “boar-like”, and yet weird; it has this “angry nature spirit” touch, and the combination works well.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are good on a formal level, very good on a rules-language level. Layout adheres to a two-column full-color standard, and the critter-artwork by Rick Hershey is nice, but I’d have enjoyed the elemental theme being more pronounced in it. A layer of the like would have really made this shine. The pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length.

Ismael Alvarez’ mudwake boar is a fun critter; it’s a suitable brute for its challenge, and its theme of stupid ferocity is executed well. It didn’t blow me utterly away, but it certainly is worth the low asking price. My final verdict will be 4.5 stars, rounded down.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Creatures of Shadows over Vathak (5th Edition) Mudwake Boar
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Creatures of Shadows over Vathak (5th Edition) Abyssal Elk
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 03/17/2021 06:04:26

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This pdf clocks in at 2 pages, 1 page for the new critter, 1 page for editorial/SRD/etc., so let’s take a look!

My coverage of this series was requested by my supporters.

The abyssal elk is a boss-style critter for a horror setting, and comes with a pretty hefty hit point tally for its challenge of 5. It has an animal-like focus, gaining double proficiency bonus on its 3 skills; the creature has a frightening aura (thankfully with a brief frame where you’re not affected: On a successful save, you can’t be affected by it for 1 minute) that also can cause short term madness if you bungle the save particularly badly. Abyssal elks have an array of innate spellcasting abilities, with the DC listed, but not the spell atk value, and it should be listed, since the critter has innate spellcasting that requires attack rolls. The passive creature features are missing the italics in the feature names, but are otherwise correctly formatted. Speaking of missing italics: The Melee Weapon Attack and Hit sections in the attack sequence are missing their italics, but the damage value is correct. Weird: The one attack of the creature seems to calculate its attack bonus with Dexterity, but the damage inflicted with Strength; either that, or, more likely, it’s off by 1. Why is that more likely? The DCs for the abyssal elk’s aura are off by 1, considering its proficiency bonus and most sensible ability score to calculate it. 1/day, these creatures can swallow life-force, dealing necrotic damage to all targets of their choice within 30 ft., healing as much damage – nasty surprise incoming.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are good on a formal level, but on a rules language level, the italics are missing from some features and parts of the attack sequence. As noted, I’m pretty sure that tehre’s a glitch in atk and DCs. There may be a hiccup in the math, but it might also be a weird (and nonsensical) design-decision. Layout adheres to a two-column full-color standard, and the critter-artwork by Rick Hershey is really cool and has a Darkwood-vibe I very much enjoy. The pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length.

Ismael Alvarez’ abyssal elk is a bit of a lost chance, as far as I’m concerned. The creature has an amazing artwork, a cool concept…and doesn’t do that much with it. It’s a nasty boss, yes, and its 1/day screw-you-feature made me chuckle, as it lets the GM go for phase two without necessarily being TPK-evil…but it’d have been nice to get some lair actions or additional, unique tricks. The execution of this critter does not live up to its potential. For the low asking price, it’s worth considering if you’re looking for a brute-style boss with a nasty surprise. My final verdict will be 2.5 stars, rounded up due to in dubio pro reo and the low price.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
Creatures of Shadows over Vathak (5th Edition) Abyssal Elk
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Creatures of Shadows over Vathak (5th Edition) Graven Earth Elemental
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 03/15/2021 13:23:46

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This pdf clocks in at 2 pages, 1 page for the new critter, 1 page for editorial/SRD/etc., so let’s take a look!

My coverage of this series was requested by my supporters.

Okay, so the graven earth elemental clocks in at challenge 9 and has a massive hit point pool, as well as the Earth Glide and Siege Monster features that you’d expect from such a colossus. In fact, this fellow gave me a distinct Resident Evil: Nemesis vibe; a hulking brute who can spawn the undead, with slightly more ponderous ranged attacks…yeah, thematically, this works. It does have damage resistances, and a vulnerability – and no, not going to spoil the latter. These hulks execute two slams per round via Multiattack, but, alas, the attack value is set at +8, which is incorrect: The attack value for the elemental should be +9 (+4 proficiency bonus, +5 Strength modifier); the critter also has a ranged Bone Throw, which, ideally, would have featured in the Multiattack feature, but the absence here might have been intentional. Bone Throw also suffers from the incorrect attack value. Weird: Those slain by the elemental’s Slams have a chance to rise as undead; the Bone Throw also has a necrotic bonus damage (which explains this ability), but the necrotic damage in Bone Throw is erroneously noted as 2d5; pretty sure that should be 2d4.

The graven earth elemental gets 2 legendary actions per round, which can be taken at the end of another creature’s turn: Additional Slam (2 actions), Bone Throw (1 action), making nearby terrain difficult until the end of its next turn, or conjuring a hand of earth (2 actions) that restrains a target until the end of the creature’s turn if they fail their save.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are good on a formal level. On a rules language level, the math is mostly correct, but does show signs of the critter being a bit rushed, with the d5 typo and atk value off by one. (The latter may also be due to challenge being increased in development, without properly implementing the change’s ramifications.) Layout adheres to a two-column full-color standard, and the critter-artwork by Rick Hershey is really cool and this one? It really looks like the critter! The pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length.

Ismael Alvarez’ Graven Earth Elemental would score a solid 5 stars, were it not for its hiccups; this thing is frightening, and will have the party run/retreat, and makes for a great hunter/stalker-style boss that needs to be whittled down. The massive hit point pool and resistances will make it one of those things where the players go “Why won’t it die???” I like that. This is a good horror critter. Now, I can’t rate it as high as I’d like to due to its hiccups, but for the low price? Personally, I think this is worth checking out and unleashing on your players. My final verdict will hence round up from 3.5 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Creatures of Shadows over Vathak (5th Edition) Graven Earth Elemental
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Creatures of Shadows over Vathak (5th Edition) Zombie Worm
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 03/15/2021 13:22:24

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This pdf clocks in at 2 pages, 1 page for the new critter, 1 page for editorial/SRD/etc., so let’s take a look!

My coverage of this series was requested by my supporters.

The zombie worm is a challenge 1 critter, an it is defined by its bite, which grapples creatures hit, regardless of size; the DC to rip off the zombie worm is weird (should be 1 higher or 1 lower), and the interesting thing here is that the attached zombie worm gets the host’s resistances and immunities – and any damage applied to the worm is also applied to the host. To add insult to injury, the worm, if killed, detonates in a low-range burst of necrotic energy. The worm can’t attach itself to elementals, constructs or undead, and living creatures that have the worm attached to them can’t gain the benefits of rests, food or sleep. At 35 hit points, the worms are tough as nails, particularly for a challenge 1 critter…and that’s with the incorrect HD: Either their size should be Tiny (likely), or they should have d6 HD.

…I don’t think this critter does a good job at what it tries to do. It tries to be a bad news type of parasite, but none of the strategies to dispatch it are actually rewarded. Take it off? Extra damage! Attack it or kill it? Extra damage. This makes the critter functionally an endurance test for hit points between worm and host. And that’s not necessarily fun. This critter needed some actual strategy to get it to relent, to reward smart roleplaying.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are good on a formal level, but on a rules language level, the italics are missing from all features and the attack sequence. There are hiccups in the math. Layout adheres to a two-column full-color standard, and the critter-artwork by Rick Hershey is solid. The pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length.

Ismael Alvarez usually is good at making 5e-critters, but this one? It feels rushed. It’s neither clever, nor does it have a strong theme. If anything, the critter is sadistic in a “GM/Designer tries to screw the party” kind of way. I don’t think this critter is compelling, or well-designed, for that matter. My final verdict can’t exceed 2 stars, and that only due to the generally solid rules-language and low price. I’d suggest getting any of the other Vathak critters over this one.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Creatures of Shadows over Vathak (5th Edition) Zombie Worm
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Shadows over Vathak: Explorer's Guide (5th Edition)
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 03/10/2021 05:05:49

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This FREE pdf clocks in at 19 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 14 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

This pdf was moved up in my reviewing queue at the request of a supporter of mine.

So, what is this? This is an introduction to the benighted world of Vathak, and if you’re new to Vathak, think about it as a whole setting of Bloodborne-esque aesthetics: The Great Old Ones are very real and a dominant force opposed essentially by the Church of the One True God, so all those creepy nods towards Catholicism in various media? Easily transplanted to Vathak! Additionally, it should be noted that Vathak also has the good, fun bits that one associates with Ravenloft: Vampires, werewolves, a wandering people often ostracized with supernatural powers…and so much more.

In short: If you wanted a setting with dominant themes of cosmic horror and gothic trappings, Vathak scratches that itch perfectly. (And adapting Vathak material to Ravenloft and vice versa tends to be pretty simple.) The supplement begins with a general overview of the lands of Vathak, and this overview is as focused on the general notions as it behooves a player’s supplement to be: Enough to grant a good idea of what the world is about, but not enough to spoil crucial aspects.

The guide then proceeds to contextualize the classic fantasy races in Vathak (RAW no dragonborn, obviously), and provides racial rules for humans, who increase two of their ability scores by 1, and also choose one culture: Bhriota (proficiency in Intimidation, battleaxe. Handaxe, Warhammer and light hammer), Romni (proficiency in one of two skills, depending on one of 6 clans chosen, and a tool proficiency) and Vindari (advantage on saving throws versus madness and corruption spells, and when you critically hit, roll one weapon damage die again and add it to the total). There is but one issue I have with this section, and it’s cosmetic: racial feature names in 5e are usually bold and in italics, followed by a full stop. In this section, they are not: Just bolded. I might be just anal-retentive, but that sort of thing makes my eyes twitch.

The clergy of the One True Gods also gets an overview that includes proper ways/forms of address. (These titles are German, and I was grateful that the team didn’t butcher the German titles!) But seriously, that sort of thing was so important in real life, more games should take that sort of thing into account. It also genuinely enhances roleplaying. Also: This does mention the most famous Saints etc.

The pdf then proceeds to present three new weapons: The Lord’s Hammer lets you shove creatures two sizes larger than you. Romni Crescent Swords lack special properties, and Vindari Hellraisers are powerful and impose disadvantage on the first death save of those downed by them, but also do not allow you to knock a creature out with them. It should be noted that two of these weapons allow you to change damage types between two types: personally, I think they should have a rule akin to Versatile that at least costs you the reaction or the like to change the grip and damage type, but that may be me.

Conclusion: Editing is very good on a formal and rules-language level. Formatting is slightly less impressive, but still pretty neat. Layout is impressive: Full-color, with historic artworks modified and contextualized with original artworks; this is an aesthetically-pleasing pdf. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience.

Vathak is BACK! Rick Hershey, Lucus Palosaari and Ismael Alvarez did yours truly a big favor when they decided to bring Vathak to 5e, as I still contend that Vathak deserves much more exposure! The setting is clever, and the emphasis on social realities within the world manages to ground Vathak, highlighting the horrific elements of the setting in a neat way. Having this act as essentially a FREE player’s introduction to Vathak is something I definitely appreciate. So yeah, I like this pdf. I do think that dhampir, hauntling etc. would have been nice to see here, and that some additional notes on roleplaying the status of ethnicities/non-human races and how they are perceived would have been nice, but that may be me. It may not be perfect, but it is a really handy file, and it’s hard to say “no” to a free introductory player’s guide, right? Taking this into account, my final verdict for this pdf will be 4 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Shadows over Vathak: Explorer's Guide (5th Edition)
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Mysteries of Hollowfield (TinyD6)
by Marco R. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/09/2021 19:18:23

Nicely written, this is a wonderful and simple collection of horror-ish adventures for the almighty Tiny Dungeon 2e engine, easily adaptable to any low-crunch system. As a costructive criticism, I would have gone a bit more in depth with the structures, but the amount of informations you get is really nice and well organised. A complete Hollowfield mini setting would be highly appreciated!



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Mysteries of Hollowfield (TinyD6)
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The Gamemaster's Worldbuilding Journal
by Michael F. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 01/13/2021 20:37:48

When I originally purchased the book, it arrived with minor cosmetic damage, but also with the far more serious issue of the mapping portions being misprinted where entire lines of the grids were missing entirely. I contacted DriveThru regarding this (with photos), and they were gratious enough to send out a replacement. However, the replacement arrived with the same printing errors. Errors I do not recall seeing in the creator's youtube video where he presented the book. Yet, at this point, I did not feel like pressing the matter further would result in any actual changes to the quality of the printed copy.

I would say, if you can get it somewhere else, do so, but do not purchase the hard cover from DriveThru.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
The Gamemaster's Worldbuilding Journal
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Shadows over Vathak: The Hollowfield Harvest Festival (5th Edition)
by Jay G. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 11/01/2020 21:52:39

The Hollowfield Harvest Festival is a great introductory adventure with a fun Halloween theme.

In addition to some spooky goings-on Hollowfield provides a great starting location or homebase for a new group of adventurers. The flavour-text is very well written and although I grabbed this as a seasonally appropriate adventure based on it's great (FREE!) price, the quality of the writting and presentation have definitely convinced me to invest in more of Fat Goblin's Vathak material.

I would highly recommend this adventure for anyone looking for a fun low-level adventure set against an interesting backdrop.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Shadows over Vathak: The Hollowfield Harvest Festival (5th Edition)
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Stranger Stuff: Back to School (TinyD6)
by Marc C. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 10/23/2020 19:02:29

Big thumbs-up. I bought it for some RPG entertainment aimed at grade-schoolers. Was not disappointed. I can tell that we have some winner plots on our hands here! And I love that there is the idea of an advantage to the kids who do their homework. This is a terrific supplement and the design is really attractive. The color evokes a lot of fond memories. Thanks to the publisher.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Stranger Stuff: Back to School (TinyD6)
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Ghost Stories Collection
by Marc C. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 10/23/2020 18:56:12

This is a really terrific value (how many hundreds of pages are here??? wow) and a great source of inspiration for RPGers. I read a little bit of an old haunted house story to my daughter and she loved it. Sending our best to Gideon (who we are informed via newsletter is a pet pig belonging to the publisher), a good boy recently overtaken by difficult life events.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Ghost Stories Collection
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Stranger Stuff: Back to School (TinyD6)
by James E. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 09/14/2020 07:49:46

In 2020, Back To School is frankly more horror than the way kids usually treat it, which makes this product for the TinyD6 system even more appropriate than usual. If you're familiar with TinyD6, this product is basically more of what you'd expect - that alone should be enough to tell you if you want to pick this up or not. For everyone else, this is essentially a rules-light product designed for fast games, which makes it a good filler between a longer set of games, or something to enjoy if someone can't make it. Not a product for everyone, but fun on its own merits if you enjoy these sorts of themes in a game. Might be fun to play with kids, too.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Stranger Stuff: Back to School (TinyD6)
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Close Encounters: Onyx Station
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 08/10/2020 05:05:46

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Close Encounters-series clocks in at 26 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 21 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

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

Okay, so we have essentially an Event Horizon situation on our hands: Onyx Station vanished in hyperspace, and now, 50 years later, it suddenly reappeared. Scanners show biological life, and it’s up to the party to explore the returned station. Structurally, this is essentially DIY-make-your-own-module toolkit, providing brief overviews of respective sections alongside hazards ad creature suggestions, with every 2 levels getting their own suggested creature assortment and adventure hooks.

Unsurprisingly, this means that the majority of the pdf is taken up by a bestiary, but we also get two ships: The tugboat, which is a tier 3 shuttle coming with a gravity beam; I generally like this ship, though it has some space left to customize it, and the tier 5 pilgrim-class freighter. Both are not combat-focused, just so you know. They are not as meticulously-crafted as the vessels presented by Evil Robot Games.

Anyhow, bestiary: We have pretty much a nice array of the classic concepts you’d expect, conceptually: We have weird science-experiments (CR 6), chaos beasts (CR 7), columns of flesh (CR 10), sedating fungi, creepy sentries (think Alien: Isolation), fear-consuming nuisances, scifi-morlocks, etc. – essentially, the creatures herein have a pretty strong horror angle.

The good news here is that you can use these critters; the bad news is that there are some glitches in them, some of which obviously did stem from slipping in the line in the table. When a CR 4 expert creature has the EAC and KAC of the CR 3 critter, the source of the glitch is pretty obvious. Said critter has btw. also slipped in the HP column – but down here, sporting 20 HP more than usual for the CR.

Fly speeds, if present, do not list being extraordinary or supernatural. We have further hiccups in the details here, like an ability that obviously should be mind-affecting (both from context, and the fact that its damage is untyped). The statblocks per se tend to be correct, but also sport quite a few glitches, some of which seriously should have been caught: “…while those already exhausted become exhausted.” [sic!]

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are good on a formal level, okay on a mechanical level. Layout adheres to a two-column full-color standard, with quite a bunch of nice full-color artworks. Fans of Fat Goblin Games will be familiar with a couple of those. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience; weird: Each critter gets two hyperlinks to point to them: One critter name, and the CR.

Kim Frandsen and Michael Ritter deliver a solid little toolkit here; it may not be exactly mind-blowing, but it is a helpful little supplement if you’re looking for some hazards and critters to add to your game. The build-integrity of the content is significantly higher than in e.g. the ill-fated NPC Codex. Oh, and this costs a grand total of $1.50. Do I think that this is worth the equivalent of not even half a cup of mediocre coffee (a good cup cost more than €3 where I live…)? Heck yeah. This may not be mind-boggling, but for little more than a buck? Most assuredly worth checking out! As such, my final verdict will clock in at 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
Close Encounters: Onyx Station
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The Fungal Kingdom (TinyD6)
by Geoff G. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/07/2020 22:17:48

Full Disclosure: I work for Fat Goblin Games, but I had no involvement whatsoever in the design, writing, editing, or publication of this book, nor did I receive this book for free in exchange for a review.

If you liked the classic 8-bit console games of the late 80s and 90s, The Fungal Kingdom will take you back. The designers very accurately captured the feel of the games in terms of setting, tone, and monsters. The 6 new Heritages designed for the setting are also faithful to the games, and in my mind were the right ones to pick - they are also quite balanced in my view, and playable.

What I really appreciated were the Environmental Traits being grouped in a single section right before the intro adventure (basically rules/conditions to a specific part of the Fungal Kingdom that would affect play, due to the unique environments) - I didn't have to hunt around for information - and the sidebar on the treatment of the "Damsel in Distress" trope that was common to many of those games, but which in our own times really needs to be questioned and re-examined. I also appreciated the effort made to provide some historical background, where it made sense, to explain some of the ruins and other atmospheric details which never would have received any attention in a video game - these are seeds of possible adventures in themselves.

The intro adventure itself takes the players on a grand tour of the Fungal Kingdom and neighbouring territories. It's very similar to a specific video game that inspired this setting, but in that respect it's a perfect homage.

Highly recommended. Can't wait to see more!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The Fungal Kingdom (TinyD6)
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Close Encounters: NPC Codex
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer] Date Added: 07/30/2020 11:58:48

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This massive pdf clocks in at 70 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 64 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

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

This book contains 8 characters intended for general use, and 5 custom characters, so let’s take a look at the general use characters first, shall we? Structurally, we get a plethora of different builds for various CRs – CR 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, so quite a bunch of builds for each character. For the general use NPCs, the integrity of the statblocks is very important, obviously. Unfortunately, this is where this book falters. On a cosmetic angle the first two lines of the statblock (denoting gender + species, alignment, type, etc.) are missing from all but the first of the statblocks. Indeed, in a really annoying angle, all but the first statblock tends to be cut down to bare minimums, which don’t include e.g. speed (which is VERY important in SFRPG). While this triggers my OCD to no end, it’s most assuredly a factor that can be ignored if the statblock utility is up to par, right?

Well, there are a couple of other issues with the stats, and these, alas, are more poignant. There are quite a few instances where base arrays have not been consequently used, mixing and matching, for example, the values provided by expert array and spellcaster array. Race/class graft interaction also tends to be rather weird and inconsistent, and e.g. the hacker is missing the plusses for the (sometimes incorrect) skill values, instead putting the values in brackets. The whole array of the hacker statblocks do not feature the correct (good) skill values for Perception in the senses line. More egregious: What about spellcaster builds that only list the base spell DC and fail to add the spell levels properly? We have operatives sans the proper initiative boosts, and the truncated statblocks also mean that the speed enhancement is missing. Skill bonuses? Nope. The special abilities are all crammed into one header, instead of being properly integrated into the statblock.

So yeah, unfortunately, the mechanical flaws in the builds severely compromise this entire supplement, and the puzzling decision of these truncated statblocks renders using them hard, even for people who don’t care about mechanical issues.

Indeed, if anything, the entire book feels woefully rushed in a plethora of ways, and in a manner, that’s a pity, for there are these small touches that show that the team cared. We have a plantlike dragon template graft (with a header not properly bolded); but on the downside, we have improperly formatted spells and needlessly untyped bonuses here. Ironic: The new graft hasn’t always been implemented properly. The builds consistently fail to properly situate abilities where they belong in the statblock. And this is heart-rending, for the little details show some passion: When hackers at high levels gain an ability to represent how caffeinated they are, you have to smile. When you get essentially a transformer NPC, that’s neat to see; a professional fighter/big game hunter skittermander? Those are cool concepts, illustrated in a rather neat manner. A sentient ooze named Bleeb Glolump? Cool! The sentient hive turned DJ? Awesome. The concepts for the named NPCs herein are great; however, they are compromised by both the mechanical hiccups and the utterly puzzling decision to cut their statblocks down to a level that is no longer comfortable or convenient to use.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are not good; there are several formal glitches, math not checking out, as well as cosmetic hiccups. Layout adheres to a nice two-column full-color standard, with colorful artworks provided for each character. The pdf has bookmarks, but the bookmarks are nested in a weird way: “Introduction” is the header for the first character, who is the header for the second character, etc., until we are 4 sub-levels deep. Yet another indicator of a rushed release.

Ben Dowell’s NPC Codex is a supplement that really needed a second pass by the author; the puzzling decision to cut away vital parts of the statblocks eliminates immediate utility even for those tables that can look past the plethora of errors in the statblocks, and there are so many basic snafus in the stats that I can’t really recommend this pdf. At one point, I had a running list of issues, but I ended up deleting it; it felt like bullying/dissection, rather than criticism. Suffice to say, this has a ton of issues.

I like the concepts for the named NPCs and their little touches, but for a utility-focused book such as this, that does not suffice. My final verdict can’t exceed 1.5 stars, rounded up due to in dubio pro reo.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
Close Encounters: NPC Codex
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5th Edition Horror
by Oliver H. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 07/29/2020 10:19:01

This book is wonderful. Our DM for the horror themed campaign we're in the middle of was soo excited for everything in here, from monsters to items and everything else in between. I'm looking forward to what they throw at us next.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
5th Edition Horror
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