A fun, if not a little short, supplement that adds quite a bit of stuff for Pathfinder Samurai. The town of Kawashi (the samurai town given for the setting) has some really fun and easy adventure hooks to bring players in. The new feats are nothing that appears to be game breaking (which is always good), but also nothing new (which is okay, given the balance some 3rd party supplements lack).

I have three issues with the game, that make me rate it lower.

My first issue is a mechanical problem with the game, and the main reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. Simply, too many of the introduced archetypes are based on the samurai class. I'd have liked to see them take and retool more classes to make more of the base classes open to players. Not everyone wants to play a modified samurai archetype, and while you could create rules for them, to me that argument is outside the scope of a supplement review. Gunslinger, ranger, paladin and wizard are all given nods, but in unexpected and varied ways. IE Gunslingers being used for a musket man, rangers used for a bodyguard, etc.

The second problem I have, is that the game never mentions anything about females being excluded from being samurai (which is fine, some gender roles don't need to be enforced) but the entire town of Kawashi doesn't have a single major female NPC. They are mentioned offhandedly as wives and daughters, but all of the major ones are males. (No archetypes for Onna-bugeisha either, sadly) The same can be said about races. Everyone is a human, despite the book never calling out Kawashi as being a human-only town, but no one outside of humans are mentioned. I'd just have liked to see the supplement address these at some point, to give a little justification. Again, it's easily within a DM's ability to modify this, but I still feel it's outside of the scope of a supplement review.

Lastly, if you wanted a full world for a samurai game, this supplement falls a little short. The world of Kaidan is fairly unexplained here, in that everything the book gives you information on can be largely found via Wikipedia or books on Japanese culture. Short of one or two archetype explanations, you won't find anything on the world that makes it jump out as being truly unique. If you are not very good at world building (like myself), it doesn't really give you any more information to go with.

(Edit, I LOOKED BEFORE I LEAPED FOR ONCE! Make sure to download their free setting overview from http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/85269/Kaidan-The-Preview-PFRPG to get a little more about the world)

Past that, the setting really has some fun stuff in it and works very well with PF's Eastern supplements. If you need a good jumping off point to start a samurai campaign, this book is worth picking up. It's got some solid adventure hooks in the town of Kawashi that can be fairly easily expanded into a larger meta plot for the world. Just be prepared to modify a few things!

Thanks to the folks at Rite Publishing for giving me yet another Asian themed setting to dig my teeth into! Happy gaming everyone!

The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=30016.

The Way of the Samurai is a whopping 52-page book quite loaded full of options to expand the Samurai class.

OVERALL

The samurai class is one of the quieter classes of the Pathfinder system. But for 3rd party publishers, this is one of the most expanded upon classes. Rite Publishing however, has taken the expansion of the class to a whole new level, which makes the class that much more awesome. Add to the fact that if you intend to utilize the Kaidan Campaign setting that Rite Publishing has developed, you can’t go wrong with picking this item up!

RATINGS

Publication Quality: 9 out of 10 Presentation of Layout: The presentation of this book is well done. The bookmarks are well done, and the artwork is incredibly impressive. Although most of it is public domain, you can tell they did a great job in choosing very delicately what they wanted to showcase, and it was quite impressive indeed. If printed, this would look magnificent, and I would definitely purchase it printed for any campaigns in which I would utilize it for.

Ease of Mobility: It comes in at 38MB, which means it’s a little bigger than what Rite Publishing does normally. But in size, they make up for in layout and presentation. I am wondering if they do have plans to print this one eventually, for it would make a great addition print wise into any campaign setting as well as their own that they are working with. Navigating it though is a little bit of a challenge on tablets and E-readers due to size. The bookmarks in place make this a lot easier, but if you are looking for something specific via search , it’s quite a bit of work due to the size.

Mechanics: 10 out of 10 There are no major issues with the mechanics of the archetypes, traits or feats. I am not a big fan of the Honor system, since Pathfinder already has Hero Points in place that can do the same thing. But it’s not a deal breaker in the grand scheme of things. Also, the clan building stat blocks are a little confusing at first, but if you take your time and read it, it’s a nice little addition – it takes it’s cues off of the Kingmaker Adventure Path and makes things easier to understand.

Value Add: 10 out of 10 There is so much stuff here, that it will last quite a long time! Even if you don’t play the Kaidan campaign setting, there is still a good number of items that make expanding on your normal Samurai even better. What impresses me is the price. For $6 you get a book that normally you would see for $10 in the industry, if not more. So Rite Publishing has definitely won my heart in the “affordable publisher” category for 2012.

Overall: 10 out of 10 The last few reviews I’ve had of Rite Publishing have been a little blah. But this is a product that not only do I mind giving 10 out of 10 for, mechanically and on item presentation. But this product is something that I actually plan on using in my newest campaign that I am writing. It’s a product that if you plan on utilizing for Kaidan and/or your own personal games, you will have material to last you for quite a long time.

This pdf is 52 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, 1 page back cover, leaving a total of 46 pages of content for this faction guide, so let's check it out!

The samurai-class by Paizo has not gotten any love by 3pps so far - this pdf tries to remedy that. Kaidan, the Japanese-horror-setting by Rite Publishing serves as a backdrop, but the crunch in here and its fluff is generic enough to make the pdf usable for just about any Asian-themed setting. In the tradition of the books by RiP, the pdf kicks off with an aptly-written in-character prose that details the samurai and REALLY helps Western minds wrap their head around the concepts of Bushido and a Samurai's codex and mindset - a section Ultimate Combat had heretofore painfully neglected. If you want to play a samurai, this section can essentially be considered a must-read. Clichés on when Seppuku is appropriate, the virtues etc. are addressed, explained and made clear - commendable!

And then there's honor - quintessential for a Samurai, this pdf provides an easily inserted into a running game, simple mechanic for tracking the honor of individual characters - in upcoming releases e.g. legendary weapons will be influenced by this and general social repercussions for honor-scores and the interaction with people are covered.

After that, we delve into the crunch of the book - 9 new, balanced samurai traits are provided and then there are introduced to the new archetypes: The Tanegashima is a musket-using gunslinger that gains two new deeds and can deliver devastating volleys at higher levels, but is regarded with suspicion in the conservative culture. Paladins may now opt to become Yamabushi - divine, ascetic foes of the undead that can bond with Yomi or Kami to either improve his weapon or call an outsider ally to his help. The swift Yojinbo (Ranger archetype) becomes a quite hardy foe that replaces hunter's bond with the ability to bond with a weapon or mount and selects enemy clans instead of favored enemy, the solitary warriors make for a neat, complex archetype that also features a new combat style. The next archetypes are all for the samurai-class - the Kuge can be considered an aristocratic samurai that excels not only in the field of battle, but also at court and gains improved leadership capabilities. The Nitōjutsu Sensei is no doubt influenced by the legendary Miyamoto Musashi and lets a samurai fight with two swords, but be frowned upon by society and thus lose his/her order for the art of the blade. The Tajiya are devoted to ridding the world of the supernatural blights that plague it, while the Yabusame can issue far challenges and make it possible to play an archery-focused samurai-class.

That's not where the pdf stops, though: We also get new samurai orders: The order of the Shogun gains challenges that help allies, a steady mind and even negate one critical hit per day. The order of the Tajiya, much like the archetype, focuses on purging the unclean from the land while the Order of the undying emperor features dark masters of courtly intrigue. It should be noted that the orders all come with their edicts.

The most complex of the archetypes can almost considered to be an alternate class of its own - The Onmyoji wizard uses origmais that go up in flames when the spells on them are cast and also get shikigami familiars that come with full coverage - they essentially are oni-like goblins. I really liked the evocative and iconic flair of this archetype in particular, though I would have loved to see an alternate version with rules-synergy with Sutra Magic from the HotJO-setting.

There are also two PrCs: The Bugyo (10 levels, d10, 4+Int skills, full BAB, medium will-save) is a samurai with significant official authority, massive social graces and competence with tactical finesse, making this a valid choice to depict a sophisticated authority figure. The Mosa (10 levels, d10, 2+Int skills per level, full BAB, medium fort-save)on the other hand is essentially a martial tank with stalwart defense and gaining progressively better DR who also gets limited access to challenges and samurai-style abilities without being necessarily of the class.

6 new feats are also part of the deal, including improved riding skills while armored, advantages gained by honor and one that grants you a +2 bonus on iterative attacks, making the lower level attacks of fighting classes slightly less useless.

The next section is a godsend for DMs - essentially a toolkit on how to design your own samurai-clan - crests (sample images provided), naming conventions, stats (similar to how community statblocks work), a solid selection of qualities for the clans and daimyos as well as several sample clans are provided.

The village of Kawashi (with a gorgeous full-color map) is given as an example town to house the sample Taketsune-clan and comes not only with sample statblocks and a gazetteer-like section for the community, but also for the clan, 6 sample NPCs and hooks to spawn adventures and intrigue from the get-go. This section also contains 2 sample magical items - a katana and a kabuto helmet with a rather sinister twist.

The pdf closes with stats for the Shikigami as a creature and as a familiar and a glossary of terms.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good, though I noticed some very minor glitches here and there - minor changes in font-size and the like - nothing impeding my enjoyment of the pdf. Layout adheres to the bamboo-covered two-column standard and comes with fitting full-color illustrations in the traditional Japanese style. The cartography of the sample village is awesome, though I would have loved a key-less, player-friendly version. The pdf comes with no printer-friendly b/w-version, but printing it in grey-scale does not take a big toll on ink/toner. The pdf comes with extensive bookmarks.After "Way of the Yakuza", a good, though not absolutely stellar book, I was rather skeptical on this one. Was my skepticism well founded? I'll come out and say it: Jonathan McAnulty, Will Cardell and Michael K. Tumey have created THE definite sourcebook for the samurai, not only in the Kaidan-setting, but for EVERY Asian-themed setting for PFRPG. This book takes an up to now neglected class and gives it the polish, love and options it needs - mechanically sound, well-written, concise and flavorful in design and suitable for both low- and high fantasy, this pdf is a must-buy for anyone even remotely intrigued by samurais - especially due to the excellent bang-for-buck-ratio: 46 pages for 5 bucks make this not only a great pdf, but a steal as well. Final verdict? 5 stars, Endzeitgeist seal of approval. Check this out!

Endzeitgeist out.

Weighing in at 52 pages, the latest oriental themed book from Rite publishing brings us an extremely detailed look into the Samurai, and all that it means to incorporate them as a class into your campaign world, both as a GM and as a player. Of those 52 pages 8 are eaten by the usual suspects (cover, OGL, ads and and appendix (for unfamiliar terms ), leaving us with 44 pages to cover the new material. Formatting follows the dual column approach, with embedded full color artwork throughout the book, and more than a few rather large pieces of said artwork. Each page is treated with a bamboo style framework, further invoking the feel of an old world fantasy oriental setting. Editing appears to be excellent, with nothing standing out or catching my eye in the ways of missteps or errors.

Paizo has already introduced the Samurai as a playable class, so what exactly are we getting here in this book? Simple, we are getting the history and culture that bred the samurai. We're being introduced to a cultural caste that goes much deeper than a mere class choice for a character. We are getting the reasons behind why one would want to play a samurai in the first place. A look into the reasoning behind where the teachings came from that originated the concepts behind a samurai's unwavering loyalty to his master, and the bizarre levels of respect they are willing to pay their enemies. What role a samurai plays in their lands and communities when there are no enemies to fight, no wars to be won...all of this and more is what this book attempts to uncover and reveal first by giving us a first hand telling of these histories and traditions from servant to master, and then by filling page after page with mega crunch. For those liking their books rules heavy and crunchy, and not to big on fluff, I personally recommend you flip straight to page 11, and start there. Not that fluff is a bad thing, but the method of delivery here is a lot of fluff, for what feels like a very long time, before you finally see anything resembling game mechanics....luckily, it is a pretty clean cut line, so those not wanting as much fluff can simply flip past it to get to the crunch....and let us discuss the crunch, shall we?

But, before we dive into the crunch, there is one thing I think is important to clear up in regards to this book. It clearly states, and I thought this odd until I really let it process, that unless specifically mentioning an archetype linked back to the Paizo player class of samurai, no other mention of samurai within this book is actually referring to the player class, but rather the social caste made up of poets, accountants, tax men, lords, monks and paladins...yes, paladins...they go by a different title, but they are what they are. As I said, this book seeks to introduce the entire concept of samurai, not merely what cinema has convinced us was reality.

The Samurai operate with an Honor mechanic, allowing for one to both earn and lose Honor points, and utilize them within roleplay as a gauge for how to treat other characters of honor, as well as how to expect to be treated. The rules for implementing the concept are fairly straight forward, and extremely easy to use. Characters outside of a clan or family should only find themselves in possession of honor points if their GM has allowed it, and even then there should be a solid reason within the character's story to explain it, as the entire concept of the honor system lies within the core of the samurai values.

For those utilizing traits within their game setting, 9 new samurai traits are presented, with such offerings as Practiced Calligrapher (gain a bonus to Craft(calligraphy) and Linguistics), Legacy of Death (having come from a long line of samurai who have given their lives in battle, you seek to do them honor and rush headlong into danger, grants a bonus to initiative), or Honorable Soul, which allows for a higher calculation of figuring our your honor points.

Teppou Bushi is our first archetype, and it is an archetype for the gunslinger. The gunslinger you say? Yes, in a samurai book, remember, this book approaches the samurai as an entire buke caste, not just a solitary class. The teppou bushi suffer a penalty to their honor to demonstrate the suspicions that come from fellow samurai who look at them as nontraditional and unworthy, forcing them to work harder to earn their place and the recognition they seek. The paladin finds itself represented within the Yamabushi archetype, the divine warrior monks. Serving within the setting of the game mechanics primarily as spiritual leaders and counsel to the heads of clans and family organizations these warrior monks occasionally leave their mountain retreats to travel the world battling evils and righting wrongs. The ranger shows through in the archetype Yojimbo. Yojimbo function equally as well alone traveling as a solitary warrior policing their lands, or within a structured unit of fellow warriors, and are looked upon as some of the hardiest of all samurai. Taking an enemy clan instead of a favored enemy, and replacing hunter's bond with warrior's bond (choosing either weapon or mount) are but a few of the differences from the base class for this archetype. This also marks the first major editing oddity, as the text halfway down the first column drops down a few points in size, goes back to standard at the top of the second column, then drops down again. I can only assume it is intended to do, but it looks very odd visually. Our last four archetypes are all for the Samurai base class, the Kuge – those born into wealth and power, the Tajiya – a true master of the two blade style, the Tajiya – those dedicated to ending the scourge of supernatural foes plaguing the world, and the Yabusame – the true traditionalist, the bowman.

From the archetype we go to three new orders of samurai, the Shogun, the Tajiya and the Undying Emperor. Each order giving its own list of perks for aligning oneself alongside.

The Wizard archetype Onmyoji was by far the most interesting thing in the entire book for me, as it is a variation upon the classic wizard that I have never encountered before. Studying much as their western counterparts do to get their spells after sleeping, the Onmyoji fold their spells in origami, that is then consumed in flames by the casting of the spell contained within the paper structure...feeling more true to older edition concepts in regards to scroll casting, but allowing this particular wizard to maintain these spells day in and day out, the idea rather appealed to me. Visually it is a very cool concept, but I can not help but wonder, when it comes to an adventuring version, where do they keep all that paper they would have to keep on hand once they get a decent level, lol. Replacing arcane bond with Shikigami Bond, this archetype also gets a rather cool familiar, in the form of an oni known as a shikigami (think Asian goblins).

Following this we have two new prestige classes, the Bugyo (a government official with a rather large amount of authority), and the Mosa (a samurai known for refusing to back down, despite the odds, and carrying the capacity to win the day through sheer determination and tenacity).

Six new feats, including Armored Horseman (reduces armor check penalty by your Str bonus when riding), Honor's Tongue (allowing a bonus of twice your Honor Point total to your Cha based skill checks), and Improved Far Shot (increasing a ranged weapons distance limits by 50%).

From there we get into the rules pertaining to the creation of a samurai clan, and all the intricacies involved in that...the naming, the crests, the statblock (similar in nature to a communities statblock). Presented following this section is a fully realized example clan, with map and NPC's, to better demonstrate how to utilize the rules for clan building. It is within the NPC listing that we find a new cursed magical item, the Gaki Helm, a kabuto helmet that will allow control of ghouls, but will also allow the evil spirit living within the helm to corrupt and control a wearer.

The Appendices wrap it all up with a full statblock write up for the Shikigami, as well as a statblock for one as a familiar in the first, the second being a list of terms and their definitions, for those unfamiliar with a great deal of the terms used throughout this work.

Final thoughts...for those playing within the Kaiden setting, or any Oriental high or low fantasy setting, this book is a must. It adds so many levels of depth to the idea that is samurai that it in itself becomes a solid sourcebook, with many potential avenues for adventure hooks and ideas. For those not looking to add the oriental myths or classes to their gaming worlds however, there is very little here for them, but any book entitled Way of the Samurai should have that expected of it, and if you are still reading this I doubt that is an issue. Other than the smaller font size a few times (which I think was intentional, just odd looking) I can think of nothing to really complain about regarding this book, and encourage GM's and players alike to add it to their collection. A solid 5 stars, well earned and deserved.