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Liber Influxus Communis (PFRPG)
[978-0-692-37540-2]
$14.99
Publisher: Amora Game
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by Adam B. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/14/2015 04:07:02

Now that I have a physical copy in my hand I can give this book the review it deserves.

First I must say that the chosen page stock feels great and sturdy. The binding also feels decently sturdy. Definitely happy with the choices in material.

Like my last big review of a book I’m going to organize it using their own table of contents as a guide For reference here is my old review from before I had time to write the full one: [spoiler=Old review] Strong Points: Balanced Unique ideas Well executed archetypes Fun feats Well organized+good bookmarks Weak Points: That everything is so cool it may induce option paralysis [/spoiler] [b]Classes[/b]

Ok don’t get freaked out here, but there are 14 full classes in this section. What’s interesting is the sheer variety, not just in role and unique features, but in the skill level involved in playing these classes. Some classes have elegance in their simplicity and succeed at their role in a manner that is straight forward for the player. We all know that one player who likes his stuff simple, well that guy will find some stuff he likes in this book. We also all know that guy who loves looking at minutia within these sort of books and there are a few classes in there as well for him that will reward his keen eye with a unique play experience.

I’ve read and looked at all the classes and really haven’t found any of them to have outstanding balance concerns. I legitimately believe all these classes can have a room in a party and won’t feel like dead weight.

If I were to describe a ‘problem’ I found in the class section it would be that many of the classes are a supporting role, like half of them. Also there are no full casters. In the grand scheme of things that is not a problem since this book doesn’t exist in a vacuum and plenty of Paizo support goes to the creation of full-casters and non-supporting character roles.

To attempt to review each individual class would bloat this review, so instead I will list each class and give a short blurb on them. I found that each class succeeded with the definition of: Works as advertised and is good enough at their role to be competitive.

[spoiler=My class descriptions] [i]Battlelord:[/i] An officer of a chosen discipline who is a true leader of men. Full BAB combatant who is capable of buffing his comrades without using magic. If you want to make Leonidas, this is your class.

[i]Conduit:[/i]This class literally eats/absorbs magic and uses it to power his butt whuppin. Can channel absorbed energy into a variety of roles, but without magic will not do much. [i]Demiurge[/i]: First page has a literal warning of how complicated it is. The Demiurge basically creates and destroys automatons that he commands to do various specific tasks.

[i]Medium[/i]: An opportunity to play two classes in one. Primary mechanic is that the Medium has a spirit companion with separate class levels, but shares the same base stats, that you can ask for assistance from or trade bodily control.

[i]Metamorph[/i]: Have you ever wanted to use the evolution point system on a character without running an OP Synthesist? Yeah this class is for you. There are a lot of choices in theme and even in stat selection! You get to pick your mental stat for the class abilities for example.

[i]Mnemonic[/i]: The mental martial artist? Kind of hard to describe in a short summary, but this guy is a martial artist that can punch away spells/feats/skill ranks, copy EX abilities that he witnesses, and eventual even gains telepathic powers.

[i]Momenta[/i]: The helper. This support class basically helps with everything. Some support spells here, some conditional bonuses for the allies there, tossing them a temporary bonus feat, throwing someone a sneak attack die, and various other fun abilities. If you want to play a slightly magical Samwise THIS IS YOUR CLASS.

[i]Mystic[/i]: Admittedly my favorite class. You get a large Ki pool, pick an element, pick talents related to your element, and pick Ki Techniques (most are SLAs). May sound similar to the Kineticist, but this class plays significantly more like a martial artist. You get to pick from the standard Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water plus the Force element which is secretly Jedi, complete with Mind Tricks.

[i]Pauper[/i]: Has two resource pools based on hope and despair that are used to augment the combat around them. Each has specific and general means of being obtained, so even with a jerk DM you are effective. Various other supportive abilities too.

[i]Survivor[/i]: Tough and self-sufficient. Almost every class feature is focused on self-preservation or the mantra of “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” The survivor has full BAB and d12 HD and will be a brick.

[i]Synergist[/i]: Builds off the positive vibes of success to create a tidal wave of pwnage through ally buffs. Another support class that is very effective at its job. D8 hit die and capable of assisting competently in combat.

[i]Umbra[/i]: Born with a planar connection these guys draw upon the energy of that plane to do crazy stuff like overload an enemy’s muscles with positive energy, giving them a buff, but then having them take a serious debilitating stat condition. The powers provide some pretty different ways to combat your foes.

[i]Warloghe[/i]: 1/6th caster with a lot of little abilities and fun flavor. Forms a symbiotic link with a minor evil spirit. Capable of inflicting various status effects and negative energy damage to all that oppose! Though notably squishy and requiring protection.

[i]Warsmith[/i]: Completely not what I expected. This ain’t no tinker. This is a manly man blacksmith that creates and destroys all he sees on the battlefield! Fricken awesome! [/spoiler]

[b]Feats[/b]

Ok, now this section has a majority cool stuff. I saw very few useless feats, which is a very good thing! A lot of feats are those class specific ones that we’ve come to expect, the extra this and that or the improved thing. This is perfectly fine and actually pretty healthy for the book since it means all these classes have good support.

What else did I see? Feats giving generally unused combat styles more support. Stuff like imposing fear conditions just because you’re such a terror on your mount, three good combat styles, some more style feats for existing Paizo styles, and some teamwork feats.

Instead of giving us a bunch of general purpose feats to compete with build staples Amora Games went with feats that support previously underused styles in a way that can make them viable. This was a smart move because at this point doing anything else will either be a bad rehash of another feat or a straight upgrade.

[b]Archetypes and Options [/b]

Ok, there are several archetypes for each class and to go through each would be madness. The archetypes do differentiate a lot. To name a few of my favorites we have Battlelord archetypes for military roles like Marine and Cavalryman, Mystic archetype that gets all the elements Avatar Style, Mnemonic archetype that eats thoughts and memories, and since the Demiurge is so mutable they instead opted to give you some premade Facsimiles.

I’d say the archetype section is a success because it gives you a multitude of new ways to enjoy each class without sacrificing balance.

[b]Adapt, Overcome, Survive [/b]

Magical Contamination, Haunts, and Environmental Hazard.

The GMs guide and PRD explain what haunts are, so the Liber Influxus wastes no time giving us several pages of brand new haunts to spook out your players!

Environmental hazards give your players a different kind of challenge that’s less obvious and can make for fun stories.

Magical Contamination is to Pathfinder what radiation is to Gamma world. We all know radiation is fun, so magical radiation is [i]magical [/i] fun! When spells start getting wonky the spellcasters in the group will get a chance to gamble. Cast and get a random benefit or cast and have your spell fail in a weird way, are you a gambling man?



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Liber Influxus Communis (PFRPG)
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