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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DragonTurtle" data-source="post: 2702081" data-attributes="member: 26206">Master Work Characters: Born of the ShadowsMaster Work Characters: Born of the Shadows by Clockwork Golem Workshop is a 21 page black and white PDF with Bookmarks. I enjoy this type of PDF, it takes a subject like Shadow and expands on it giving you something that can plug easily into your game. Whether you have a character concept that can use some tweaking or an NPC that you want to stand out, I think this book has some options for you.The book starts out giving you some of their design assumptions, this is a nice touch that lets you know the direction that the designer was coming from and provides some theme for the material within. The first section after the Introduction is a racial template, the Shadowborn. This is a +0 LA template that can be added to any humanoid race. The Shadowborn are created when pregnant mothers survive being attacked by undead. The child from such a mother has a chance to be forever changed by this touch of negative energy. I liked the template; it keeps the traits from its original race, which does bring up the question of do they get two favored classes, as the shadowborn lists clerics, but would a dwarven shadowborn choose from fighter or cleric? This is really the only question that the template has and it can easily be ruled on by a GM without unbalancing too much anyway the GM decides.The next section contains some new feats for shadow themed characters. A lot of these expand upon the sneak attack chain which makes sense when you think about what often lurks in the shadows. I would recommend taking a close look at the feats for balance issues. Most seem suitable for play, however Knife in the dark will allow a first level rogue to do an additional 2d6 sneak attack (for a total of 3d6) when striking from cover or when surprising an opponent. Personally this is a little powerful to me, but others may this acceptable. Overall I thought the feats did a good job expanding on the premise, I personally liked the Spectral Voice feat for Bards the best, it allows them to speak with dead by expending a bardic music use.A couple of prestige classes appear in the next part of this PDF and are the Dark Hand, Ebon Magus and Shadow Knight. The Dark Hand is the first version of a monk that I have seen that incorporates shadow and darkness; it is a great addition to the other shadow like PrCs such as the Shadow Dancer in the DMG.  The Dark Hand trades progression in monk abilities for a better BAB and a number of shadow abilities like going incorporeal and doing negative energy damage with his unarmed attacks. The Ebon Magus is a wizard or Sorcerer who specializes in Shadow Conjurations and Evocations. Again this is a great PrC that seems well balanced and intriguing for play. The Shadow Knight brings to mind images of Batman, which may have been the designers inspiration or not, although I suspect it is so. Either way, the PrC is an interesting take on a vigilante character that attempts to make the night a safe place for innocents. To combat the Batman like flavor, this could easily be linked to an organization or church.If you were looking for new magic the next section details 9 new spells, 1 new manifestation and 1 new domain. I would have liked a spell list section as there are spells for a number of different classes, and when I play a spell casting class sometimes I skim spell lists for new spells instead of reading each description, this is particular useful when playing a Ranger, Paladin or Bard who don’t receive as many spells as Clerics or Wizards. The new magic all looks interesting, I would have liked to seen a few spells for the Assassin as well since they scream darkness and shadow to me, however no spell is designated for the class, not to say that a GM could not approve some of these. Shadow Step for one seems most suitable, as it increases the caster’s ability to move silently.The last chapter before the OGL is on equipment, and mostly the magical kind. Every item here is interesting and looks balanced. There is a new alchemical item as well, Weapon Black. Overview: I liked this PDF as I think it did exactly what it intended to do; it expands on the realm of shadow and darkness for those looking for such a thing. Art and layout are functional but barebones, which keeps the cost down under $3.00. While not enough here to plan a whole campaign based on shadows it does add new options for characters to explore. This is a very solid 4 star product and anyone interested in this topic should take a look.</blockquote>

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