Items Evolved: Rituals

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of "Items Evolved: Rituals"

Rite Publishing specializes in publications for use with Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved. Items Evolved: Rituals details ten items designed for use with this system, specifically, items that are for use with the rituals characters might perform in an Arcana Evolved campaign.

The items described in Items Evolved: Rituals are mostly weapons or weapon accoutrements. One of the items is essentially an oil, and another is a song. It is an unusual mix of items, but they are steeped in Arcana Evolved flavor and fit in with the themes of the setting very well. One item, the song, requires a lengthy list of prerequisites be met before use, which in most campaigns might be a detriment to it, but in an AE campaign, it enhances the inherent flavor in the setting.

One of the more difficult things about running Arcana Evolved games, is the amount of prep work a DM must do in case the PCs cast spells like Object Loresight. "Items Evolved: Rituals" has you covered. Each item is complete with lore information and lists of the answers PCs will get when casting a spell like Object Loresight.

The nature of the items, like the song, not to re-use an example to do, these items aren't suitable for random treasure troves, but rather, should be placed with purpose by the DM. This limits the usability of the book, but it is still a treasure trove of ideas.

Items Evolved: Rituals is a pretty good value for the money, considering you can purchase the PDF for under $2 and you get six pages of text broken up by only one image. Publications of this length and scope really don't need many images, so the lack of illustrations doesn't detract from the quality in this case.