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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JoeGKushner" data-source="post: 2010343" data-attributes="member: 1129">Devlish Devices is a 128 page hardcover devoted to showcasing fifty different items that have a sinister origin or use in the d20 system.It starts off with a blank page. It goes onto a black and white version of the cover. It moves onto a page of credits. Then the next page is the table of contents. Here we see that there are Pendants, Tankards and Glasses, Jewelry, Implements of Torture, Figurines, Miscellany, Prestige Classes and Game Statistics. A Preface and Introduction prepare the book for reading.Before the book gets started though, there is a full page illustration of a pendant. This is full page illustration is repeated for each chapter afterwards. After the illustration, a group of items is described. Each description starts off with the game details and a background story. Some of them like Aegle's Touch are a single page, which is good. You get the game stats, and a very brief background story, with an illustration. Main problem here is that under the Caster Level, we don't have a caster cost to create in terms of gold and experience points, just a Market Price value. Illustrations almost look like they were touched up photoshop photos instead of drawings.For me, the main problem comes with material like Disk of the Clan of Man. The Disk only takes up two paragraphs, the short story, four pages. Four pages of fiction for a single item. Not the only time this happens either. I know for an item as mighty sounding as the Tankard of Pure Death we need four more pages devoted to its back story. No wait, we don't.Layout is standard two columns. Some of the art comes from www.clipart.com. Now if I put this book together that might be understandable, but in a professional hardcover that runs $24.95, I expect a little something more.One of the things I feel awful about is the editors inability to count. Under prestige classes, we have the following: Court Seer, Dragon Hunter, Learned Scholar, Life Giver, Religious Elder and Tribal Lieutenant. The section starts off  “What follows are four new prestige classes that are in some ways linked to one of the items in the book.” No, what follows are six prestige classes. The classes themselves aren't a bad mix but GMs will have to playtest the material. For example, the court seer continues to gain spells as a standard character and a special ability at each level. Since one of the abilities gained at many levels is a secret, it's not too bad, but the class gains six skill point per level, as opposed to the two that wizards normally gain.The Dragon Hunter gains some immunity from the spells and breath weapons of different dragons as the advance as well as a lot of exotic weapon proficiencies. Why? Is there something necessary in the exotic field that makes for better dragonslaying? Definitely not the last word in dragon hunting PrCs.The learned scholar is similar to the court seer with secrets being one of the abilities, as well as Lore and True Lore being abilities gained. In many cases, if the GM allows both classes, most players will just take the court seer as it gains an ability every level.The Life Giver has its own spell progression with the spells listed out in alphabetical order at the end of the section. It also gains some minor abilities like Brew Potion, Mix Antidote and Mix Cure. An interesting class that might work better off as an NPC due to the heavy emphasis on healing without too much combat use. The Religious Elder is designed for the cleric who wants to move through the heirarchy of the church, gaining spells and abilities at each level, but only gaining 1d6 hit die per level.Lastly, the Tribal Lieutenant is a hardy warrior style PrC with 1d12 hit die, perfect for any barbarian, that gains bonus feats in addition to special abilities.The game statistics in the appendix cover the NPCs and monsters associated with the material.The open game license takes two pages and the last page is an ad for the Demon Wars setting coming out for the d20 system.The book uses the standard FFE OGL declaration. Anything that's already OGL remains so, everything else, private id. It does make mention of baatezu and tanari'ri, although I think those terms themselves are PI.Okay, let's do a quick breakdown here. 128 page book, nothing on page 1 and 2, copy of the cover on page 3, credits page, contents page, preface page, introduction page, eight full page illustrations, two pages for the OGL, one page for ads. That's eighteen pages that could've been broken down to oh, say four, six if you want to be generous. Add in the love of fiction that some of the writers have and the lack of caster cost, and you have another mediocre book that some will love and others like myself do not.</blockquote>

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