EZG reviews Amazing Races: Nagaji
All right, you know the drill by now – 4 pages of content, 1 page front cover, 1 page SRD, 2 pages of content, so let’s take a look, shall we?
We receive two new character traits for Nagaji herein, one netting +1 to diplomacy and sense motive and unlocking both as class skills, the other granting a +1 effective level for spell with the verbal component and the [poison]-descriptor.
3 alternate racial traits are provided: One grants Hypnotic Stare as a bonus feat in exchange for armored scales, one increases damage of readied strikes by +1d6 in exchange for “resistant” (nice!) and one nets the Nagaji scent 10 ft. via their tongues, but if their mouths are forced shut, they lose this and receive a -2 penalty to Perception-checks.
We also are introduced to 5 new racial feats: One that combines Adder Strike with Spit venom (awesome!), one that makes grappling slightly better, one that eliminates the HD-cap of hypnotic gaze, one feat that nest you more uses of the gaze (and the option to activate it slower at higher DC) and a feat that nets you charm and later dominate against serpentine targets 1/day.
The archetype for this installment would be the Naga Servitor Cleric, who receives a modified sell-list and limited domain selection – and only one domain, as he worships the Naga. While they receive no bonuses from e.g. resistant against their chosen masters, they double these bonuses against non-naga. As an iconic imagery, these guys grow their own divine foci with naga scales growing from their flesh. When in grapple, these clerics may bite foes for 1d3 points and deliver a poison that decreases the will of those affected. As a nitpick – why no secondary damage/further saves to stave off? At 8th level, 1/day, +1/day for every 4 levels thereafter, the servitor may use a fascination-inducing hypnotic gaze.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no obvious glitches. Layout adheres to Abandoned Art’s 2-column no-frills standard in color and the pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length.
Daron Woodson’s supplemental crunch for the Nagaji runs the gamut from awesome and perhaps a bit strong to weak – the grapple-feat, for example, is not that impressive, whereas 2 of the alternate racial traits are just brilliant. the same goes for adding blinding venom to unarmed strikes. Nasty! Then, there would be the archetype, which utterly baffles me – the options the Naga Servitors gain aren’t that unique or awesome – don’t get me wrong, I like the master/servant-dichotomy and the options they receive may be thematically awesome, with great fluff, etc., but rules-wise, I found them kind of bland and slightly unfocused. What I’m trying to say is – this archetype is by no means bad, if perhaps a bit weak, but it didn’t blow me away. Hence, my final verdict will clock in at 3.5 stars, rounded up – for the low price, still a good purchase, though the Vishkanya-pdf is imho superior.
You can get this nice, short pdf here on OBS!
Endzeitgeist out.
