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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JoeGKushner" data-source="post: 2010505" data-attributes="member: 1129">So what does Plains of Penance bring to the game table?Broken up into eight chapters with three appendixes, Plains of Penance details a massive setting and provides the crunch to customize it.Take Chapter One, an Overview of the Plains. The information provided in these eleven pages is brief but provides all the information that a GM or players needs to start developing ideas. The map on page 7 is an up close look at the Domain of Penance with all the major cities, ruins, and woods mapped out.Of more interest to most would be the Inhabitants of the Plains in chapter two. Several PC races are introduced including the Aurads, Dolphins, Wild Frey, Hovara, and Thorns. The mix is almost comic in that it includes dolphins, but after playing Rifts for years, nothing surprises me and this setting shares some of Rifts elements. For example, brining in all manner of races and magic to the setting. The wild frey make a good counter to their civilized cousins as these cat like humanoids are larger and more powerful versions while the thorns, sentient plants, expand the players range of options.For those who want a unique type of magic, channeling is made available. This allow a caster to draw forth the divine energy the pulses from the Forge's core and use it to overcome SR but limits it to the Forge. This variant ability uses power points and is fully detailed in the prestige classes that follow which uses this channeling ability to fuel their powers.The PrCs include Artificer and Disjoiner, each using the channeling ability in different ways. The former to craft not only metals but transform flesh and bone. It's an interesting take on a life shaper or a mutating ability that GMs will have to watch to insure that their campaign isn't overbalanced as several of the abilities deal with power for experience points. The disjoiner on the other hand destroy things by using their channeling powers to add energy attacks to their arsenal. For example, a 2nd level disjoiner can craft explosive bolts.New Prestige Races are also introduced including the Focus of the Claw, Enigma, Huge, Light and Small. Each one comes complete with name of the ability, example, costs, minimum level, prerequisite, unavailable to listing, details and game effects. This allows a reader to quickly see how and when they'll be able to take one of these abilities and what it does in exchange for the experience points. For example, under Focus of the Enigma, the Cloaked Creature ability requires 9,000 XP, 10th level, and the Masked ability. It provides the user with the ability to lie without being detected by Sense Motive Checks and the Inconspicuousness ability that makes the user not stand out at all.The little details, like what type of plans and animals are native to this environment are covered in Chapter Three, the Environment. It provides the GM a quick way to make the Plains unique with plants like the woody shrub carrion or the fungi sugar loaf. The material covers forests, oceans, rivers, and the plains with information for each section; plants, animals, microorganisms.As I've mentioned elsewhere, druids are good elements for a campaign. They can act as mentors, advisors, wise men or even madmen. Chapter Four, the Druids, covers the organization of druids in great detail, providing their laws, scouts, and guild. The guild is listed in a manner similar to Bastion's Guildcraft book where a PC can spend experience points in order to gain special abilities like bonus skill points and spells.  The forest regions are mapped out with population, racial breakdown, bloodlord and an overview. Cities of the Plains provides a similar overview to the cities. It includes information on how many cantons, population, major industries, bloodlord, and history. One of the largest is Beacon, a city specializing in crafting manna engines and ruled by the dangerous Mecham Pandarus GMs with a lot of drive can craft each individual city into its own mini-campaign setting but at the cost of a lot of work.Those more interested in an exotic setting may want to review Chapter Six, the Northern Oceans. The different races, like the ceptu, dolphins, aquatic elves, humans, locathah,  makkrus, merfolk, sahuagin, and trusk all have details about how they fit into this part of the campaign setting and some, like the ceptu, have their own section with laws and culture notes.Wilderness adventuring is covered in Chapter Seven. Need to know what the effects are of getting lost or what hazards you'll face on the Plains? How about where the old ruins and dungeons are like the Eden Asylum or the ancient city of Bale?Some may ask, how do you use all of this information? Chapter 8, Ascension Day, provides the GM with a fleshed out adventure for 8th to 10th level characters. It includes a fair bit of dungeon crawling and interacting with NPCs as the players have to gain a special vial of blood and determine who best deserves the vial. It pushes the party along a little bit and the plot line revolves around only one person, the Grey Stranger, being able to open it, limits it somewhat, but most GMs will be able to pick up and run this within a single reading.The new monsters, items, and spells are collected at the back of the book in the three appendixes. Some of the material should fit into any campaign like contraception, a 2nd level druid spell that makes the target sterile for the duration of the spell or greater spectral hand, that allows the caster to use up to eighth level spells. Internal art varies from fair to fantastic. For example, Jason Engle, the artists for the Talisman line of books from Bastion, does several illustrations that are cover worthy. Chapter breaks are represented with full page illustrations. Some might complain that there is too much art as full page illustrations occur in the book without any apparent reason in addition to chapter breaks. Layout is two columns with good use of white space. Editing is fair but the book is a little wordy. The price, $29.95, may seem high, but the higher page count and full color content on slick paper warrants it. One failure of the book is an index. In a volume of this size, an index should be mandatory. Another failing point is maps. With so many cities named, a few sample maps on how the cities are organized is another point that should be mandatory. There are the pretty, but useless maps that give an overhead of the city but those are of no practical use. The full color illustrations are nice, but take a few of them out and put in some maps. Another thing I personally disliked was the full color advertisements for the website and Minions in the book. More space that could've went to direct material in this book.Plains of Penance does what it sets out to. It provides the reader with new game options, a setting and an adventure to get started. Despite new spells, magic items and prestige classes, the bulk of this book is Oathbound specific. It'd take a lot of work to add to a general campaign. If you're Oathbound campaign has stalled and needs more ideas, then Plains is for you.</blockquote>

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