A D20 System Supplement from
Sword & Sorcery Studio
Rating:
(3 out of 5 hearts)
This book expands on previously published material
for Sword & Sorcery Studio's setting of the Scarred Lands. While its content
adds detail to elements of that excellent setting, it also repeats a lot of
material that is already printed in various sourcebooks.
The book describes four prestige classes among other things, one of which is a revamped version of a previously published one. Thirteen groups are detailed, of which one was never mentioned before, the Accursed. Here is a description of each group:
The Accursed are good aligned lycanthropes who try to master their curse from their headquarters in the Hornsaw forest.
The Black Dragoons are an order of Blackguards. They are Duke Traviak of Lageni's elite force. Their description includes some information on Lageni, its situation in the Calastian "empire" and the war with Durrover.
The Courtesans of Idra worship the goddess of sex and maybe secrets (who knows?
It's a secret.) The description of this group provides little information
about anything under the pretext that the group is so secretive that the DM
can pretty much invent whatever she or he wants about them. A prestige class
who's main ability is to make others fall in love with her accompanies this
group's description.
The Cult of the Ancients is a group of assassins who worship Belsameth. For the right sum, this group can be helpful when you think someone's life-span is spent.
The Horsemen of Vangal are a murderous horde of barbarians whose purpose is
widespread murder. The prestige class accompanying this description fights
with two axes like their namesake god, instills fear in the hearts of enemies
(that's everybody) and can eventually inflict deadlier wounds. The benefits
of this prestige class are not as tremendous as the author would have us believe
from the exemplifying NPC, though, as the number of attacks that this character
gets is erroneously excessive (maybe if she had two heads…).
House Asuras is one big familial trading house that spans the continent of Ghelspad. Most of the information about this group is repeated from previous publications.
The Incarnates are Druids who realize that this is not their first lifetime serving the All-Mother. The prestige class bearing the same name has been improved from a previous publication. The description of this group deepens their background and the setting's history.
The Legion of Ash is an elite mercenary group guarding a dark secret, while the Legion of Crimson is a group of not so elite mercenaries living superstitiously.
The Order of the Morning Sky is a militant order following the goddess Madriel. They toil across the land to remove the taint of sickness and undeath.
The Paladins of Corean are given a little bit of description than what was
not previously published, plus the Order of Silver prestige class is described.
These paladins of Corean seek to oppose outsiders and elementals and for that
purpose become adept summoners themselves.
The Scaled is a criminal, relatively non-violent, organization whose existence was perturbed by an artifact that made them murderous.
The Vigils of Vesh are the "commando" rangers that protect the nation of Vesh. Their oaths and code of conduct are described here.
This is an interesting book for those who play in the Scarred Lands, but probably
the least recommendable of all, since a lot if not most of the information
printed here was already available. If you are buying Scarred Lands material, I recommend getting this one only if it means completing your collection since their other publications will probably be more useful to you.
Weaknesses: A lot of the NPC stats contain errors.
