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This pdf is 7 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, leaving us with a total of 4 pages of content, so let's check this out!
After a short ToC and an introduction, we get right to the Scourger VARIANT CLASS. Much like the Antipaladin, the Scourger is a modification of an existing class, this time the Ranger, thus it irritates the hell out of me that the pdf continuously refers to it as an archetype, which it clearly is not. Essentially, the scourger exchanges the favored enemy class features for improved whipping capabilities - starting the game with the whip mastery feat, the whip damage of the scourger increases over the levels of up to 1d12 at 20th level. The scourger also gets a new whip combat style, the option to enhance their climbing and acrobatics by using their whips to lash on to objects, can use their greater whip mastery to silence foes grappled via their whips, stun or deafen a foe 1/day via the crack of their whips and a cool capstone ability that makes the scourger a fearful opponent, able to threaten any foe in reach and dealing even more damage.
The pdf also comes with 3 scourger feats, from improving handling animals, get pain effect words as an inquisitor to your spell-list or becoming an excellent slave driver. A short section also covers scourger-based profession skills and we also get two nice new magical whips.
The final stage of the pdf contains a list of whips, including reprints of 3 whips from the Core and UC as well as stats for the improved Bullock Whip, the Cat o' nine tails and the Blacksnake Whip double weapon.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are very good, though the insistence of calling this ALTERNATE CLASS an archetype annoys me. Layout adheres to a printer-friendly 2-column b/w-standard and the pdf comes with several hyperlinks linked to d20pfsrd for your convenience. The pdf also comes with multiple nested bookmarks - kudos, as most publishers don't add them to small pdfs!
The Scourger is a cool new alternate class that not only makes whips finally a valid option for PFRPG, but also comes with some nice little additional bits and pieces of crunch. The scourger is not overtly innovative or brilliant, but it does its job well. And then there's the extremely low price point - usually, I'd settle for a 4.5 rating and round down, but since we get all this content for less than a buck, I'll instead settle for a final verdict of 5 stars.
Endzeitgeist out.
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This first offering of Above Average Creations is a 8-page pdf, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving 4 pages of content, so let's check out whether this creation is truly above average.
The pdf begins by explain how its focus is providing 10 new curses to expand the support for the Oracle class. It also provides a list of 10 curses along information into which category (like social, physical, etc.) they fall as well as their strength. The curses are surprisingly well-crafted and range from getting bleeding wounds to being ponderous (i.e. large and slow), ever-changing (constantly changing e.g. hair color and features) to being mute or hyperactive, the curses succeed in feeling like curses with the possible exception of being a hermit, which usually would sooner or later result in acclimatization to culture sooner or later.
More importantly, the curses offer some room for DM-specifics: Dependant forces you to choose an external creature without which you cannot cast - make it e.g. a child brother and we're up for some interesting roleplaying opportunities. by the way, this example was taken directly from the pdf, as each curse comes with some idea as how to implement the curse and mine new roleplaying opportunities from the curse. The impatient-curse will be nerfed by yours truly, though: Its lvl 10-ability lets you roll 3 d20s for skill-checks and take the highest result. While not being able to take 20 or retrying skill-checks is hard, the downside does not make up for this very powerful ability.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to a clear, printer-friendly two-column standard. The pdf comes with no bookmarks and the art is stock-art that fits the theme. I was positively surprised by this first offering of Above Average Creations, as it truly is above average. The curses are well-written and the additional pieces of RP-advice make them valid options. While some of the design-choices (see the Impatient-curse) are a bit problematic, they are also easily fixed. the extremely low price, of course, also fractures into my final verdict. When all's said and done, I really love how the curses feel like curses, the roleplaying advice and most of the curses. Due to some rather strong mechanics like the aforementioned 3 d20s and the lack of bookmarks, I'll settle for a final score of 4 stars - a great first offering and highly recommended at the low price point.
Endzeitgeist out.
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Publisher Reply: |
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Thilo Graf:
Thank you for taking the time and effort to supply a detailed and thoughtful review. It's reviewers like you that provide an invaluable service to both publishers and shoppers. Regarding your concern with the power of the "impatient" curse, I would ask that you give it a try before you nerf it. Keeping in mind that the net result of this curse is that the character gets two retries, rather than unlimited retries, but the retries happen in the first round. If you still find that nerfing is appropriate, please let us know what worked for you so the rest of us can try it out too!
Again, thanks for an excellent review. Hopefully you get lots of use out of this product (and others that are coming soon). |
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What a great idea! I wish more great ideas cost just 99 cents. Instantly fleshes out a facet of the game sorely lacking. I hope there is more to come as I am sure I will use this supplement (or its follow-ups) with each and every character.
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There’s an old saying – “simple is best.” That’s an approach that’s usually approached with wariness by gamers when it comes to RPG books. After all, we’re usually happier when there are big production values and expansive coverage on a given topic. Products like Oracle Curses, however, the debut product from Above Average Creations, showcase how with good writing and a few select illustrations, a product with a minimalist approach can still produce top-quality results.
Oracle Curses presents, appropriately enough, ten new curses for the oracle class from the Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide. The author, cogently noting that the mere six curses were far too few, presents another ten curses here. Interestingly, virtually all of these are curses of personality rather than physical problems.
What I found far more intriguing, however, was the author’s bold admittance that these curses were more to create strong role-playing opportunities than wow us with new rules’ crunch. Of course, that should be true across the board, but by focusing on curses that manifest as quirks of behavior, this is maximized. Moreover, there’s a helpful chart of the ten curses (with a note saying that you can roll randomly for your curse – something I found delightful; really, should a curse be something you choose for yourself?), and notes about their “type” (if they’re physical, mental, etc.) and how “strong” they are (how much they affect the character laboring under them).
The curses themselves are as imaginative as the author clearly wants them to be, ranging from being mute to being too famous for your own good, and more. While all function well mechanically (though to different degrees – taking a skill penalty is one thing, taking bleed damage with every attack is quite another), it’s the notations after them that are what really make this product.
Like all gamers, I enjoy being given glimpses behind the proverbial curtain. In this case, after each curse, there’s a paragraph wherein the author talks to the reader directly; while for a few of the curses he discusses the impact of them in the course of the game (such as how to deal with an oracle that’s mute), most focus on different ways of having the curse manifest in-game. For example, are you a hermit because you’re just a socially awkward, or were you raised by wolves, literally? The virtue of these sections is that they break you out of the more rigid thinking suggested by the curses themselves, reminding you that you can easily reskin many of these to allow for a broader characterization.
From a technical standpoint, the book has little to present, but what it has it presents well. The artwork is all historical pieces that are reused here (with a notation on where to find them and more online on the book’s credits page). There are no bookmarks, but in an eight-page book, that’s not really an indictment.
Unfortunately, the book is not without its share of problems. These aren’t faults of the content (though be warned, one curse does draw on some of the material in the GameMastery Guide, though that’s in the Pathfinder SRD now anyway), but of the book’s technical presentation. To be more specific: copy-and-paste doesn’t work the way it should – the words are copied in columns rather than lines. Likewise, there’s no declaration of Product Identity or Open Game Content; and the OGL Section 15 doesn’t list the Advanced Player’s Guide or GameMastery Guide.
Of course, these are problems with virtually no practical impact when it comes to using this book in your game. If you’re planning on playing an oracle, do yourself a favor and spend a dollar to pick up this product. The material here is as inspiring as it is expertly-presented, and gives some much-needed breadth to the curse of the oracle class. Unfortunately, Above Average Creations may need to change their name, since if this first book is any indication, their creations are excellent.
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Publisher Reply: |
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Shane, thanks for the fantastic review! A positive review is always appreciated, but when it involves a "first effort", it is doubly so. You clearly saw our vision and that's very gratifying. At the same time, you didn't pull any punches on where we made mistakes, which will greatly help us to improve. If you don't write reviews for a living, you should.
Again, heartfelt thanks from all of us at Above Average Creations!
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