John Cooper
Explorer
NONE SO VILE: DISCIPLES OF DARKNESS II - SOUL HARVESTER
By Aeryn Rudel
Skeleton Key Games/Blackdirge Publishing product number BDPNSVDOD02
16-page PDF, $3.75
None So Vile: Disciples of Darkness II - Soul Harvester (hereafter simply referred to as Soul Harvester) is the second in the series of PDFs devoted to truly vile prestige classes and the deities and cults that are tied up with them. This one focuses on a 10-level prestige class wherein the character focuses on a specific personal weapon and uses it to draw soul energy from those he slays with it. The energy he gains from such sacrifices is then used in a number of ways to increase his personal power. Like the first PDF in the series, the prestige class is a cleric-based one where the practitioner prefers wading into melee combat over attacking from a distance with his spells.
The cover is similar in tone to the first one, with a black, silver, and red holy symbol (this time of the primordial hobgoblin deity Nurrog Bahl, detailed within) embossed upon a blood-spattered background of dark leather. Artist Erik Nowak continues his success with another simple but effective cover.
Once again, Erik also provides all of the interior artwork - 6 black-and-white illustrations - but this time his work doesn't seem quite as effective as it did in the first volume in the series. His sickle-pierced elf on page 8 is rather sketchy and looks unfinished, and while his head shot of Jukko Ironscourge on page 10 is suitably detailed (with nice shading), I was rather underwhelmed with the decapitation scene on page 11 - this is the "gross-out" shot of the PDF, and the elf's head looks a bit too cartoony (and Jukko's armor looks a bit too much like football uniform padding) for it to be really effective. Still, taken as a whole, the artwork in Soul Harvester is better than average for a PDF.
As I mentioned earlier, "soul harvester" is another combat-focused prestige class primarily for clerics, and Aeryn does an equally fine job in creating a memorable set of class abilities to fill up the ten levels. Nearly all of the class abilities are tied into the soul harvester's unique weapon, which means that if the PCs can get enough "intel" on what they'll be going up against ahead of time, the Sunder feat will be their best friend. Still, I like the "essence point" mechanic, whereby the soul harvester can store soul energy from those he slays with his special weapon, and then "spend" that energy as bonuses to attack, damage, saves, and skills (a package deal) or effective caster level, or on spontaneous metamagic feats, or to add special abilities (like flaming or unholy) to his sacrificial blade. He also gains "virtual feats" as he rises in level; these are basically bonus feats that can only be used with that one specific weapon, and only by the weapon's soul harvester owner. (So when the PCs slay the soul harvester, all they get is a +1 weapon out of the deal.) It's a very flavorful prestige class, managing to be both flexible (you can spend those essence points in a wide variety of ways) and somewhat rigid (lose your weapon and you're hosed!) at the same time.
I noted a bit more errors in Soul Harvester than I did in The Ravenous of Agramogg (the first in the series), which is a turn in the wrong direction to be sure, but on the plus side there weren't as many that would confuse the reader as to what was meant. The biggest problem was the introduction of the "Knowledge (anatomy)" skill without any description of what this new skill is or how it works. (Personally, I think you'd be fine changing all references of "Knowledge (anatomy)" to "Knowledge (nature)" and call it good; surely anatomy would be encompassed in studies of the natural world, wouldn't you think?) Also, apparently the "Soul Harvester" prestige class was originally named the "Sacrificial Master," because Aeryn (and Dwight Hulse, the other editor listed in the credits) missed a couple of places where the original name is still in use. (Still, good call on the rename: I think "soul harvester" is much more evocative than "sacrificial master.") Finally, there are a few oversights in the sole stat block, which I'll list here:
A final thing I wanted to mention: unlike just about any divine spellcaster prestige class I can recall, soul harvesters aren't particularly pious towards the deities they serve, treating them as a convenient means to an end rather than a divine (well, profane) being worthy of their worship. Naturally, this puts a soul harvester in constant conflict with the clerics serving that deity, but they often won't attack the soul harvester directly because it's obvious that he has the deity's approval for his actions. Likewise, soul harvesters cannot abide other soul harvesters working in the same area as themselves, as that just means more competition for the choicest souls. These little built-in plot hooks are a very nice touch to the prestige class as a whole, and Aeryn's brief story at the beginning of the PDF brings the first of these points out nicely.
Soul Harvester is another fine entry in the None So Vile: Disciples of Darkness line. I found I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did the first volume, but it still falls smack-dab in the middle of a "4 (Good)" rating.
By Aeryn Rudel
Skeleton Key Games/Blackdirge Publishing product number BDPNSVDOD02
16-page PDF, $3.75
None So Vile: Disciples of Darkness II - Soul Harvester (hereafter simply referred to as Soul Harvester) is the second in the series of PDFs devoted to truly vile prestige classes and the deities and cults that are tied up with them. This one focuses on a 10-level prestige class wherein the character focuses on a specific personal weapon and uses it to draw soul energy from those he slays with it. The energy he gains from such sacrifices is then used in a number of ways to increase his personal power. Like the first PDF in the series, the prestige class is a cleric-based one where the practitioner prefers wading into melee combat over attacking from a distance with his spells.
The cover is similar in tone to the first one, with a black, silver, and red holy symbol (this time of the primordial hobgoblin deity Nurrog Bahl, detailed within) embossed upon a blood-spattered background of dark leather. Artist Erik Nowak continues his success with another simple but effective cover.
Once again, Erik also provides all of the interior artwork - 6 black-and-white illustrations - but this time his work doesn't seem quite as effective as it did in the first volume in the series. His sickle-pierced elf on page 8 is rather sketchy and looks unfinished, and while his head shot of Jukko Ironscourge on page 10 is suitably detailed (with nice shading), I was rather underwhelmed with the decapitation scene on page 11 - this is the "gross-out" shot of the PDF, and the elf's head looks a bit too cartoony (and Jukko's armor looks a bit too much like football uniform padding) for it to be really effective. Still, taken as a whole, the artwork in Soul Harvester is better than average for a PDF.
As I mentioned earlier, "soul harvester" is another combat-focused prestige class primarily for clerics, and Aeryn does an equally fine job in creating a memorable set of class abilities to fill up the ten levels. Nearly all of the class abilities are tied into the soul harvester's unique weapon, which means that if the PCs can get enough "intel" on what they'll be going up against ahead of time, the Sunder feat will be their best friend. Still, I like the "essence point" mechanic, whereby the soul harvester can store soul energy from those he slays with his special weapon, and then "spend" that energy as bonuses to attack, damage, saves, and skills (a package deal) or effective caster level, or on spontaneous metamagic feats, or to add special abilities (like flaming or unholy) to his sacrificial blade. He also gains "virtual feats" as he rises in level; these are basically bonus feats that can only be used with that one specific weapon, and only by the weapon's soul harvester owner. (So when the PCs slay the soul harvester, all they get is a +1 weapon out of the deal.) It's a very flavorful prestige class, managing to be both flexible (you can spend those essence points in a wide variety of ways) and somewhat rigid (lose your weapon and you're hosed!) at the same time.
I noted a bit more errors in Soul Harvester than I did in The Ravenous of Agramogg (the first in the series), which is a turn in the wrong direction to be sure, but on the plus side there weren't as many that would confuse the reader as to what was meant. The biggest problem was the introduction of the "Knowledge (anatomy)" skill without any description of what this new skill is or how it works. (Personally, I think you'd be fine changing all references of "Knowledge (anatomy)" to "Knowledge (nature)" and call it good; surely anatomy would be encompassed in studies of the natural world, wouldn't you think?) Also, apparently the "Soul Harvester" prestige class was originally named the "Sacrificial Master," because Aeryn (and Dwight Hulse, the other editor listed in the credits) missed a couple of places where the original name is still in use. (Still, good call on the rename: I think "soul harvester" is much more evocative than "sacrificial master.") Finally, there are a few oversights in the sole stat block, which I'll list here:
- p. 9, Jukko Ironscourge, male hobgoblin cleric 6/soul harvester 8: Speed should mention that the listed entry is while in full plate (with a 30-ft. base speed). He should have 4+1 5th-level spells prepared, not 3+1 (3+1 as Clr13, +1 for Wis 21). He should also have 5+1 4th-level spells prepared, not 4+1 (4+1 as Clr13, +1 for Wis 21). Likewise, he should have 6+1 2nd-level spells prepared, not 5+1 (5+1 as Clr13, +1 for Wis 21). He only spent 64 of 68 skill points; I'd recommend bumping Diplomacy up to +9 and Heal up to +14. Along those lines, he's also missing Jump -7 [0 ranks, +4 Str, -6 speed, -5 armor check penalty] and Move Silently +0 [0 ranks, +1 Dex, +4 racial, -5 armor check penalty] from his list of skills. (I only mention Jump because it's traditional to list Jump and Hide when there are speed or size bonuses/penalties involved, since they're often otherwise overlooked.) Finally, if you decide to change "Knowledge (anatomy)" to "Knowledge (nature)," be sure to add "Survival +5 (+7 in aboveground natural environments)" as well [0 ranks, +5 Wis, +2 synergy bonus from Knowledge (nature)].
A final thing I wanted to mention: unlike just about any divine spellcaster prestige class I can recall, soul harvesters aren't particularly pious towards the deities they serve, treating them as a convenient means to an end rather than a divine (well, profane) being worthy of their worship. Naturally, this puts a soul harvester in constant conflict with the clerics serving that deity, but they often won't attack the soul harvester directly because it's obvious that he has the deity's approval for his actions. Likewise, soul harvesters cannot abide other soul harvesters working in the same area as themselves, as that just means more competition for the choicest souls. These little built-in plot hooks are a very nice touch to the prestige class as a whole, and Aeryn's brief story at the beginning of the PDF brings the first of these points out nicely.
Soul Harvester is another fine entry in the None So Vile: Disciples of Darkness line. I found I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did the first volume, but it still falls smack-dab in the middle of a "4 (Good)" rating.
