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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TheAuldGrump" data-source="post: 2122499" data-attributes="member: 6957">This St. Patricks day past I received Fachan as a complementary product when I purchased Bardic Lore: Ogham, which I will also be reviewing momentarilly.I have, in the past, used the Fachan in my games, though never in D20, so I was curious what would be made of the creature. I am likely to use it in a magic rich area of my OGL Steampunk game, as a sign that something is very wrong in the area. (In my game world magic leaks through the gates of the other worldly creatures, sometimes other things get through as well...)The Fachan is much as I remembered him, one eye in the center of his forehead, one arm growing from the center of his chest, a single leg descending from his hips, with which he moves in enormous leaps, and only a single ear. He was a little smaller this time through the gate, a mere 7 feet tall, and perhaps a bit less robust, but he still had his trusty club, waiting to use it on those foolish enough to try and drink from his well. A paragon class that is included allows him to reach his full stature, to tower above the heroes and roar his defiance.The article begins with the journal of an Irish Bard, one Amergin Ó Míl *, as he describes an encounter with the creature. The Fachan as seen through the eyes of author Daniel Perez and Amergin Ó Míl is a simple soul, who likes spending his weekends clubbing, and enjoying a good meal in the afterwards.As described the Fachan is good encounter for a first level party, gaining class levels for progression, making him a suitable encounter for higher levels. Unsurprisingly his tactics are simple, but direct. He makes an especially good encounter for a Gaelic scenario. I would have liked to have seen some of the names the beasty went by in other Celtic lands, but this is a minor detail, as I intend to use the creature in the hills of Hibernia that the creature as described calls home.A section of what Bardic Knowledge can tell you about the creature, and the DCs for that knowledge ends the article, a nice feature that I see far too seldom. (The last time I can remember was in Privateer Press’ Monsternomicon.)It will be interesting to see if Highmoon follows this creature up with others from the mists of Tara, I would enjoy seeing the Children of Danu and the Fomor as well as the original Balor, he of the Crimson Eye. Out of 5 stars I give this work a 4, for those less interested in Gaelic creatures it may be closer to a 3 - while I like it a great deal it is, perhaps, a bit specialized for some people’s games. I am third generation Irish-American, so I may have a bias.The inclusion of Bardic Knowledge DCs brought it up a notch in my estimation.The Auld Grump* For those of an historic bent, I suspect that Amergin is most likely taken from the Song of Amergin, an old Celtic lay in Ireland and Wales, though this is not confirmed in the product.</blockquote>

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