Like the thread title says, I'm a fan of the Scarred Lands from way back, and would love to see a PF conversion, but I'm curious as to what people think of it. So far there are no reviews or comments out there from the usual suspects, so I'm seeing if anybody here Kickstarted.
Subscribed. Curious myself.
I have the PDF; hardcopy yet to be delivered.
It's curious. They did a lot of things right, but it sort of surprised me that they went as "modern" as they did with the attitude towards playable races. Since I have always been a bit iffy about throwing the playable race door wide open in D&D-ish settings, I was a bit skeptical at that.
Rules-wise, I have no real complaints. The most immediate thing I put to use in my currently underway in my PF SL game (which I run at Helix Games over in Hollywood, BTW) was the bestiary. They did a fairly decent job of kicking 3.x era rules oddities to the curb and replaced them with more flexible Pathfinder era mechanics. For example, instead of making a rule about how all Asaathi get wizard levels equal to their HD (which clashed with their faux-samurai nature as presented in the vigil watch book), they gave the Asaatthi basic racial traits and presented builds using the existing class rules.
They make many of the Titanspawn races playable by retconning an event that can basically be summed up as "titanspawn amnesty". I could have bought this as some sort of recent event, but the text in the players guide talks as if it happened some time ago, shortly after the end of the divine war. I have a bit of an issue with that as that sort of flies in the face of the mood of relentless conflict and distrust that the original setting laid out. I may make this into a more recent event, or say that despite the amnesty, there is still widespread distrust.
One interesting thing is that they embrace the Mythic rules. The mythic rules aren't my favorite ruleset, but I generally prefer when third party designers use the tools available rather than re-inventing the wheel.
The true ritual rules are here, but there is no sign of the other ritual rules that appeared in Relics & Rituals. Which is just as well, I suppose; I did like the other ritual rules, but IME, they never got used by the players.
At first glance, the options presented in the book look to be a bit stronger than those from the PHB. This isn't a game-breaking degree of difference, but I didn't spend more than a a couple of hours paging through the pdf. I also haven't looked at the spells at all. I'm not a fan of the monster art where they abandoned the previously full color illustrations of the book for line drawings that may be reused from older products (not sure). In all, it's OK but nothing I need to sped extra to have in print.
Quote from: Caesar Slaad;934102They did a lot of things right, but it sort of surprised me that they went as "modern" as they did with the attitude towards playable races.
They make many of the Titanspawn races playable by retconning an event that can basically be summed up as "titanspawn amnesty". I could have bought this as some sort of recent event, but the text in the players guide talks as if it happened some time ago, shortly after the end of the divine war.
What the...? Titanspawn Amnesty? That's like Thor and Jormungandr becoming friends, like Zeus and Hera having a happy marriage, like Horus and Set burying the hatchet. The Gods of Scarn broke the eons old Cycle of the Titans and killed/chained/dismembered their Titan parents. The Gods and their human servants are ascendant now, and the Titanspawn are cursed to walk the earth without their Titan creator.
So instead of working towards healing/finding/re-assembling their Titan, the Titanspawn are going to join their Godspawn friends in battling...who exactly? The Penumbral Pentagon? King Virduk? Standard fantasy BBEG types? Bleah.
They couldn't use Tieflings, Dragonborn, Warforged, etc, so they decided to make their own Special Snowflake Freakshow PC Races using their setting, and completely destroy the entire feeling of Myth unique to this setting in the D&D sphere.
What's next, lemme guess - the Womb of Mormo, birthplace of monsters, is no longer going to be the literal Womb of Mormo.
Quote from: HappyDaze;934175At first glance, the options presented in the book look to be a bit stronger than those from the PHB. This isn't a game-breaking degree of difference, but I didn't spend more than a a couple of hours paging through the pdf. I also haven't looked at the spells at all. I'm not a fan of the monster art where they abandoned the previously full color illustrations of the book for line drawings that may be reused from older products (not sure). In all, it's OK but nothing I need to sped extra to have in print.
Oops! I was discussing the 5e version rather than the Pathfinder version. Sorry if it caused any confusion.
Quote from: CRKrueger;934208What the...? Titanspawn Amnesty? That's like Thor and Jormungandr becoming friends, like Zeus and Hera having a happy marriage, like Horus and Set burying the hatchet. The Gods of Scarn broke the eons old Cycle of the Titans and killed/chained/dismembered their Titan parents. The Gods and their human servants are ascendant now, and the Titanspawn are cursed to walk the earth without their Titan creator.
So instead of working towards healing/finding/re-assembling their Titan, the Titanspawn are going to join their Godspawn friends in battling...who exactly? The Penumbral Pentagon? King Virduk? Standard fantasy BBEG types? Bleah.
They couldn't use Tieflings, Dragonborn, Warforged, etc, so they decided to make their own Special Snowflake Freakshow PC Races using their setting, and completely destroy the entire feeling of Myth unique to this setting in the D&D sphere.
What's next, lemme guess - the Womb of Mormo, birthplace of monsters, is no longer going to be the literal Womb of Mormo.
Yeah, I have the 5e version and this bit is crap. Even running GURPS with its freedoms in character creation I wouldn't want a game with PC Titanspawn unless it was the whole party.
Thanks for the comments, folks.
Quote from: Caesar Slaad;934102Rules-wise, I have no real complaints. The most immediate thing I put to use in my currently underway in my PF SL game (which I run at Helix Games over in Hollywood, BTW) was the bestiary. They did a fairly decent job of kicking 3.x era rules oddities to the curb and replaced them with more flexible Pathfinder era mechanics. For example, instead of making a rule about how all Asaathi get wizard levels equal to their HD (which clashed with their faux-samurai nature as presented in the vigil watch book), they gave the Asaatthi basic racial traits and presented builds using the existing class rules.
Helix games does RPG Gaming? I didn't know that. If you ever have an extra slot, let me know...
Quote from: Future Villain Band;934230Helix games does RPG Gaming?
The store is more a Magic and board game store, but they'll let you use the space if you ask. Michael (one of the co-owners) and Nick (the non-owner employee) often play in the game schedule permitting. There was a 5e game there at one time as well. I did have Mike intrigued at the possibility of a Timewatch game with his Dr. Who fan girlfriend, but they've split, so I don't know if that's in the cards anymore.
QuoteI didn't know that. If you ever have an extra slot, let me know...
Will do. We are a bit crowded right now, but as you may know, RPGs are a feast-or-famine affair down here, and I am always eager for new players.
I do have one less crowded gaming opportunity if it fits your schedule. I'll message you on FB.