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Message: <blockquote data-quote="John Cooper" data-source="post: 2811795" data-attributes="member: 24255">HEROES OF HORRORBy James Wyatt, Ari Marmell, and C. A. SuleimanWizards of the Coast product number 885227200160 pages, $29.95Heroes of Horror was an October 2005 release, perfectly timed for Halloween.  I'm a little behind in my self-imposed reviewing schedule, but I intend to do some rectifying of that particular problem, starting right now with this product, geared towards "adding the elements of horror to any D&D campaign" (I'm quoting from the back cover).The cover is another wraparound painted work, but this time it covers only the bottom 8 inches; the upper 3 inches is reserved for the title and D&D logo on the front, and descriptive blurb on the back.  The illustration depicts 3 iconic PCs (Alhandra the human paladin, Nebin the gnome illusionist, and Eberk the dwarven cleric) on the front cover, standing in a spooky forest.  The PCs are well-rendered (although the scale is a bit off, or else Nebin is currently under the effects of an enlarge person spell - he's awfully big for a gnome!), but the forest is rather sketchy, no doubt to make it look foggy and scary.  The PCs all look worried, with Eberk looking out and out scared - let's hope his stouthearted dwarven brethren never catch him shaming their race like that!  The illustration continues on the back cover, where Vadania the half-elf druid and her wolf animal companion discover clues to Redgar's apparent fate - his bloody helmet is perched on a tree stump, with bits of his armor hanging from the branches.  David Hudnut does a pretty good job at getting a feeling of "horror campaign" into the piece, but he could use some work on his nonhuman faces, as they all look pretty much human (especially Nebin), and Vadania's face looks positively masculine.  I'll say this for him, though - he does a great wolf!  (The snarling wolf was my favorite "character" in the painting!)The interior artwork consists of 38 full-color paintings (one of them full-page to boot!), 6 monochrome drawings (at the start of each chapter), and 11 color maps, by 9 different artists.  There's a good selection in here; I especially liked Dan Scott's "Belig, Shroud ferryman" on page 95 (he looks quite a bit like the actor who played Gimli in the recent Lord of the Rings movies and Professor Arturo in the old "Sliders" TV show), Dan's "Brother Erland Buckley, Purifier" on page 110 (the single-most intimidating cleric of Pelor I've ever seen), the action scene of iconic PCs fighting off an undead horde on page 64 (artist Wayne Reynolds even puts Mialee in a rather "Wonder Womanesque" starred cape), the full-page assault on a lich and his undead minions on page 50 (another Wayne Reynolds piece, this time with a very Inca/Maya/Aztec-looking set of ruins, which makes for a nice change, although I have to wonder just what's up with Gimble's mouth), and the distinctive "Kazerabet, Angel of the Dark" by Eric Polak on page 86 (it's nice to see an Asian woman in a fantasy campaign not being stereotyped as either a geisha or a "hot ninja babe" - the dread necromancer makes for a nice departure).On the down side, Randy Gallegos has a painting on page 11 that is no doubt supposed to be a top-down view of a spider menacing an adventuring duo on a precarious ledge, but the piece is so dark that the spider looks quite a bit more like a wad of fuzzy, striped socks, of the type you'd expect to see in a Dr. Seuss book.  Randy's "Illyra Zorren, Dread Witch" on page 99 is also somewhat problematic, as dread witches are supposed to the masters of fear, capable of frightening those around them with the merest glance, and his illustration of Illyra looks more like she could pass for the Joker's clown-faced mother - far more goofy-looking than scary-looking.  I never would have guessed that Wayne England's "Thavik of Donegan, tainted scholar" on page 114 was supposed to have been a githyanki; in fact, it still strikes me as looking more like a poorly-done orc or goblin.  I'll also mention that Eric Polak's version of Eberk on page 5 bears a striking resemblance to Bela Lugosi - not the first person I think of when I think "dwarven cleric."  As a whole, though, the art is pretty good, and I was pleased to see each of the new monsters and character classes/prestige classes getting their own illustration.Heroes of Horror is broken down into the following chapters: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Introduction: A page devoted to an overview of the material in the book</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Chapter 1 - Dread Encounters: Adding horror to an ongoing campaign, with sections on creepy effects, villains, 2 sample encounters, and a new demigod of spite</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Chapter 2 - Dread Adventures: Designing a horror adventure, more on villains, techniques of terror, and a short sample adventure</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Chapter 3 - A Horror Campaign: The basics of horror gaming, plots, more on villains, unhappy endings, a sample horror campaign, and incorporating dreams and nightmares into the game</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Chapter 4 - Rules of Horror: New rules for dread, fear, and the taint of evil, horror environments, and some campaign rules</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Chapter 5 - Heroes and Antiheroes: Two new character classes (the archivist, a divine spellcaster who casts spells like a wizard, and the dread necromancer, which is pretty self-explanatory), 6 new prestige classes (the corrupt avenger, who thrives on taint; the death delver, who explores the mysteries of death; the dread witch, master of fear; the fiend-blooded, powered by a fiendish bloodline; the purifier of the Hallowed Doctrine, who rids the world of tainted creatures; and the tainted scholar, another taint-based class that draws power from their own defects), 31 new feats, 2 new cleric domains (Dread and Spite), 30 new spells, and 4 new magic items (3 of them artifacts)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Chapter 6 - Creatures of the Night: New spins on classic D&D creatures, plus 10 new monsters and 3 new templates</li> </ul>The material in this book is a bit hit-and-miss.  If you're new to the whole concept of horror RPGs, then Heroes of Horror is going to have a lot of really valuable information to help you get across the specific feel of horror-based roleplaying in your own campaign.  On the other hand, anybody who's either run or read through the Ravenloft material (of any edition) is already going to know most of that information, so those sections will be of somewhat limited use.  For the most part, though, Heroes of Horror is a "toolbox" approach book, allowing you to pick and choose among the various components detailed inside as to which ones you want to add to your own campaign.I'll start with the positives: the two new character classes are both pretty interesting.  The archivist provides a completely different feel for a divine spellcaster, in that he must record his spells in a "prayerbook" (cleric-type spellbook) - it could be just the thing for somebody looking for a distinctive divine spellcaster PC.  The dread necromancer, while merely the umpteenth attempt to create a necromancer specialist who's actually good at what he does (as opposed to a wizard specializing in the necromancy school or a cleric with the Death domain), strikes a pretty good balance at being focused on necromancy-type areas without being grossly overpowered.  I was also pleased just to see two new character classes at all in this book, as books of this type tend to just crank out prestige classes.Speaking of which, some of the ones in Heroes of Horror are pretty appealing.  I like the purifier of the Hallowed Doctrine - it's nice to see a positive (good-aligned) prestige class in with the "vile ickiness" ones you expect to see in a horror-themed book.  The fiend-blooded prestige class makes a more palatable choice for a PC than suddenly plonking on the half-fiend template all at once; it allows for a gradual increase in power over the course of many levels.  (One problem I noticed with the fiend-blooded, though: the Entry Requirements state an alignment of "any nongood," yet the description keeps referring to good-aligned fiend-blooded.)  The taint-based prestige classes are okay, but being based on the somewhat clunky taint mechanism detailed in the book (more on this later) makes them significantly less appealing.The new feats and spells are all interesting, and I'm glad to see some updates (errata!) to a few spells showing up in here as well.  (Most importantly, they finally fixed the summon undead spells so they're compatible with the 3.5 ruleset!)  Some of my favorite spells from Heroes of Horror include call forth the beast (causing the target to go on a murderous rampage after he next falls asleep), familial geas (a geas spell that transfers itself to the victim's offspring if he dies without completing the task, very true to many fables and myths), and pact of return (automatic resurrection under a  specific set of circumstances, very useful when the PCs kill off your long-term master villain much earlier than anticipated).Proofreading and editing was pretty high (as expected in a Wizards of the Coast book), with only a small handful of errors making it past editors John D. Rateliff and Blaise Selby - a few instances of extraneous words ("a vampires"), improper punctuation (a missing period at the end of a sentence, and an aggravating insistence on slapping an "apostrophe-s" after names ending in "s" instead of just the apostrophe when denoting possessiveness), simple typos ("is" instead of "as," "shiveled" instead of "shriveled," "Intimidage" instead of "Intimidate"), improper word usage ("you doesn't"), a spell name not being italicized (as is the standard) and failure to capitalize a size category (also the standard), and an interesting case of circular reasoning ("Its arrogance might be due to...arrogance...").  I was also surprised to see "gryphon" used, when the D&D spelling of the word has always been "griffon," and for some reason all of the familiars are granting their masters the "Awareness" feat (which doesn't exist, to the best of my knowledge) instead of the "Alertness" feat when within arm's reach.  Also, a couple of the tables were off: the Resurrection Mishaps table on page 80 has entries for d% rolls of "93-96" and "96-100," which should be "93-96" and "97-100."  Also, the Spells in the Dreamscape table on page 57 has a final entry of "Roll twice, ignoring this result if rolled again," but many of the entries on the table are mutually exclusive; you can't, for example, have a spell function as both 1d4 caster levels lower and simultaneously 1d4 caster levels higher than planned (entries 6-7 and 8-9), or have the intended spell replaced with a different spell of the same level and simultaneously replaced with a different spell 1d4 levels lower (entries 12-13 and 14-15).  Layout was pretty good, except for the one-third page of white space on 134 - surely, they could have put in some artwork there?  (I guess I'm used to this in small-company PDFs, but have come to expect better from Wizards of the Coast.  It's a double standard, perhaps, but there you go.)There were also a couple of instances of maps with rooms unlabeled and unaccounted for; for example, the room to the west of Room 20 on the map on page 70, and the two rooms in the northwest corner on the map on page 73.  I have to say, though, that the "generic" maps were a nice touch - almost everyone can use maps of castles, graveyards, catacombs, and lich lairs, even if there's not always an accompanying adventure to go with them.  In fact, I've noticed that Wizards of the Coast often throws their maps from books like this on their website for free, a move I heartily applaud.Stat blocks seem to have taken a drastic slide back down the quality scale, though - much to my extreme disappointment, and despite the presumably best efforts of development manager Jesse Decker and the development team (Mike Donais, Stephen Schubert, and Rob Watkins).  Here's my "unofficial errata" section for Heroes of Horror - a much longer list than I had envisioned: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 18, Jonah Parsons, male human ghost expert 4: Initiative should be +5, not +3 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative).  Base Attack Bonus should be +3, not +2 (+3 as an Exp4, which doesn't change when he becomes a ghost as per the rules in the ghost template).  Incorporeal touch attacks should be at +4 melee, not +3 (+3 BAB, +1 Dex).  Corrupting touch attacks should be at +3 melee, not +2 (+3 BAB, +0 Str).  Grapple attacks should be at +3, not +2 (+3 BAB, +0 Str).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">pp. 19-20, Avatar of Cas: Fortitude should be +30, not +31 (+19 as a 35-HD outsider, +11 Con).  Reflex should be +26, not +27 (+19 as a 35-HD outsider, +7 Dex).  Will should be +25, not +26 (+19 as a 35-HD outsider, +6 Wis).  Ebon rod attacks should be at +50/+45/+40/+35/+30/+25/+20 melee, not +51/+46/+41/+36/+31/+26/+21 (+35 BAB, -1 size, +12 Str, +3 magic weapon, +1 Weapon Focus).  Gore attacks should be at +46 melee, not +47 (+35 BAB, -1 size, +12 Str).  Claw attacks should be at +41 melee, not +42 (+35 BAB, -1 size, +12 Str, -5 secondary attack).  Enervation attacks should be at +41 ranged touch, not +42 (+35 BAB, -1 size, +7 Dex).  Vampiric touch attacks should be at +46 melee touch, not +47 (+35 BAB, -1 size, +12 Str).  (Incidentally, anybody want to bet this whole thing is simply because the developer forgot that the Avatar of Cas was Large?  Talk about a cascading effect!)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 92, Shovan the Marked, male halfling ranger 6/corrupt avenger 2: According to the taint rules on page 63, if Shovan has the "gums swell" corruption effect, he should progress on to "bones thicken," not "lips shrink," and have Str 14 and Dex 14 as a result, which would change a whole lot of his stat block entries.  Conversely, if "lips shrink" is accurate, then he should have started out with "dead eye" instead of "gums swell."  I'm not going to bother making all of the changes, as I have no way of knowing which is correct; in fact, I'll go so far as to suggest that those purchasing Heroes of Horror ignore the taint progression rules on page 63, as all of the developers seem to have done anyway.  In any case, getting back to Shovan, I don't see any reason for him to be immune to fear.  He only spent 56 out of 58 skill points, and regardless of where you choose to spend them, be sure to add "Knowledge (nature) +2" to the skills list (0 ranks, +0 Int, +2 synergy from Survival).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 92, Kejira DeGannevar, female human ex-paladin 6/corrupt avenger 9: Depravity effects aren't according to the taint progression rules on page 63, but I think we've all decided to ignore those rules anyway.  Save DC for fear and doom spells should be DC 12, not DC 16 (10 + spell level 1 + 1 Cha = 12).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 97, Everia, female human cleric 5/death delver 3: Base Attack Bonus should be +4, not +5 (+3 as a Clr5, +1 as a DDv3).  Grapple attacks should be at +5, not +6 (+4 BAB, +1 Str).  +1 light mace attacks should be at +6 melee, not +7 (+4 BAB, +1 Str, +1 magic weapon).  Rebuke undead should be 6/day, not 3/day (3/day as a Clr5, + 3/day as a DDv3, the effects stack).  For some strange reason, skills are presented as ranks spent, not as total values; plus, she manages to somehow spent 28 out of 22 skill points.  If we kill 2 points each from Listen and Spot (dropping them each to +3 in the Senses entry, and removing them from the Skill entry as there were no actual ranks spent on them), and shave 2 more points off from Heal, we get the following: "Concentration +10, Heal +7, Knowledge (religion) +5, Spellcraft +3."  That's one way of doing it, in any case - you might have a better solution.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 97, Belig, male dwarf monk 5/death delver 7: AC should be 19, not 16 (+1 Dex, +3 Wis, +1 monk, +2 natural, +2 deflection).  Touch AC should be 17, not 16 (+1 Dex, +3 Wis, +1 monk, +2 deflection).  Flat-footed AC should be 18, not 15 (+3 Wis, +1 monk, +2 natural, +2 deflection).  Rebuke undead values should be "(+4, 2d6+9, 7th)," not "(+1, 2d6+7, 7th)" (+2 Cha, +2 synergy from Knowledge (religion); 2d6 + 7th-level Death Delver + 2 Cha).  Skills are shown only as ranks spent, not the total bonuses, and they forgot to add in the dwarven racial bonuses.  I'd change the Skills section to read: "Appraise +0 (+2 stone/metal items), Balance +6, Climb +7, Concentration +13, Craft +0 (+2 stone/metal items), Heal +8, Hide +6, Intimidate +7, Jump +7, Knowledge (religion) +8, Search +0 (+2 to notice unusual stonework), Spot +5."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 101, Suhnak Olun, male hobgoblin sorcerer 5/dread witch 2: Under Feats, "Awareness" should be "Alertness."  Only spent 26 out of 30 skill points, and forgot to add "Spot -1 (+2 in bright light)" due to having a hawk familiar.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 101, Hawk Familiar: Hit points should be 19, not 20 (half of Suhnak's 39 hp is 19 hp - you always round down).  Will should be +9, not +2 (+4 as a Sor5, +3 as a DrW2, +2 Wis).  Talon attacks should be at +8 melee, not +6 (+3 BAB, +2 size, +3 Dex due to Weapon Finesse).  Skills should be "Bluff +2, Concentration +5, Hide +11, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Listen +2, Move Silently +3, Spellcraft +2, Spot +14."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 102, Illyra Zorren, female human wizard 9/dread witch 5/archmage 4: Creature type should include "(human)."  In the Feats entry, "Awareness" should be "Alertness."  Quarterstaff attacks should be at +6/+1 melee, not +6/+0 (secondary attacks only have a -5 penalty).  There's no way for me to check her Skill totals as I don't know when her Intelligence boosts took effect, but Knowledge (the planes) can only be +28 max, not +29 (as a 18th-level character, she can put up to 21 ranks into a skill, +7 Int).  Also, be sure to add the following:  Appraise +7 (+9 alchemical items), Disguise +3 (+5 acting), Search +7 (+9 secret doors), and Survival +2 (+4 on other planes) - the result of synergy bonuses from Craft (alchemy), Bluff, Knowledge (architecture and engineering), and Knowledge (the planes), respectively.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 102, Cat Familiar: Initiative should be +2, not +3 (+2 Dex).  Fortitude should be +5, not +2 (+3 as a Wiz9, +1 as a DrW5, +1 as an ArM4, +0 Con).  Reflex should be +7, not +4 (+3 as a Wiz9, +1 as a DrW5, +1 as an ArM4, +2 Dex).  Will should be +15, not +1 (+6 as a Wiz9, +4 as a DrW5, +4 as an ArM4, +1 Wis).  Claw attacks should be at +12 melee, not +10 (+8 BAB, +2 size, +2 Dex from Weapon Finesse).  Bite attacks should be at +7 melee, not +5 (+8 BAB, +2 size, +2 Dex, -5 secondary attack).  Skills should be:  "Appraise +0 (+2 alchemical items), Balance +10, Bluff +11, Climb +6, Concentration +14, Craft (alchemy) +14, Diplomacy +0, Disguise -2 (+0 acting), Hide +14, Intimidate +2, Knowledge (arcana) +16, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) +13, Knowledge (history) +14, Knowledge (religion) +13, Knowledge (the planes) +21, Listen +3, Move Silently +6, Search +0 (+2 secret doors), Spellcraft +19, Spot +3, Survival +1 (+3 on other planes)."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 107, Werner Stormhollow, male human sorcerer 6/fiend-blooded 1: Creature type should include "(human)."  In the Feats entry, "Awareness" should be "Alertness."  In the Skills entry, "Intimidage" should be "Intimidate."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 107, Fiendish Toad Familiar: Special Qualities should include darkvision 60 ft.  Will should be +9, not +2 (+5 as a Wiz6, +2 as FBl1, +2 Wis).  Base Attack Bonus should be +3, not +4 (the same as his master's).  Smite good attacks should be at +2 melee, not +4 (+3 BAB, +4 size, -5 Str).  Skills should be "Bluff +1, Concentration +4, Diplomacy +1, Hide +21, Intimidate +1, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (the planes) +5, Listen +4, Sense Motive +6, Spellcraft +9, Spot +4."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 107, Setios, male half-elf sorcerer 6/fiend-blooded 6: In the Feats entry, "Awareness" should be "Alertness."  Since Diplomacy, Hide, and Spot are all cross-class skills, it looks like he spent 70 out of 60 skill points.  I recommend dropping Diplomacy to +8, Hide to +6, and Spot to +5.  Also, add Disguise +3 (+5 acting) and Survival +0 (+2 on other planes), due to synergy bonuses from Bluff and Knowledge (the planes), respectively.  While you're at it, add Listen +1, Gather Information +5, and Search +3 (the benefits of half-elf racial bonuses).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">pp. 107-108, Fiendish Raven Familiar: Should speak one language of its master's choice (probably Common).  Fortitude should be +4, not +2 (+2 as a Sor6, +2 as a FBl6, +0 Con).  Reflex should be +6, not +4 (+2 as a Sor6, +2 as a Fbl6, +2 Dex).  Will should be +12, not +2 (+5 as a Sor6, +5 as a FBl6, +2 Wis).  Skills should be "Bluff +4, Concentration +8, Diplomacy +1, Disguise -2 (+0 acting), Hide +14, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (the planes) +6, Listen +2, Spellcraft +10, Spot +6, Survival +2 (+4 on other planes)."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 113, Elsya of the Emerald Dale, female half-elf paladin 5/purifier of the Hallowed Doctrine 2: Will should be +8, not +6 (+1 as a Pal5, +3 as a PHD2, +2 Wis, +2 Cha from divine grace).  Turning checks should be at +4, not +2 (+2 Cha, +2 synergy from Knowledge (religion)).  They forgot to add the half-elf racial skill bonuses in; as a result, change Diplomacy to +4 and Gather Information to +4, and add Listen +3, Search +1, and Spot +3.  (Change the Listen and Spot entries under Senses to match.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 113, Erland Buckley, male human cleric 6/purifier of the Hallowed Doctrine 7: Creature type should include "(human)."  The Aura line should include "purity" as well as "sanctity."  Turning damage should be 2d6+15, not 2d6+14 (13 levels, +2 Cha), with 13th, not 12th, as the caster level.  Special Qualities shouldn't include "aura of good," as he's a cleric, not a paladin.  Only spent 64 skill points out of 80 (or 74, or 70, or 66, depending on if there were any Intelligence boosts during his adventuring career - unlikely, given his fluency in 3 languages without any Speak Language skill points spent).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 118, Tainted Cabalist, human wizard 5/tainted scholar 2: Creature type should include "(human)."  In the Feats entry, "Awareness" should be "Alertness."  Should only have 4 2nd-level spells prepared, not 5 (3 as a Wiz7, +1 for having a depravity score of 8).  Save DC for phantasmal killer should be DC 17, not DC 16 (10 + spell level 4 + 3 for corruption 7).  Only spent 55 out of 60 skill points, but spent one too many points on Concentration (the max is 10 for a 7th-level character) - Concentration should be +9, not +10.  Add Survival -1 (+1 on other planes and to avoid natural hazards and getting lost), the result of synergy bonuses from Knowledge (the planes) and Knowledge (geography).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 118, Viper Familiar: Hit points should be 14, not 41, and HD should be 7, not 15; it looks like the developers accidentally attributed the viper familiar to Thavik of Donegan instead of the Tainted Cabalists - but Thavik doesn't even qualify for a familiar!  Will should be +8, not +1 (+4 as Wiz5, +3 as TSc2, +1 Wis).  Skills should include the masters' skills (Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (geography), Knowledge (history), Knowledge the planes), Knowledge (religion), Spellcraft, and Survival), but since the masters' skill points are screwed up I can't really plug in appropriate numbers for the familiar until those first get fixed.  Also, change Swim from +6 to +5.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 118, Thavik of Donegan, male githyanki dread necromancer 5/tainted scholar 10: Add the following to his skills: Disguise +5, (+7 acting) and Spellcraft +4, the result of synergy bonuses from Bluff and Knowledge (arcana).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 143, Boneleaf: Under the "Speed" entry, "10 ft. (6 squares)" should obviously be "10 ft. (2 squares)."  Fortitude should be +8, not +11 (+2 as a 7-HD aberration, +6 Con).  Listen and Spot should both be +5, not +4 (+3 Wis, +2 Alertness), although it's possible they could go even higher as the developers didn't spend all 10 of the creature's skill points.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 145, Large Taint Elemental: Slam damage should be 2d8+5, not 2d8+7 (since it doesn't have one slam attack as its sole attack - it gets two slams under Full Attack - it doesn't get the 1.5 damage multiplier; check out the elementals from the Monster Manual to see what I mean).  Also, the tabbing on the "Space/Reach" entry is messed up, as it doesn't line up where it should.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 146, Huge Taint Elemental: Slam damage should be 2d10+7, not 2d10+10 (for the same reason as above).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 146, Greater Taint Elemental: Slam damage should be 2d10+8, not 2d10+12 (for the same reason as above).  Slam attacks should be at +21 melee, not +23 (+15 BAB, -2 size, +8 Str), and certainly not "+21$" as listed under Full Attack.  Listen and Spot should be +28, not +26 (all other taint elementals spent maximum ranks in Listen and Spot, which in this case is 24 (21 HD +3), +2 Wis, +2 Alertness).  Also, the Skills listing should include "Knowledge (nature) +4" (+2 Int, +2 synergy bonus from Survival).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 146, Elder Taint Elemental: Slam attacks should be at +25 melee, not +27 (+18 BAB, -2 size, +9 Str).  Slam damage should be 2d10+9, not 2d10+13 (for the same reason as above).  Listen and Spot should each be at +31, not +29 (for the same reason listed above).  Skills should include "Knowledge (nature) +5" (+3 Int, +2 synergy from Survival).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 147, Least Dusk Giant: With a 4-point Power Attack, greatclub damage should be 1d10+11, not 1d10+15 (1.5 times +5 Str = +7, +4 = +11).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 147, Lesser Dusk Giant: With a 9-point Power Attack, Large greatclub damage should be 2d8+27, not 2d8+36 (1.5 times +12 Str = +18, +9 = +27).  Assuming a 9-point Power Attack for the thrown rock attacks, they should be at +0 ranged, not +1 (+9 BAB, -1 size, +0 Dex, +1 racial bonus, -9 Power Attack).  Without Power Attack, rock attacks should be at +9 ranged, not +10.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 147, Greater Dusk Giant: AC should be 24, not 25 (-2 size, -1 Dex, +17 natural).  Touch AC should be 7, not 8.  Flat-footed AC should be 24, not 25.  With a 13-point Power Attack, Huge greatclub damage should be 3d8+41, not 3d8+28 (as listed in the Attack line) or 3d8+54 (as listed in the Full Attack line) (1.5 times +19 Str = +28, +13 Power Attack = +41).  Rend damage should be 2d8+28, not 2d8+27 (1.5 times +19 Str = +28).  Advancement is listed as "18-24 HD," but the creature already has 18 HD, so it should read "19-24 HD."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 149, Golem, Cadaver: The sample skill set is off by 1 point; I recommend making it Hide +9, not Hide +8 (I think they forgot to take the +1 Dex into account).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 151, Gray Jester: Only spent 54 skill points out of 88 (as an 8-HD fey with a +2 Int bonus), so there's a lot of manipulating to do.  (I'll leave that to the individual DM, as there's no "correct" answer to skill point expenditure.)  However, Skills should definitely include "Jump +10" (0 ranks, +0 Str, +8 speed, +2 synergy from Tumble).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 152, Phantasmal Slayer: For standardization, "Fly 60 ft. (perfect)" should be "Fly 60 ft. (12 squares) (perfect)."  Fortitude should be +15, not +14 (+10 as a 16-HD outsider, +5 Con).  Reflex should be +15, not +14 (+10 as a 16-HD outsider, +5 Dex).  Will should be +15, not +14 (+10 as a 16-HD outsider, +3 Wis, +2 Iron Will).  Skills should include "Survival +3 (+5 following tracks and on other planes)" (+3 Wis, +2 synergy bonuses from Search and Knowledge (the planes), respectively).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 153, Tainted Minion, 5th-Level Human Fighter: For standardization, "30 ft." should be "30 ft. (6 squares)."  Only spent 21 of 24 skill points.  Possessions should include masterwork shortbow with 10 arrows.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 153, Tainted Raver, 5th-Level Human Fighter: Only spent 21 of 24 skill points.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 156, Unholy Scion Lizardfolk: Only spent 14 of 50 skill points (as a 2-HD outsider with a +2 Int bonus), but did manage to spend one too many skill points in Sense Motive (cross-class, as it isn't on the lizardfolk class skills list) - the maximum for a 2-HD creature is 5 points, so it can't have spent 6, which is what the math works out to here.</li> </ul>I almost have to wonder if the new stat block format isn't somewhat detrimental to the overall quality of the stat blocks, as they no longer break down the various components of the AC values like they used to, nor do they give the breakdowns of the hit point totals.  (The cynical side of my brain even wonders if this decision not to "show their work" in these areas is a direct result of people like me who double-check their math on public forums - while unlikely that we "gearheads" have made such an overall impact on WotC policies, you have to admit that it does smell a bit like "covering their tracks.")  In any case, whether there's a correlation or not, I notice that Wizards' stat block quality has gone down further since implementing the new format; hopefully it's just a learning curve that will quickly be brought back into shape.Getting back to the specifics of Heroes of Horror, besides the poor stat block work there's also the confusing stuff, the items that make me scratch my head and wonder "Just who exactly thought this was a good idea?"  Topping this list is Cas, the new demigod of spite.  Don't get me wrong, adding a demigod of spite to the generic pantheon seems like a perfectly fine move; what I can't figure out is why in the world he was given a moose head.  With that fine move, he went from being an appropriately creepy, otherwordly semideity to Bullwinkle's mean-tempered older cousin.  Likewise, couldn't whoever came up with the concept come up with a better name than "Cas?"  Besides there already being a "Kas" playing a role in many D&D campaigns (he of the legendary sword of Kas), there's also Kaz the minotaur from the Dragonlance campaigns (I've never read any of the Dragonlance novels, but even I'm aware of his existence), and, worse yet, whenever anybody says "Cas" phonetically, the first image that pops to my mind is Cass Elliot, the heavyweight singer from the '60s band the Mamas and the Papas.  Not the image you want popping to mind when you're trying to use an evil demigod of spite in a D&D campaign, is it?  (Of course, Bullwinkle isn't a much better image.)Lest I leave "Mooseboy Cas" on my "WTF?" list all by himself, I'll also add the gray jester from the "new monsters" section.  What is it with people trying to make scary, evil jesters?  Is there something inherently spooky about guys wearing jingle-bell hats that I'm unaware of?  (I know some people are afraid of clowns, but still....)  Mongoose tried it in their Monster Encyclopaedia Volume Two - Dark Bestiary with their facadas (evil outsider jesters) to no great success, and the evil fey gray jester presented here fares little better.Finally, there's the whole taint mechanism.  This has been dusted off and tweaked a little from the Oriental Adventures days (not surprisingly, James Wyatt wrote both books), but it still is a little clunky.  I already discussed the taint progression anomalies in my "unofficial errata" section, but to recap: the rules as written assign 10 different types of mild, moderate, and severe forms of physical (corruption) and mental (depravity) taint, for a total of 60 different effects.  However, when you first gain either a corruption or depravity effect, you roll a d10 and consult the appropriate table.  Whenever you gain enough taint to move into the next category, instead of rolling another d10, you just progress over to the next column in the same row as your original roll.  This works fine for some of the entries, which are thematically similar (for example, skin sloughs, skin thickens, and skin lichen), but many of them don't seem to have much in common with each other.  Why, for instance, if at first my ears get scabby, should I then automatically have my fingers and toes fuse, and then have my flesh shrivel?  I see no connection.  Neither did the developers, apparently, because in every NPC example they came up with, they ditched that rule and just winged it by picking and choosing off the tables.  In any case, since the thresholds as to when you gain a new taint effect are based on your current Constitution and Wisdom scores (which tend to fluctuate in horror games - besides the normal ability damage/drain inherent in all D&D games, Heroes of Horror has several feats that cause Con/Wis damage to foes), the entire mechanism rapidly turns into a whole lot of extra status tracking.  This is especially true for the two prestige classes that are based on taint, whose spellcasting rules ignore the normal rules for bonus spells and save DCs for spells, but tie them into your PCs' current corruption and depravity scores.  The beauty of d20 is the unifying mechanisms inherent in the rules system, but Heroes of Horror seems to go out of its way to ignore the standards and rebuild the wheel all over again, which is a bit of a shame.Okay, this review is getting pretty long-winded, so I'll draw it to a close.  Heroes of Horror has a few problems, not the least of which is some truly awful stat blocks.  (A quick count shows that of the 40 stat blocks in Heroes of Horror, I found problems with 33 of them - some more grievous than others, granted, but that's still a stat block error rate of 82%!)  The taint mechanisms add an unneeded level of status tracking complexity, which soured a couple of the prestige classes for me.  On the other hand, I enjoyed the two new character classes, a good chunk of the new monsters, many of the spells, and the advice on running a horror campaign is generally spot-on, if a bit on the obvious side for those who have dealt with such things before.  I'm going to boil this all down to an overall score of "3 (Average)" - the things it gets right it does pretty well, but there are a lot of clunkers in here dragging down the overall quality.</blockquote>

Verification