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| Sigfried |
 Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 9:52 am Post subject: Advanced Feats: The Inquisitor's Edge - Collected Reviews |
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Hi folks,
This is simply a collection of reviews for Advanced Feats: The Inquisitor's Edge
These are posted by yours truly and collected from various locations. These reviews are not edited other than formatting so they are readable in this forum.
If you wish to post your own review, you are by all means welcome and encouraged to do so.
Last edited by Sigfried on Tue May 31, 2011 11:56 am; edited 1 time in total |
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| Dark Mistress |
| Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 8:36 am Post subject: My Review |
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The Inquisitors Edge by Open Design
This product is 16 pages long. It starts off with a cover, credits, and ToC. (2 pages)
Next it jumps into introduction and examining of the Inquisitor class. (2 pages)
Feats (6 pages)
This section has the 30 new feats for the Inquisitor class. Many of them can be used by other classes. The complete list with a few examples of what they do.
Cautious Trip – you can't fall prone while doing a trip attack.
Coordinated Fire – give bonus to next person that hits same target with ranged attack.
Defensive Disarm – may attempt a disarm when missed.
Defensive Insight
Draw Strike – can draw a weapon and strike in a single action
Ducking Shot – gives you a dodge bonus vs AoO's when firing a ranged weapon.
Eschew Divine Focus – can cast without divine focus.
Extended Use
Extra Judgment
Fencing Stance
Fast Track – reduces penalties when tracking while moving quickly.
Fearsome
Friend and Foe – lets you and a friend play good cop/bad cop to gain information etc.
Gotcha
Grudge
Hammer and Anvil – deal extra damage to flanked foes.
Improved Judgment- bonus to multi-class Inquisitor's judgments.
Magical Insight
Magical Savant – reduces the ability score needed to cast. (so one could cast 4th level spells with a 13 wisdom as a example)
Misdirected Strike
Meddlesome
Offensive Insight
Parrying Stance – when TWF may use offhand weapon and get shield bonus.
Persistent Judgment
Ranged Maneuvers – may do some combat maneuvers at a range.
Shared Judgment
Shared Magic
Subdue – no penalty when doing nonlethal dmg.
Team Defense – you and ally gain defense bonus if beside each other.
Track Spirits – can track incorporeal creatures.
Character Builds (4 pages)
They are basically advice on how to make builds that focus on certain area's of the class.
The Bloodhound – Tracker, tough as nails. It focuses on tracking. being tough and martial attacks. My first thought was Texas Ranger.
The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing – More social based. Designed to go into a area, befriend people, gather information. All the while not revealing what they truly are.
The Detective – Think the new Sherlock Holmes, where he is a good detective and can fight too. Focuses on some rogue like abilities, perception and combat.
It ends with a OGL and ad. (2 page)
Closing Thoughts. Editing and layout was nice, the only artwork is on the cover which is used once more inside the book. The borders are different, I am not sure what they are suppose to be, they look ok but cut down on how print friendly it is. Most of the feats can be used by anyone, many are ranged feats, some casters and some teamwork feats. Only a few are inquisitor only, though a few of them are more geared for them. Some of the feats where very good, some where pretty good, a few I just didn't care for, and a couple I am not sure anyone would take. Gotcha being a good example, if you have a free hand and a ally is in reach, you can attempt as a immediate action to keep them standing, instead of being knocked prone/pushed/pulled etc. It is not a bad idea but honestly I just don't see anyone taking the feat when there are so many better ones.
The builds are pretty cool, though while I like the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing a lot. It is really more suited as a NPC build than a PC build for most campaigns. Which makes it less useful as advice for a PC build. So what's my rating? I am a bit torn on this one. What is good is mostly very good, but there is a few things that are not up to par on what I have come to expect in the series. So I am going to settle on a 3.5 star. Good and worth the money but could have used a little more work.
Trust Me, I'm a Succubus. |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:57 pm Post subject: Jerall of Tenletter - Impressive |
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Reviewer: Jerall
Website: Tenletter
Rating: Impressive
The Inquisitor’s Edge, by Sigried Trent, is the sixth supplement from Open Design’s Advanced Feats series. Though I haven’t yet had the chance to play as an inquisitor, I have had the pleasure of GMing for several of them. My players continue to surprise me with clever choices, enabled by the flexible nature of the inquisitor class. I am rather fond of the class, so I went into reading The Inquisitor’s Edge with high expectations. I’m glad to report that, once again, Trent has managed to impress me.
As with the other 5 entries in the series, Inquisitor’s Edge begins with a brief analysis of the class. This section does a good job of highlighting the adaptable and flexible nature of the class. It even goes so far as to make a few recommendations about preparing to play as an inquisitor. I appreciate tips like these, since, when employed, they make games run more smoothly and takes some pressure off the GM.
Trent then goes on to introduce 30 new feats for the Pathfinder RPG. Though they were designed with the inquisitor class in mind, most are available to characters of any class. Most of the feats would easily find their way into any of my games, but there were still a few that managed to stand out from the rest, including:
Co-ordinated Fire: One of several new teamwork feats, Co-ordinated Fire introduces a new ‘tag-team’ type trigger for teamwork feats. Feats, like this one, go along way towards displaying the potential of teamwork feats (I just wish there were more of them around). I would love to see a cavalier marshalling archers with this feat.
Friend and Foe: Another teamwork feat, Friend and Foe revolves around the good cop/bad cop routine and the Diplomacy and Intimidate skills. Again, this isn’t something we’ve seen done with teamwork feats before. I like how Trent really seems to push things with this feat. The mechanics presented support the concept well. However, with this one, I am tempted to simply allow my players to employ the good/bad cop routine without requiring this feat.
Shared Magic: I know, I’m focusing on the teamwork feats in this review, but this is where I think Trent really came up with some good stuff. Shared Magic is another teamwork feat that allows casters to share their spell slots. This feat provides clean and elegant mechanics for sharing magical power within the sometimes clunky Vancian magic system. I really, really like this feat concept and can think of many potential character builds – at the top of my list: an evil wizard, draining power from his apprentices, blasting away at PCs.
The Inquistor’s Edge ends with a discussion on three very different class builds. Again, Trent presents some solid ideas and it provides a nice finish to the PDF.
As a whole, I enjoyed reading through The Inquisitor’s Edge. The way in which Trent has grown the design space around teamwork feats really impressed me. Great job, Sigfried! |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:01 pm Post subject: Charles Carrier on Paizo.com - 5 of 5 stars |
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Reviewer: Charles Carrier
Website: Paizo
Rating: 5 of 5
Having read other works by Sigfried Trent I had high expectations – which were once again completely fulfilled! Mr. Trent has delivered another excellent supplement which will find use in my campaign.
This booklet follows the established pattern of the Advanced Feats series: It starts with an overview of the Inquisitor class, discussing its strengths and weaknesses. This is followed by the meat of the book, a description of thirty new feats. It finishes up with three new character builds which suggest ways to effectively use the new feats. Along the way are several sidebars, which discuss design issues and (my favorite) real historical inquisitions.
Of course, the new feats are the main reason for buying this book, and they are very impressive. Mr. Trent has again supplied a list of useful feats which are not over-powered. As a Dungeon Master, that last point is very important to me: I really hate power creep – it makes me re-plan my adventures and messes with long-established characters, so I am delighted when a supplement expands my game's options without redefining anyone's power levels.
As with prior Advanced Feats booklets, the descriptions of the individual feats are compact and easy to understand. This makes it easy to refer back to them during play without having to stop the game for an extended reading session. Each feat also has a “Commentary” paragraph, explaining what the author intended to accomplish with the feat. I particularly like this, as it makes my job of Dungeon Master just a little bit easier: I not only know the mechanics of the rules, but I also know the overall intent. That is a valuable piece of knowledge.
There are several teamwork feats in the list, which perfectly suits my image of Inquisitors as the type of people who travel in packs. Furthermore, all of the feats are all focused on confrontation and combat, which also suits my image of Inquisitors as people who like to get out there and smite the living daylights out of heretics. I particularly like the “Meddlesome” feat, which can make it more difficult for threatened opponents to cast spells. I can already hear an NPC Inquisitor arrogantly declaring “Your blasphemous magics are worthless against me, infidel!”
My only disappointment was that there were no feats for that most unsavory of all Inquisitor practices: torture. No, I would not want the list of new feats to be gruesome, but Inquisitors are generally Not Nice People and I would have liked to see maybe just one feat specifically attesting to that.
However, some of the other unsavory aspects of inquisitions are touched on in one of the builds (Wolf in Sheep's Clothing) and also discussed in one of the sidebars (Playing Evil Characters), so perhaps my one disappointment is unfounded.
In summary: I am delighted with this new supplement, and I think you will be too. |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:02 pm Post subject: Megan Robertson of RPG Resource - 5 of 5 stars |
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Reviewer: Megan Robertson
Website: Paizo
Rating: 5 of 5
This work starts with an overview of the inquisitor, quite a talented chap with plenty of options. Pity the first paragraph repeats itself, perhaps we should send an inquisitor after the proof-reader!
So who is this inquisitor anyway? A potent mix of religious devotee, spy, investigator and hunter (of people rather than dinner): a bit self-serving in the way his powers generally serve to enhance himself rather than the group he is in, but at least he can claim it's all to the glory of whatever deity he reveres! The special ability of 'Judgement' is both powerful and versatile, depending on what judgement is pronounced, and this is coupled with a reasonable number of skills and the ability to cast divine spells. They are skilled at both solo tactics and teamwork as well, whilst they have bonuses to many of the skills needful for effective interrogations. The analysis suggests ways of using these to optimal effect, both in designing your character and when playing him.
Many of the feats provided are combat ones, although Friend and Foe is a neat way to codify and enhance attempts at the 'Good cop, bad cop' routine. The Coordinated Fire feat gets around the difficulty inherent in trying to work with someone else whilst constrained by having to act in initiative order. For anyone who's wanted to model the Japanese art of iaijitsu, the Draw Strike feat captures the ability to draw and use a weapon - generally a sword - in a single motion. For those who want to become ghosthunters, the Track Spirits feat should come in handy, and there are several which willl work well for those who see this class as a kind of ecclesiastical bounty-hunter.
The work concludes with three 'builds' showing how the class can be developed to good effect in different ways depending on your character concept. First is the Bloodhound, who takes the bounty-hunter theme and becomes a tenacious and tough fighter who can find anyone and then beat them into submission. Next is the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, who serves an evil deity and attracts innocent souls to that god's service by appearing nice and helpful! It's good for someone who enjoys being sneaky and manipulative. Finally, a build which highlights the investigative side of the class, the Dectective. There are side notes to each one, which make for fascinating reading. The historical concept of 'Inquisition' made famous by the Roman Catholic church of the 16th century, a tool of state policy often as much as one of ensuring that the faithful keep to the straight and narrow. The role of the art of detection in a magical world, and the vexatious debate on how an evil character can work plausibly with a good party... these are covered briefly but in a thought-provoking manner.
It gives a good grounding in the capabilities and potentials of the inquisitor class, and is worth a look if you play one, or GM a group that includes one. A little marred by several minor errors which have slipped past the proofreader, and a few odd characters which I cannot resolve even with a bit of PDF-hackery, but none are enough to detract from a cracking good read on this specialised area, that will indeed give your Inquisitor an edge! |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 10:43 am Post subject: Shane O'Connor of Drivethru RPG - 5 of 5 stars |
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Reviewer: Shane O'Connor
Website: Drivethru Rpg
Rating: 5 of 5
Feats are one of the best and most obvious ways to differentiate characters. Two characters of the same race, class, and level can be radically different depending on what feats they take, not just mechanically but also in terms of characterizing what sort of person they are and what their background is. Now design feats based around the inquisitor class from the APG – a class which is already full of flavor – and you’ve got some exceptionally colorful feats waiting to happen. Case in point, Advanced Feats: The Inquisitor’s Edge.
This sixteen page book introduces thirty new feats, only four of which are specific to the inquisitor class. The remaining feats cover thematic areas that the class excels at, but which most other characters could conceivably fill. For example, the Track Spirits feat lets you track incorporeal creatures, whereas Magical Savant lets you treat one mental ability score as though it were 4 points higher only for the purpose of determining what level of spells you can learn and cast.
Of course, the best part of this book (and indeed, all books in the Advanced Feats series) is the author’s insights, presented with a small commentary section at the end of each feat. Getting to peek “behind the curtain” as it were has always been both entertaining and informative, and this is no exception. The author telling us how the Eschew Divine Focus feat can be used to make an inquisitor who goes undercover since he doesn’t need a holy symbol is as evocative as it is fun.
There are also three sample class builds at the end of the book. These present a series of specific steps (telling you race to take, what feats to take when, what ability scores to raise, etc.) to make an inquisitor that excels in a certain area. These are the bloodhound (specializing in tracking down his prey and giving it a beat down), the wolf in sheep’s clothing (specializing in infiltration via lies and enchantments to make people think they’re trustworthy), and the detective (a Sherlock Holmes-esque blend of crime solver and skilled combatant using an enemy’s weaknesses against them). Each of these also has a sidebar covering the themes that these characters tend to deal with in game.
Unfortunately, a few errors did creep into the book. In a few places the author lists the Track feat (which doesn’t exist in Pathfinder) as a prerequisite. That’s a bit of an embarrassment (though certainly an understandable one) for one of the primary guys behind the Netbook of Feats. Also, in a number of places where there’s supposed to be a dash there’s instead a boxed X symbol, which throws off the next letter’s formatting slightly. These are small things, but they do mar what’s otherwise a flawless book.
Having said that, this book is still an excellent addition to any Pathfinder game. The new feats it presents are a boon to any character, particularly inquisitors, and the sample builds offer some great ideas about how to make an inquisitor that performs a given suite of tasks exceptionally well. Give your inquisitor an edge with Advanced Feats: The Inquisitor’s Edge. |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 11:12 am Post subject: Mordicai Caeli |
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Reviewer: Mordicai Caeli
Website: Mordicai's Blg
Rating: Apprved
really liked the "Advanced Feats" for the Witch & the Alchemist, so when I saw that there was one for the Inquisitor-- I suppose it is inevitable that all the classes from Pathfinder will have one-- I looked forward to reading it. I know kingtycoon is playing an Inquisitor in the game he's in back in the Wasteland, & what with Chris being a Pathfinder player now, I've got more & more gamers whose opinions I respect to bounce thoughts about this kind of stuff off on. The thing about Trent's "Advanced Feats" is that...well, they are pretty well balanced. More to the point, he tells you what he was thinking when he cooked them up, so you can follow the logic behind game balance issues. That alone is just...well, that level of transparency is refreshing. Here is the thing about feats-- I kind of hate them, most of the time. I don't like "+2 in a conditional situation!" powers; I feel that they clutter up a character & don't contribute to the narrative. Feats should define what you can do & help flesh out a persona, not just nickle & dime players. The kicker is-- as far as I can tell, Sigfried Trent agrees with me. You don't get garbage, or fodder. More to the point...while these are definitely Inquisitor focused, most of the feats are open to any character. Restrictions that are needlessly too tight is another pet peeve of mine; come on, let people build the characters that they want to play. The "Character Builds" in the article are there to help you plot out your character growth, but meh. I've always been a fan of taking levels organically, as they come-- which is why things like "Improved Judgment" (below) are so important to me.
Now-- I have quibbles with some of the feats, but isn't that what the whole point of a Narrator is? To adjudicate things like this? Like "Defensive Disarm," which lets you attempt a disarm whenever an attack misses you. The commentary says that since you mostly fight monsters, it isn't broken...& maybe that is true in his campaign. In mine it would be a definite no go. Or "Ducking Shot," which he comments is there because Point Blank Mastery requires Weapon Specialization, only available to Fighters. Ugh, remember what I said about restrictions that are too tight? I think a Narrator should throw out the Weapon Specialization requirement. "Improved Judgment" adds five to your class for figuring out class-based powers to make up for multi-classing; such a good idea & a necessary feat, though I think four levels would make more sense, give the the way "Practised Spellcaster" works. Almost every spellcaster I've played in 3e has had that feat, since it goes a long way towards letting you diversify your character classes. "Magical Savant" does the same thing, but with attribute requirements; I think it is too powerful. Making tough statistical choices is part of the game, after all. I'd say it should offer plus two instead of plus four, with an "Improved Magical Savant" feat that adds another two. Then there are feats that are just so yes. "Extended Use" doubles your level for a specific power's duration-- a simple power that adds utility without breaking game balance. "Friend & Foe" is just "Good Cop, Bad Cop," & it really makes it hit home how monomaniacally combat-oriented 4e is. Remember when there were non-fighting abilities? Pathfinder does! There is also "Meddlesome," which lets you increase the DC when an opponent tries to cast defensively. As someone who has played the anti-spellcaster monk, I wholeheartedly approve. "Ranged Maneuvers" lets you trip, disarm & sunder with ranged weapons, which is another solid feat. It adds options, but not distractingly. & hitting a sword out of someone's hand with a shuriken is awesome. |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 11:00 am Post subject: Tzimiscedracul - Highly Recommended |
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Reviewer: Tzimiscedracul
Website: Tower of the Lonely GM
Rating: Highly Recommended
The Inquisitor’s Edge is the newest installment of the Advanced Feats line for Pathfinder – small PDFs products, each devoted to analyze one of the base classes, together with character builds and 30 new feats. One of the reasons that made me a fan of Advanced Feats, is the author’s design philosophy: constantly pushing the feat mechanic into new and refreshing directions. It reminds me of great products of the 3.5 Edition, like Green Ronin’s Advanced Manuals.
The Inquisitor is a tough class for me: it’s just too good to be true (or balanced). Maybe that is because the Inquisitor exceeds in what was – I guess – the Monk’s original purpose: self-reliance. In a game supposedly devoted to teamwork, the Inquisitor is the quintessential lone wolf and, in my experience as GM, that’s precisely the type of character class that attracts dissonant players. Sometimes I wonder if creating such “super-solo” class was a good design decision in first place. But to the Nine Hells with such conundrums, for the Inquisitor is also a terribly fun class to play – one of my players is a Warhammer enthusiast and is totally in love with the Inquisitor.
Let’s go the feats! The first one to call my attention is Defensive Disarm, a wonderful feat that allows you to attempt a Disarm (using an attack of opportunity) as a reaction against a missed attack roll. The author himself comments that this is a powerful effect and I wonder if a BAB prerequisite shouldn’t have been added.
On the defensive department there’re excellent feats like Defensive Insight, Duck Shot and Fencing Stance, usable to any character. Eschew Divine Focus is a great feat in terms of game esign, covering a missed spot on the rules. Extended Use is also a strong candidate in this area.
Specifically for the Inquisitor we have feats like Extra Judgment, Improved Judgment, Persistent Judgment and Shared Judgment. There are also a fair number of “anti-spellcaster” feats.
My first favorite was Draw Strike, because it scores high on the “coolness” aspect. Practically, it allows you to draw a weapon when rolling an attack of opportunity and, once per round, also grants a bonus to the attack roll. Ranger Maneuvers and Track Spirits are other extremely cool feats. Fearsome is a simple but very thematic ability (my Sigmar-loving friend above will surely take it) and we have even “good cop/bad cop” feat! Both are almost obligatory to any Inquisitor.
Finally, The Inquisitor’s Edge presents the following builds: bloodhound, the wolf in sheep’s clothing and the detective.
This product highlights one of the most mechanically challenging classes of Pathfinder – it’s hard to tamper with the Inquisitor abilities without seriously unbalancing it. Most of the feats in The Inquisitor’s Edge will also be useful to any class, specially fighting classes that must constantly face spellcasters and players desiring more teamwork feats or new defensive abilities. I highly recommend it. |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 11:05 am Post subject: Fitz of Game Knight Reviews |
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Reviewer: Fitz
Website: Game Knight Reviews
Rating: Solid Product
The Spanish Inquisition. Not a good time to be suspected of anything, whether you voiced doubts about the Catholic Church or political targets of the era. When the Inquisitors came calling on your town, you could expect some pain and suffering before they were through.
I have to say I was a little surprised to find the Inquisitor as a new class in the Pathfinder RPG. That said, as an alternative priest, it makes sense to have this type of character roaming around looking for “enemies of the faith.” For me, this would be a bit more of an NPC for a GM to keep in his bag of tricks to keep a campaign hopping. But I can also see where the path of an inquisitor might also make for an interesting player character.
The Inquisitor’s Edge is the latest book from Sigfried Trent in the Advanced Feats series from Open Design. Within the book’s sixteen pages, you’ll find more than feats, but some very interesting ways to look at this class. He’s a bit like a thief with lots of skill points, plus the offensive and spell abilities of a priest. I like Siegfried’s description of the inquisitor – “A bit like a bard in that it is a jack of all trades, but where the bard is something of a pack leader, the inquisitor is more the lone wolf…”
Add to that the Judgment ability for inquisitor characters and you really do have a more self-sufficient character. Once a day (or more for 4th, 7th, 10th, etc. level characters), they can pass judgment in one of nine different types – Destruction, Healing, Justice, Piercing, Protection, Purity, Resiliency, Resistance, and Smiting. Divine wrath being what it is, the ability effects are quite varied. Using these judgments in combat grants the inquisitor quite a large array of ways to get out of the trickiest of situations.
Trent documents many of the inquisitor’s strengths and tactics early in the book. That section alone should probably be used as an overview of how to use an inquisitor’s abilities in a campaign. This class would make Batman proud as a detective/superhero with plenty of skills, abilities, and spell capabilities to grant them advantages in and out of combat.
As with all of the Advanced Feats books, there’s a list of 30 new feats available for your use in The Inquisitor’s Edge. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed in the number of feats that were inquisitor-only this time. Extra Judgment, Improved Judgment, Persistent Judgment, and Shared Judgment were the four specifically for the class. The rest of the feats would apply to any character. Though all the feats seem pretty well balanced, I would have liked more examples specifically applicable to the inquisitor.
But all of the character builds included – the Bloodhound, the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, and the Detective – are very cool. Each provides a unique take on the inquisitor, whether good or evil with a complete package of stats, level guides, and spells, which makes them easy to drop in as NPCs in any campaign. And as odd as it seems to me, I really like the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. As an evil character masquerading as good, I can see this NPC causing no end of troubles for the PCs working quietly behind the scenes. He (or she) would be a perfect Moriarty foil to any party!
I found a few typos in this book, which is unusual for Open Design. Usually the editors catch most of the biggies, but I noticed one spot with a typo and another with an extra word that just needed to be cut. Beyond that however, the usual high standards for artwork and layout were intact and wonderful as always.
So other than the minor errors, I can see some insidious inquisitors causing trouble in any future Pathfinder games I might run. Again, Siegfried has done a great job pulling feats from the Net Book of Feats and creating a solid product. I just wish there was more about the history of the Inquisition and the inquisitors than was included. |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 11:12 am Post subject: Robert Emerson of Emerson's Bookshelf |
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Reviewer: Robert Emerson
Website: Emerson's Bookshelf
Rating: Excelent Quality
Disclaimer: The copy used for this review was provided by the folks at Open Design.
Ain't no mixing up of my words, I've enjoyed the Advanced Feats series quite well, as my various reviews have shown, time and time again, and The Inquisitor's Edge is no exception.
But, before I get to far into things I'll share the nitty gritty pieces first:
16-pages devoted to the Inquisitor class
30 new feats
Three builds that help study this interesting class
Cover art by Christophe Swal, who also added interior art along with Stanislav, and Anne Trent (who, herself, was the Graphic Designer of the piece).
Now, as a head's up, this is but one of three Open Design products that I'll be reviewing over the next seven days. You see, it's my birthday week — I know, most folk have a day but I like screwing with it for a week — and I figure why not enjoy it by talking about various products and projects of Open Design.
So onward to Advanced Feats: The Inquisitor's Edge...I like it, a lot. Now folks who read my reviews might comment that I seem to like everything, but I should point out that I don't review something I don't like...I figure that there are enough of those out there, if something sucks, and I don't wanna waste my time doing it unless something really ticks me off. I figure since I'm not paid to do this, and often I get a complimentary product in hopes of a review, why put effort into something negative.
Weird, I know. It's not like I don't rant all over the place.
But, anyhow...
I enjoy the new classes from the Advanced Player's Guide by Paizo, since each of the classes adds an extra layer of flavor and fun for those folks who'd like to add something new to their game. But, with new powers come new issues, yet the Inquisitor's Edge handles it as solidly as the other offerings in the AF series.
In a lot of ways the Inquisitor class reminds me of Sparhawk from The Elenium and the Tamuli, with the little bit of rogue and the little bit of holy warrior thrown into one thing and I think the Inquisitor's Edge hits this right on the head with talking about all the versatility of the class.
Once again both the Trent's down an awesome job, as the layout is just as evocative as the words on the page. Each feat adds something extra to the class, the walk through lends its self to solid ideas and aids on understanding the class, and then the builds exemplifies them.
At it's comfortable pride and excellent quality, not to mention usefulness, The Inquisitor's Edge is a worth addition to your Pathfinder game.
Enjoy! |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 11:34 am Post subject: Satyre of Fame and Fortune - 4 out of 5 Red Hats |
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Reviewer: Satyre
Website: Fame and Fortune
Rating: 4 of 5 Red Hats
Metric: Red hats. Preferably wide-brimmed. Sanbenitos came a close second but that would be an ecumenical matter.
DISCLAIMER: Based on a true confession / review copy provided by Open Design.
Overall: 4 red hats (effective no-nonsense stuff with hurried execution)
The Inquisitor's Edge showcases the strengths of a versatile class. The 30 feats in this book have utility outside of the class and emphasise the inquisitor's unspoken strength as a team player. The builds display how good and evil characters alike can shine. The layout is overall good with a couple of minor slips. For the price, this is excellent value and recommended if you own the Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide.
Content: 4 red hats (strong feats, interesting builds).
The introduction plays up the mystique of the class. The inquisitor is accessible, with elements of ranger, bard and cleric to it and strong offensive virtues. Describing the spell list as a utility belt infers plenty. The inquisitor is set up as a lone wolf. Paradoxically, the rest of the book showcases the strengths of the inquisitor as a team player. The concept of inquisitor as force multiplier with trickery gives the class a lot more substance beyond it's limited purview of 'find the evil, smite the evil'. A little more of this would have made the introduction sing.
The feats cleave neatly along individual effectiveness/party teamwork lines. Here there are swashbuckler and manga elements. An excellent selection of feats and not just for inquisitors. Although some GMs may balk at feats like shared magic (perfect for mystic theurge types), others like defensive insight, ducking shot and fearsome will quickly be adopted. Particular gems include friend and foe (play 'good cop, bad cop'), fencing stance (concise yet effective) and fast track (vital for those urban chase sequences).
The builds showcase the strengths of the inquisitor. The bloodhound is a strength-based half-orc tracker that focuses on the bring 'em back alive ethos. The wolf in sheep's clothing is a ranged half-elf intriguer who uses enchantment to ensnare people to darker deeds. The detective takes a couple of levels of monk before adding a liberal dash of Sherlock Holmes. What's missing though is the monster hunter, surprising given the inquisitor's roots in characters like Van Helsing or Parl Dro.
Artwork & Layout: 4 red hats (nice layout, unexpected minor typography slips).
Christophe Swal shows the inquisitor flanked by two praying acolytes. This reinforces the motif of power through co-operation even though the inquisitor is a strong lone wolf figure. Interior artwork is simple, ornate stained glass decorations help set mood. Some spelling and typeface slippage were surprising throwbacks to earlier releases. I'll bet that unforgiving release schedules are the culprit here.
My only closing question is "Hey, Wolfgang, when's the compilation coming out?" The Advanced Feats series helped unpack the new classes in the Advanced Player's Guide, provided a load of new feats that expands options and a number of suggested builds for players to consider when creating their own. This is a prime example of a series that compliments the rule set and shows the virtues of open game licenses. |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 11:30 am Post subject: Roberto Micheri of Stargazer's World - Heartily Recommended |
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Joined: 08 Jan 2008
Posts: 94
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Reviewer: Roberto Micheri
Website: Stargazer's World
Rating: Heartily Recommended
All good things must come to an end! Such is the case with the Advanced Feats PDFs, a great series of supplements for the classes introduced in the Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player’s Handbook. All written by Sigfried Trent, each has thirty new feats useful to the class covered in the specific installment, but, with very few exceptions, often useful to other classes. Each one has a very helpful overview of the class and also three builds that showcase the possibilities inherent to the class and showcase how the feats presented in the book enrich the possibilities available for said class.
I have been lucky to review all previous installments, the Alchemist, the Witch, the Summoner, the Cavalier and the Oracle. The fine folk at Open Design provided review copies for all of them and for that I am incredibly grateful. These books have been a delight to read and to use in my game. I am sure they will see much use on the months and year to come. They are available here for $3.95 each. Well worth for all the great content they provide.
But what about the last book in the series, The Inquisitor’s Edge, that is the actual topic of this post? Glad you asked!
Want to learn more? Read on…
The Inquisitor class is an odd beast. Like the other classes in the Advanced Player’s Handbook, it offer many new options and seems in some ways a more complex class that some of the ones presented in the core rulebook and the Inquisitor much more so. It is a class with martial prowess and spells; it integrates Teamwork Feats and has all sorts of options available for the player. The variety is great; take a look yourself by clicking on the link at the beginning of this paragraph. I’ll wait…
Back? Good! The Inquisitor’s Edge does a great job of covering these complexities, and focusing on the classes possibilities. I had a player run an Inquisitor briefly in my Pathfinder campaign, and it was a fun character. The mechanics fit the idea of a hunter for the church that must sometimes work outside the letter of the law to fulfill the spirit of the law. I was particularly looking forward to this installment of the Advanced Feats series because of all these new classes; this is the class I would play if I step from behind the screen.
What about the feats that makes up the majority of this book? There are some great feats in here. There are Teamwork Feats which I happen to like. Of course players don’t often invest on them in my experience, but the Inquisitor’s ability to use them is a boon and with the class’s ability to choose different ones more feats of this class open ups all sorts of new tactical possibilities for the Inquisitor. I love a Teamwork Feat called Friend and Foe which is a feat usable in social situations (skill rolls with diplomacy or intimidate) and which boils down to a good cop/bad cop routine.
There are feats designed for the Inquisitor granting extra Judgments, boosting the number of spells known, but as is the case on all other books in the Advanced Feats series, many feats will be useful for other classes. Fast Track (fewer penalties when tracking while moving) would be great for a Ranger, all the combat feats would be useful to martial characters, others like Magical Insight (which imposes penalties on enemies that have failed a saved against you) are good for casters. All in all the feat selection in this book is excellent. As always the author’s commentary in most feats is enlightening, showing the reasoning behind his decisions. I find them to be sound advice that will help anyone thinking of making his or her own feats.
The builds at the end of the book show the versatility of the class. The Bloodhound is a bounty hunter, the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing is an infiltrator and the Detective is a fantasy sleuth. The sidebars are very enlightening, from brief overviews of the historical inquisition, to some brief advice on mysteries in a fantasy milieu. The layout of the book is simple but elegant, makes great use of the decorative elements and keeps the book easy to read. I love the cover, it may not be as action packed as the one in the book dedicated to the Cavalier, but the crazy stare of the Inquisitor on the cover speaks volume about the dedication and the cost of taking up this mantle.
The book is not perfect, there are a couple of minor typos, a Teamwork Feat (Hammer and Anvil) is not properly identified as such in the description, but these are minor quibbles for and great bookend to the series. Sigfried Trent, thank you for this and the other books. You have made me a fan. I look forward to your next projects. To the folk at Open Game design I must say, I’d love a print copy collecting the complete Advanced Feats series in one book. I’d also love to see similar books for the base classes, I know there are other feat books out there, but I would love to see Mr. Trent give it a go.
To readers, if I sound a little fan-boyish, I admit it. I love my crunch for my Pathfinder RPG and this is some great stuff. I heartily recommend it! |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 11:56 am Post subject: Sean Holland of RPGDrivethrough - 5 of 5 stars |
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Joined: 08 Jan 2008
Posts: 94
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Reviewer: Sean Holland
Website: Drive Through RPG
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
If you wish to understand the Inquisitor class and to expand the options available to them this is the sourcebook for you. The feats contained within are useful for a variety of classes and character types but they are especially useful for expanding on the Inquisitor’s options.
The Inquisitor’s Edge: Advanced Feats is a 16-page PDF (13-pages if you remove the cover, ad and OGL page) for the Pathfinder RPG written by Sigfried Trent and published by Open Design. This is part of Open Design’s Advance Feats line for Pathfinder.
The layout is traditional two columns and the table of feats is easy to read. The cover is full color while the minimal interior art is (including a repetition of the cover art) does not distract.
The Inquisitor’s Edge begins with an introduction to this product and it intention, which is to provide a detailed look at the Inquisitor class, examining style of play and providing additional options for the class. It then proceeds to do just that, outlining the strengths and weaknesses of the class and provides basic advice to consider when playing the class. An understanding of the workings of the class is provided.
Next are the thirty new feats, only four of which are tied to Inquisitor class abilities, and each has roughly a paragraph of commentary that explains the reasoning behind the feat and balance issues if appropriate. For anyone interested in understanding the mechanics that underpin Pathfinder, such information is very useful. The feats are solid mechanically and are useful for a variety of classes and builds.
Concluding the product are three example 20-level progression builds: the Bloodhound (bounty hunter), Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (infiltrator) and the Detective. The builds also include some interesting play style discussion.
Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review. |
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