wolfgang baur Archive
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Midgard Heroes Handbook (5e)
Posted on May 7, 2018 | No CommentsMidgard Heroes Handbook (5e) This massive hardcover clocks in at 211 pages, 207 if you don’t count editorial, ToC, etc. – 216 pages minus the usual aforementioned components, if you count by pdf pages and include the covers. This review is based on the hardcover print version of the book, which I received in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. The book was moved up in my reviewing queue at the request of my patreons and due to receiving the print copy of this book. I have also had the chance to take a look at the pdf to ascertain electronic functionality, but have mainly based my review on the print version of this book. Now, first […] -
Wrath of the River King (5e)
Posted on March 19, 2018 | No CommentsWrath of the River King (5e) This module clocks in at 70 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page backer-thanks/introduction, 1 page ToC, 2/3 of a page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 64 1/3 pages, so let’s take a look! This is an adventure-review and as such, it contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion. … .. . Okay, so before we begin: This is one of the modules that perfectly encapsulates what sets Midgard apart from your run-of-the-mill fantasy setting, for its begin in the small village of Riverbend is steeped in the feudal structures that should be inherent in all fantasy worlds. Let me elaborate: The miller in […] -
More Whispering Homunculus (almost system neutral)
Posted on January 25, 2018 | No CommentsMore Whispering Homunculus (almost system neutral) This massive booklet clocks in at 146 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page introduction, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 140 pages of content, though it should be noted that they’re laid out for digest-size (6’’ by 9’’/A5), which means that you can fit up to 4 pages on a given sheet of paper when printing this out, provided your eyes are good enough, obviously. Okay, so if you’re new to the Whispering Homunculus – it’s basically a semi-regular column of the Kobold Press site, penned by none other than Richard Pett. While nominally associated with Pathfinder, for the most part, the […] -
Wrath of the River King
Posted on February 24, 2017 | No CommentsWrath of the River King This module clocks in at 66 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page backer-thanks/introduction, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 60 pages, so let’s take a look! My review is mainly based on the print version, though I also had access to the electronic version. This is an adventure-review and as such, it contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion. … .. . Okay, so before we begin: This is one of the modules that perfectly encapsulates what sets Midgard apart from your run-of-the-mill fantasy setting, for its begin in the small village of Riverbend is steeped in the feudal structures […] -
Unlikely Heroes (5e)
Posted on January 31, 2017 | No CommentsUnlikely Heroes (5e) The third pdf converting unique Midgard-races to 5e clocks in at 27 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 2/3 of a page SRD, 1 page advertisement, leaving us with 23 1/2 pages of content, so let’s take a look! We begin this pdf with a nice and brief introduction to the weird races – and the considerations that adventuring with them entails before diving into the subject matter. It should be noted that each race receives 5e’s standard of fluffy introductions, guiding the prospective player towards making well-considered characters. Playing advice and nomenclature are similarly covered, which is nice to see – particularly when playing, for example, an insane derro! Yep, that would be […] -
Book of Lairs (5e)
Posted on December 15, 2016 | No CommentsBook of Lairs (5e)reteks.ru This massive book clocks in at 109 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 3 pages of advertisements, 1 page of SRD, leaving us with a total of 102 pages of content, so let’s take a look! All right, before we do…what is this? In short, it could be considered to be a massive companion tome to the even more massive Tome of Beasts, but that would be only the tip of the ice-berg. Basically, this massive book contains a significant array of set-piece locations you can easily drop into your game, with the opposition making partially use of the monsters from the Tome of Beasts. While the book does not […] -
Tome of Beasts (5e)
Posted on December 9, 2016 | No CommentsTome of Beasts (5e) This gargantuan tome of monsters clocks in at a massive 433 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page inside of front cover, 2 pages of editorial/thanks, 2 pages of ToC, 1 page SRD, 2 pages of advertisement, leaving us with a mind-boggling 424 pages of content, so let’s take a look! This review is based on the second version of the book and was moved up in my review queue at the request of numerous readers. Well, wait…before we do, please bear with me as I embark on a little tangent. As I’m typing this, D&D 5e is a relatively young system, a phenomenon I like to call “B1BS” – Bland 1st Bestiary Syndrome. […] -
Aventyr Bestiary
Posted on July 20, 2016 | No CommentsAventyr Bestiary This massive bestiary clocks in at 148 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 143 pages of content, one of which is devoted to the cover artist Raven Mimura’s biography as well as the story behind the cover. This book, just so you know it, is dedicated to Joshua Gullion, KTFish7, fellow reviewer, colleague and friend – he always did champion a bestiary for AAW Games’ Aventyr setting and I does warm my heart to see this dream realized. In particularly since Aventyr’s critters, from humble A03 onwards, have been a defining staple of the setting. The crab-like Kra’tah that haunted the Vikmordere […] -
Advanced Races Compendium
Posted on July 13, 2016 | No CommentsAdvanced Races Compendium This massive book clocks in at 338 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages of ToC, 1.5 pages of SRD, 3 pages of advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving us with a colossal328.5 pages of content, so let’s take a look! Wait a second, though – A quick glance at the list of developers for this book will show you that I worked on this. I am writing this article since I was explicitly asked to by my readers. That being said, considering the sheer size of this book and my own involvement, I will not provide a point by point analysis of the content and also will refrain from adding a final […] -
Southlands Bestiary
Posted on April 5, 2016 | No CommentsSouthlands Bestiary This massive bestiary for use with the Southlands campaign setting (but not limited to it) clocks in at 122 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 2 pages of backer-lists, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 2 3/4 pages of advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 112 1/4 pages of content, so let’s take a look! I was a backer of the Southlands kickstarter, but am otherwise not involved with this book. My review is primarily based on the softcover print version of this book, though I consulted the electronic version to verify e.g. presence of bookmarks and similar components. This book is pretty much a sans frills experience – the brief version […] -
Southlands Campaign Setting
Posted on March 30, 2016 | No CommentsSouthlands Campaign Setting This massive campaign setting-style book clocks in at 302 pages, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of editorial, 4 pages of ToC, 2 pages of KS-backer thanks, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving us with a massive 290 pages of raw content, so let’s take a look! I was a (hesitant) backer for this book’s KS, but otherwise unaffiliated with the production of this massive tome. My book is mainly based on the print version, though the electronic version was consulted for the purpose of determining electronic functionality of e.g. bookmarks and the like. What do I mean by “hesitant”? Okay, before we dive into this book’s subject matter, a […] -
Deep Magic
Posted on July 2, 2015 | No CommentsDeep Magic This massive, huge tome clocks in at 378 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page inside of front cover, 1 page editorial, 3 pages backer-list, 2 pages of ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 367 pages of content, so let’s… …wait. I can’t really convey the illusion of spontaneity here. Why? Because I have written and deleted this review 3 times as I’m writing these lines. This is quite literally one of the hardest reviews I have ever written, mainly because conveying my stance on Deep Magic is pretty ambiguous and prone to misinterpretation. But let’s start at the beginning. This book is beautiful. Thanks to one particularly helpful […] -
Advanced Races: Derro
Posted on February 16, 2015 | No CommentsAdvanced Races: Derro This installment of Kobold Press’ Advanced Races-series is 20 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD and 1 page advertisement, leaving us with 16 pages of content, so let’s take a look! Okay, I’ll come right out and say it -I love the derro as a concept and as adversaries. There is something downright awesome…add a slice of Lovecraftiana and CoC/ToC-fanboy yours truly has not much to complain about concept-wise. However, this pdf goes one step beyond that, providing thoroughly unique concepts like the “Imposition of the Will” – which hearkens back to a certain other infamous real life statement and represents the strange surges of fads and concepts that grip […] -
EZG Bullet Point-reviews #1: Pathways #36, #37, #38, #39
Posted on July 28, 2014 | No CommentsAs you may have noticed, real life’s been busy – so I’m trying to catch up to the backlog and hence, I had to make a decision – while usually, I write full reviews for Pathways-issues, this time, I’ll just give you brief bullet points for each issue – they’re free, after all, so go and download them and judge for yourself! Pathwayys #36 Highlights: Great time-themed template by Steven D. Russell (wished it had synergy with RGG’s Time Thief, though), psionic red grindylow by Elton Robb, great rakshasa monk by Creighton Broadhurst Flaws: Formatting of my Top Ten-list a bit awakward. Final verdict: 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. Pathways #37 Highlights: Ruination […] -
New Paths Compendium
Posted on June 23, 2014 | No CommentsNew Paths Compendium This massive compilation of the New Paths-series, including quite a bunch of new content), clocks in at 130 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 124 pages of content, so let’s take a look, shall we? So, from the get-go – I did reviews for the arcane paladin-class, the Battle Scion, the Spell-less Ranger, Shaman, White Necromancer, Monk/Ninja and Gunslinger-installments of the series, so if you’re interested in a direct breakdown of these, please take a look at the respective reviews. I will, though, mention the new content or fixes. I also did not review the elven archer-pdf (simply […] -
Razor Coast
Posted on May 15, 2014 | No CommentsRazor Coast 546 pages, 1 page front cover (by Wayne Reynolds), 1 page editorial, 3 pages of editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page dedication, 5 pages of advertisement, 1 page back cover. That leaves 534 pages. 534. Pages. It’s been a long time since Razor Coast has been released and there’s a reason my review took this long. First of all, let me preface this with a disclaimer: I can’t, by any means, be truly neutral regarding Razor Coast. I just can’t. you see, there would be no Endzeitgeist without this book. It was Razor Coast that made me excited enough about a book to actually end my online abstinence and register at Sinister Adventures back in the day. I […] -
Dark Fey
Posted on March 18, 2014 | No CommentsDark Fey This mini-bestiary of dark fey is 23 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC,1 page SRD, 4/5 pages of SRD, leaving us with 19 1/5 pages of content, so let’s take a look, shall we? The first creature herein would be the CR 6 Aridni, essentially tainted pixie hunters that can shoot arrows that can cause hideous laughter, confusion and similar effects, making them well-suited to their task. Beli on the other hand are the ice-arrows firing servants of the arctic god Boreas, whereas Bereginyas at CR 4 are semi-gaseous and, though tiny, they get a racial bonus to CMB and CMD that not only offsets their size penalty and makes them rather adept at […] -
Advanced Races: Gearforged
Posted on February 14, 2014 | No CommentsAdvanced Races: Gearforged The third installment in the Advanced Races-series is 26 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD and 1 page advertisement, leaving us with 22 pages of content, so let’s take a look, shall we? Now the story of Gearforged has been told by multiple supplements and could be pieced together from various Midgard-themed sources, but herein we have the story well-compiled and much like the spread content, this pdf offers also fluff-wise the easiest way of getting the whole story of the creation of the Gearforged – from Stross-tyranny to the Free City of Zobeck’s revolution to how Rava (a mask of Ariadne) and her church have guided and shaped Gearforged […] -
Advanced Races: Darakhul Ghouls
Posted on January 3, 2014 | No CommentsAdvanced Races: Darakhul Ghouls The second in Kobold Press’ series of racial pdfs is 19 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page advertisement, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 15 pages of content, so let’s take a look, shall we? So what are Darakhul? well, they are a race that has haunted my twisted imagination ever since I had the good fortune of being able to read the closed Open Design “Empire of Ghouls” – essentially, Darakhul are intelligent ghouls that inhabit a subterranean, militaristic empire that constantly requires fuel in the form of flesh. Taking the idea of social predators up to 11, their empire can essentially be envisioned as a kind of blend […] -
Courts of the Shadow Fey
Posted on September 26, 2013 | No CommentsCourts of the Shadow Fey This mega-module is 130 pages long, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving us with a total of 123 pages of content, so let’s take a look! This mega-module Kobold-in-Chief Wolfgang Baur was originally released for D&D 4th edition, but I can’t comment on that once since I don’t have it – I only have the PFRPG-conversion done by ennie-award winning designer Ben McFarland. That being said – I’ll break my usual format for adventure-reviews – to pieces. I’m not going to go through this step-by-step – the review would become redundant fast and extremely long to boot. Instead […] -
Midgard Adventures: The Raven’s Call
Posted on July 17, 2013 | No CommentsThe Raven’s Call This module is 21 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD and 1 page advertisement, leaving us with 17 pages of content, so let’s take a look! This being an adventure-review, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players may wish to jump to the conclusion. Still here? All right! The world of Midgard, the Northlands – rather specifically, the small thorp called Nargenstal… has seen better days. Thankfully (depending on the hook), the Shadow Road known as Raven’s Road opens for the PCs and dumps them near it – for unfortunately, the village has been taken. By whom will become apparent once the PCs encounter the few villagers that have escaped: […] -
Midgard Legends
Posted on April 18, 2013 | No CommentsMidgard Legends This supplement is 50 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page intro/patrons, 1/2 a page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving us with 44 1/2 pages of content, so let’s take a look! Humans have a desire for legends – they speak on some primal level to our own failings, to our dreams, hopes and aspirations and incite us to be the best we can. They daunt us with impossible tasks, offer symbolic and iconic obstacles, warn us away from the vortex of sins and destructive behaviors and touch us by speaking to the archetypical topics of our existence. In roleplaying games, however, this all too often translates into […] -
To the Edge of the World
Posted on April 3, 2013 | No CommentsToday we’ll take a look at one of the rare modules that managed to blow me away: Midgard Adventures: To the Edge of the World This module for the Midgard Campaign Setting is 23 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page advertisement, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 19 pages of content, so let’s check this out! This being an adventure-review, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players should jump to the conclusion. All right! Still here? This module is all about epic high fantasy – at 2nd level! Simez Rothgazzi, leader of the high order of geomancers, has a proposal for the PCs – They are to visit the island of Karn’lothra, […] -
Journeys to the West
Posted on March 24, 2013 | No CommentsJourneys to the West This supplement/adventure anthology is 139 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page introduction/kickstarter-backer-list, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement and 1 page back cover, leaving us 132 pages of content, so let’s take a look! This being a combined campaign supplement and adventure anthology, we delve first into a kind of hub for the explorations the PCs are sure to embark upon when utilizing the content from these pages: Barsella, the City at the end of the world in the Midgard setting is the last true fleck of civilization before the Western Ocean and as such an interesting place indeed – a combination of colonial outpost, trading town and […] -
Midgard Campaign Setting (EZG review #1000)
Posted on January 16, 2013 | No CommentsToday is a day to celebrate, at least for me: This review commemorates my review no. 1000 on Paizo, so thank you so much for reading my reviews, commenting on them and offering constructive criticism as well as placing trust in my verdicts: I bow to you ladies and gentlemen! Midgard Campaign Setting This massive pdf is 298 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page patron list, 3 pages ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 289 pages of content. This review is based on both the pdf for formal page-count etc. as well as the GORGEOUS full-color hardcover patron edition of the book – number 26 […] -
Midgard Campaign Setting
Posted on October 9, 2012 | No CommentsWolfgang Baur, Jeff Grubb and Brandon Hodge bring to life a Central European-flavored world of darkness and deep magic for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and AGE System The first major new worldbook for fantasy roleplaying games since Monte Cook’s Ptolus is out today from Kobold Press. Midgard Campaign Setting is compatible with Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, and includes an extensive section of rules for Dragon Age RPG. The book is already heavily supported by published adventures and sourcebooks for Pathfinder, AGE and 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, including Midgard bestiaries for all three systems. The world of Midgard has its roots in lead designer and publisher Wolfgang Baur’s own home campaign that began when he was a teenager playing D&D Basic Edition. […]