Flaws and Merits (Alea Publishing Group)

Even though this type of quid-pro-quo feats has existed since the 2e days (although they weren't feats back then), I have always avoided them like the plague. Mostly because I thought they were useless and for munchkins. Want a sick mage? Give him a low CON-score and roleplay the rest. Want a paladin that runs like a girl every time he sees a spider? Roleplay it. In fact, the whole idea of getting a bonus, for giving your character some character and perhaps a less than perfect personality, was very foreign to me. But things change...

One trap with such products is that it often becomes way too easy to grab a couple of weaknesses and acquire some flaws that almost never come up in the campaign. However, for Flaws and Merits, it looks as if the flaws (while not equal of course) still overall will matter if you take them - They are, for a lack of better word, general enough. I think it was a great idea to categorize them by role, instead of by class.

So, while the flaws seem fairly balanced out, the merits trail a bit behind. Eidetic Mastery (regain daily for AP) is a bit too awesome for that orb-wizard with sleep memorized. Rejuvenating (spend daily so that all allies in area can spend a healing surge) is a Merit that fits a controller poorly, or Prepared which gives you the ability to use any utility power before combat starts, even if surprised (pretty broken for a feat I think) or the big winner of course, Quick Study which gives you an extra At-will power - heh.

Unfortunately there is also at least one misconception about the core rules, which makes some flaws confusing - The number of death saves available to a character is not counted between extended rests but in between short rests.

Overall it started well, and almost had me hooked, but in the end, I am convinced that this kind of rules are neither my cup of tea, nor balanced enough to integrated into a (my) campaign. I am sure lots of others will like them.
Rating:* * *

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Witch Puppet (Alea Publishing Group)

While semi-interesting fluff (construct built to include a piece of burial site in order to pin a soul to it), pretty much the rest of this PDF leaves me cold. From the less than stellar editing (writing), passing by the boring attack powers (pretty much just straight damage and more straight damage), and ending with the really weird mechanics thought up to neutralize the puppets ("Pull out X item during combat" is great, but the fact that it can only be done (for example) when a puppet pops a surge is just too weird for me).

Actually, at first glance, the solo version of the puppet (a solo puppet heh) looks decent, until you realise that it could easily do 2d4+5+15d8+20 in a round by using an action point.. Sure it's an easy fix, but... we are more than a year into 4e. 3PP's should know these things by now.

As if this wasn't enough, the puppet also get a racial write-up *blink*. And feats. Most of which are more or less the same, just for the different tiers.

Overall it was (arguably) an idea with potential, but I am getting a strong rushed-job-vibe, or something along those lines from this PDF - a far cry for Alea's previous product, and I definitely can't recommend much about it.
Rating:* *

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Morrigan (Alea Publishing Group)

The Morrigan (or is it Morrigna, both are frequently used in the PDF, without any mention of the two being the same) is a ghoulish creature that eats the dead. It is a woman who has died during childbirth and thus has gained power to determine the fate of others. It's a cool concept, and even if you do not like the crunch of the creatures presented in the PDF; you can easily use the fluff with other undead, such as some variant ghoul. I must admit that I like the crunch as well (what DM wouldn't like an aura 10 that gives -2 to death saves?) even though it's not perfect. The Morrigan/Morrigna is listed as a lurker, but it feels much more like a controller. There are a few other mistakes/editing problems, such as wrong hit points, and a power that only makes sense if it does the opposite of what it says, but overall the powers are interesting enough. One thing I really like is how they have added fluff to some of the monster powers. This gives a much clearer picture of what the author envisioned. It's definitely something I would like to see more often, especially from 3PP's.
Rating:* * * *

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3 Days Until Dawn (Alea Publishing)

The premise is simple. A vampire is trying to take over a small hamlet in the middle of nowhere, so that he can claim his new lair and gain access to the Feywild . The heroes arrive at the village and are embroiled in the plot. There are some decent ideas in this short adventure (decent use of skill challenges and a cute little plot with decent possibilities for role-playing and a fun cool set-up with a couple of doppelgangers), but the little crunch in it shows some holes in 4e knowledge. Now, this can be fixed by a DM familiar with 4e, so it's not a deal-breaker for me. The lack of any statted out monsters or traps is much worse. In fact, it's downright annoying. I know it's a GSL thing, but there are ways to deal with the GSL , and this is definitely the worst possible way of doing things. The other big turn-off to me was the ending. When the heroes finally get to confront theBBEG, it turns out he is a 11th elite vampire lord. Sure, he is bloodied and weakened until he has spent 3 nights in his new lair, but still - with regen 10 and defenses around 25-30, he will annihilate a 4th level party.The solution is to have an NPC appear and grant players +5 to hit against the vampire. Yeah, I can already hear the howls of rage from my players. Overall, I do not see myself using much if anything at all from this adventure.
Rating:* *

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Adventurer's Guide to Cthonia (Alea Publishing Group)

I must admit, I have been waiting for this one for a while. A setting based on earth during the Dark Ages, but with magic. Not a ground-breaking idea (/wave TerraDave), but none the less a very interesting one. And if it is a campaign setting that you want, Chtonia delivers in spades. It's quite simply amazing how much great fluff they get crammed in there, despite all the crunch there is as well. They manage making abelievable setting, while keeping all the classic races and classes. I know I need to buy a thesaurus, but the tone and feel is just awesome/cool. There are also plenty of small gems in the mechanics (how druids become weaker the more urbanized the area they are in is, how arcane casters are hunted if they use powers in urban areas, some new keywords for weapons, a lot of flavorful and classic backgrounds, how to handle commands and last but not least, a very interesting pantheon and how nobility is handled as a magic item). Sadly, a lot of the crunch is quite broken. The noble multi-class is still good, but the possessed , while a cool idea, is quite useless if you strive for some sort of balance. Of all it's powers, only 7 have the appropriate implement/weapon keyword, or a scaling bonus to the attack. In short, they will be pretty darn useless. The PP's also suffer from a wide spectrum of issues, like missing keywords and one also breaks the economics of 4e. But then again, WotC managed to screw that up several times as well, so why shouldn't the 3PP's . Some powers are also quite broken (Weapon of the Inquisition for example), but it's perhaps among feats that you will find the worst of the offenders (Armor of the faithful: completely broken. every cloth-caster will multi into paladin (1 feat) and get armor of the faithful (1 feat) in order to get + 2 initiative, +2 all defenses and +2 speed). Buy this book (PDF), but beware of the bad crunch. I still think it is more than worth it.
Rating:* * * * *

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Anthropophagi (Alea Publishing Group)

As I see it, there are several issues with these monsters. First of all, the crunch seems a bit off. Maybe it is just me (I haven’t compared to other than a few monsters), but 1d8+4 and 1d6+4+weaken for a mere level 4 brute seems nasty. Also, the aura will be a killer, for players that go below 0. The Marauder is also a bit odd, with an immediate reaction that is a bit cryptic. Also, I find the fluff hard to swallow. I mean, in what kind of world are official papers granted to undead, so that they can prowl the battlefield, looking for corpses. Maybe it fits Alea’s world, but it seems hard to fit in a “normal” campaign world.
Rating: * *

Peasant House (Alea Publishing)

Peasant House is not really a 4e product, since it works equally well for all editions of the game. However, it was listed under 4e products, so I bought it. And I wasn’t disappointed. The first two chapters, who describe how the different classes and races interact with serfdom and peasants, were a bit weak. Not poorly written or anything, just not interesting. However, the next chapters, describing the day to day life of the peasants, the atmosphere of their home and such, made it worth buying. I have always had problems with describing accurate peasant homes, and this product really gives a good picture of how they lived.
Rating: * * *

Noble (Alea Publishing)

Noble is a multiclass, with a class that doesn’t exist. The idea is brilliant, and my bet is that we will see many of those in the future. However, when I read this the first time, I wasn’t sure if it was a joke, or merely of poor taste. Names like “Tongue Lashing” and “Courtier’s Retort” didn’t help I guess. However, as I read more, I realized that the names didn’t really matter, because the noble multiclass is a great way of handling such things. Noble comes with a full set of powers (38) ready to buy with your feats. Also included in the pdf, are power cards, ready to print out. That’s just great.
Rating: * * * *