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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2009665" data-attributes="member: 18387">By Steve Creech, Exec. Chairman d20 Magazine RackThis review is for Broadsides! from the design team at Living Imagination, Inc. A note of thanks goes out to Inger Henning and the rest of staff at Living Imagination for providing me with a review copy. Broadsides! is a 128-page naval supplement that retails for $19.95. While primarily designed for use with Living Imagination’s campaign world of Ptalmanar, this book is easily useable in any naval-based campaign setting with virtually no modifications needed. There are a fair number of naval d20 supplements on the market today and choosing which ones to purchase can be a daunting task. In past reviews, I’ve posted my thoughts on those products, including The Travellers’ Tales series by Mongoose Publishing, The Seafarer’s Handbook by Fantasy Flight Games, and Living Imagination’s own Twin Crowns: Age of Exploration Fantasy. Broadsides! is an extension of that book, however it is not necessary to own Twin Crowns before buying Broadsides! Broadsides! wastes no time in presenting new goodies to use. In the first chapter, five new nautical skills, four professions plus one to help maintain balance on a pitching and rocking ship, are detailed. All of the information in this chapter pertains directly to navigation and piloting. Short sections on nautical equipment, maps and charts, and terrain follow the skills section. Weather is a major influence on naval sailing and adventuring and Broadsides! is one of the few books to devote more than a few paragraphs to its effects. A supplementary weather system (other than the one in the Dungeon Masters Guide) describes how to determine weather at sea and develop a Weather DC that is used in pertinent skill checks. Use of winds like prevailing and trade winds are also covered. Of course, no section on weather would be complete without addressing seasickness, which is a Fortitude save against the Weather DC. Flying ships also are discussed with an attention to sail mechanics that is not usually seen. Although magic is still the engine for flight (in this case, a liftstone), winds still dictate direction and speed of travel. This is a refreshing change from the old magical throne idea that has been the norm for the past ten years. Chapter two is devoted to ships, their types and characteristics. All aspects of a ship such as oars, speed, maneuverability, seaworthiness, cargo, hull and armaments are covered. The next 12 pages list the different ship types and their statistics. These ships include shallow and deep-water hulls with my favorites being the brigantine, catarina carrack, merchantman, man-o-war, and Gnomish trade fluist. The third chapter gives you everything you need to put it all together and start voyaging in four steps; outlining the voyage, piloting (river or coastlines), navigation (open ocean), and piloting (open ocean). This is the chapter where those piloting and navigation skill checks come into play. Naval combat in chapter four is very straightforward and easy to understand. This was one of the strengths to Twin Crowns and Living Imagination uses those same rules and expands upon them. Ship-to-ship combat, maneuvering, crew and PC damage, armaments, and addressing ship damage are all covered with simple and easy to understand rules. Rules for underwater adventuring are also covered with the same clarity and ease of comprehension as other parts of the book. The underwater effects on abilities, mundane items, and element-based spells (fire, acid, electricity) are laid out clearly. Underwater ships and combat have a brief mention. An extensive list of equipment fills chapter six while chapter seven gives us 21 new feats. Some of the feats are a little unbalanced such as Amphibian (you can survive underwater), but the bulk is well balanced and perfect for a naval campaign. I like Deep Diving, Graceful Diver, and Impale for feats. Chapter eight gives us seven prestige classes. The Harpooneer is your open seas hunter and quite formidable. Personally, I think this class is cool. Just think Moby Dick when you read about it. Marines are your shipboard soldiers and invaluable in combat. The Oceanic Sentinel is a naval spellcaster. She uses her spells to attack other vessels and defend her own. A Privateer is your legally sanctioned pirate. This makes a great NPC prestige class. Surgeons are vital to have aboard a vessel and are a natural extension of clerics who serve aboard ships. Sea Captain also makes an excellent NPC prestige class along with the Sea Scout, who specializes in underwater reconnaissance. Chapter nine goes into spells and rituals. Ritual magic is covered in Twin Crowns and the new rituals given here improve upon the choices offered. Both the spells and rituals listed are all nautical in theme and/or concept. Spells such as enlarge reef, founder ship, privateer’s delight, and summon drowned and rituals like arcane cartography, cloud fortress, ship of bone, and whirlpool are testament to the diversity and creativity of the types of magic presented. Nautical magic items, sea creatures and templates, and nautical organizations fill the next three chapters. The Jonah template is an interesting concept as it’s written and worth using at least once in a naval campaign. The final chapter s filled with adventuring hooks and sample encounters. Some are old standby themes while others are quite original. I like the maelstrom encounter, the Octopus Rock hook, and the Elves attack tactical combat scenario. Finally, four NPCs and four famous pirate ships finish out the chapter and book. In conclusion, Broadsides! is a very strongly written and solid naval supplement. It functions well as a complement to Twin Crowns or as a stand-alone work. The rules are comprehensive and easy to follow and stay true to the mechanics of sailing. If you want a magic heavy book, you’ll be disappointed. The bulk of its contents deal with practical rules with just enough magic to keep it interesting. I recommend it and feel it’s worth the price of $19.95 when compared to the other naval supplements out there. To see the graded evaluation of this product, go to The Critic's Corner at <a href="http://www.d20zines.com" target="_blank">www.d20zines.com.</a></blockquote>

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