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Shadows over Vathak: Player's Guide to Vathak $19.95
Publisher: Fat Goblin Games
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by A customer [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/11/2017 16:18:35

This setting is a reimagining of Lovecraftian pulp fantasy with a bit of Poe and Gothic fantasy added for good measure. There is great attention world-building in the book, with in-universe logic added to help visualize the setting. Of particular interest is the take of the setting on Mythos cults, one of their tricks is that they use the theme of Elementalism well to disguise their true nature (and the authors make a point to note that "Join us and go utterly insane" is very far from how a cult recruiter operates). My favorite aspect of this setting is that it doesn't try to "be everything." Yes, it borrows from Victorian fantasy and Lovecraftian lore, but it doesn't borrow every aspect of that earlier period of fantasy. Of particular note is a lack of outsiders in the setting. It is stated that they are rare, because the main enemies are supposed to be the abominations, cults, and Great Old Ones of the Mythos fantasy. I suppose I should add the caveat that the setting has its own Great Old Ones, too. There are plenty of player options for races and classes, and their use of imaginary mythology has both simplistic and complex approaches. The most common belief system in the setting is a monotheistic one, but it includes saints with a broad scope of morality. The familiar polytheistic approach of D&D is present too, but in a unique way. I think a Ravenloft fan might even be inspired from the approach used with them. This is, after all, a sort of engine for a game about storytelling. The only thing I think that could have made it better is if it had adapted the Sanity rules available in the SRD. But for that matter, any GM running this setting can just look it up as it is freely available, and more details can be found in Unearthed Arcana or the Call of Cthulhu d20 RPG. I enjoyed reading this book, and plan to look for ways to implement ideas from it in future campaigns.



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[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Shadows over Vathak: Player's Guide to Vathak
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