Echelon Reference Series: Cleric/Oracle Spells Compiled (3pp + PRD)

Echelon Reference Series: Cleric/Oracle Spells Compiled (3pp + PRD)

Okay, this massive reference-TOME clocks in at 580 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page blank, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 9 pages of SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with a staggering 566 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

 

This review was moved up in my reviewing queue as a prioritized review at the request of my patreons.

 

So, first things first – this is a reference work and I will rate it as such; it also represents a compilation of spells for the cleric/oracle classes and as such, there are constituent files for the respective spell-levels available, in case this colossal compilation breaks your bank.

 

As you may have gleaned from the title, this book not only contains the PRD spells, but also contains a vast array of 3pp spells from a wide variety of different sources, making this one of the most massive comprehensive spell-sources you’re likely to find anywhere. It should also be noted that the warpriest, employing the cleric spell-list, is mentioned and explained in the beginning.

 

Now it would take me ages to analyze all spells contained in this massive tome – and it’d be redundant, considering the sheer amount of options I have already reviewed for PFRPG. And frankly, it would not do the book justice. Instead, I will focus on the organizational paradigms employed herein and how actually useful this massive compilation is.

 

The first thing you’ll note will be the presentation: The pdf actually openly explains how the different iteration of a given book are assembled – from “RAF” (Rough and fast) to WIP and final, the pdf is open with ho its pricing etc. works, also for bundles. From a customer perspective, including this information, while something rarely seen, is very fair and deserves applause.

 

Now, if you have access to a wide variety of sources (or employ various books from different publishers in the compilation), there is bound to be some redundancy – this pdf freely and openly acknowledges this and explains it via the example of competing Extra Challenge(s) feats. To make the identification of such instances simpler, the book establishes name/company initials as a means of differentiating between such instances. If an element has been superseded, the newer version is kept, the older dropped and ultimately, the PRD takes precedence over competing iterations.

 

After explaining the basic spellcasting proceedings for the cleric, oracle and warpriest classes, including spells per day tables, we move on to the spell-list. Each individual spell sports the brownish bubble-header and sports a bubble-like line to encompass the rules-text of the spell, making it evident at one glance where a spell begins and the next ends.

 

But let’s take a step back and look at the organization of the spell-list: First, spells are organized by school; Abjuration, Conjuration, etc. – within each school, they are depicted in alphabetical order. There is something even more important to the spell-list, though: The document is internally hyperlinked. You click on a spells and *poof*, you’re there. This organization not only helps to find and compile spells to make specialists, the hyperlinking makes the use of this colossal tome actually pretty comfortable – more so than I would have imagined.

 

The full versions of the spells are organized differently – they once again are organized by spell level, so we have all orisons first, then all 1st-level spells – you get the idea. Within each such spell-level section, the spells have been organized in alphabetical order. “But endy,” you say, “What if I know the NAME (or a part thereof, like “accursed”) of the spell, but not the level??” Well, the pdf has you covered there as well: 19 massive pages of this book are devoted to a meticulously crafted index, a must-have for books of this size.

 

In case you were wondering – yes, both the spell list AND the index actually note the respective 3pp-abreviations in their headers, meaning you won’t have to do guess-work there either. In short: The organization of these spells is pretty impressive and the book, as a whole, makes using vast amounts of spells so much simpler.

 

In short: The organization is sensible, concise and well-made – this says exactly what it does on the tin.

 

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, but more importantly, the organizational paradigms employed make sense. Layout adheres to a functional, efficient two-column standard with brown bubbles and hyperlinks in blue – as a whole, this should not empty the ink/toner. The pdf has bookmarks for each of the spell-levels (but not by letters). The index is exhaustive and really helpful, and so is the internal hyperlinking.

 

Keith Davies’ massive spell-compilation is really, really helpful – its organization is great and it covers a metric ton of spells; how redundancy, if any, is handled, deserves a big plus; similarly, if you’re not allowing material from a specific publisher, you’ll be able to tell at a glance. All of these are big plusses, as far as I’m concerned.

 

There is one thing I was missing from an organization point of view, but that may be me. I would have enjoyed a list of spells by [descriptor] as well – you know, when you’re planning for a campaign, try to make a thematic specialist, etc. It’s a minor thing, but with it, this would pretty much have covered all I could have asked of it. Hence, my final verdict will clock in at 5 stars, just short of my seal of approval.

 

You can get this massive spell-reference tome here on OBS!

 

For just the PRD-content, use this link!

 

Wanna get them by spell level? If you get them piece by piece, you can still get the compiled file discounted for what you own! Here’s the bundle-deal for that!

 

0-level:

PRD + 3pp

PRD only (FREE!)

1st level:

PRD + 3pp

PRD only

2nd level:

PRD + 3pp

PRD only

3rd level:

PRD + 3pp

PRD only

4th level:

PRD + 3pp

PRD only

5th level:

PRD + 3pp

PRD only

6th level:

PRD + 3pp

PRD only

7th level:

PRD + 3pp

PRD only

8th level:

PRD + 3pp

PRD only

9th level:

PRD + 3pp

PRD only

 

Endzeitgeist out.

 

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