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Message: <blockquote data-quote="John Cooper" data-source="post: 2567360" data-attributes="member: 24255">STORMWRACKBy Richard Baker, Joseph D. Carriker, Jr., and Jennifer Clark WilkesWizards of the Coast product number 178670000224 pages, $34.95Stormwrack is the third in the series of environment-focused books put out by Wizards of the coast (and the only one remaining for the foreseeable future), following in the footsteps of Frostburn and Sandstorm.  It's my favorite book of the three, and yet also the one that disappointed me the most.The front cover artwork, by Jeremy Jarvis, depicts a scyllan (one of the new monsters presented in the book, and a bit reminiscent of the kraken from the Ray Harryhausen movie Clash of the Titans) fighting two adventurers.  Based solely on the outfits that they're wearing, I'd have to say that the adventurers are none other than Hennet the buckle-fetishist sorcerer and Vadania the I-like-using-tree-branches-as-hair-accessories druid of Player's Handbook iconic fame.  (Their faces don't bear much of a resemblance to their depictions in the PH, so it's probably a good thing that iconic characters never change their clothing, or I'd never know it was them.)  The picture wraps around to the back of the book, where we can see Ember the monk keeping what must be Gimble the gnomish bard afloat amidst wreckage of what was probably until just recently their boat.  I'm not overly impressed with the figures, and the scyllan seems to be staring straight ahead at nothing in particular, but Jeremy does do some really nice storm effects in the background.The interior artwork is a compilation of 8 monochrome and 62 full-color illustrations (plus 10 full-color maps) by a total of 8 different artists.  For the most part the artwork is very good, with my favorites including Lee Moyers' scarlet corsair on page 66, Chris Appel's top-view dragon turtle attack on page 200, Eric Polak's aventi paladin on page 35, and Drew Baker's imposing anguillian (a sort of eel-man) on page 137.  Almost all of the new monsters have their own depiction (the exceptions being some real-world creatures like seals and otters), and the monster illustrations adhere very closely to the written descriptions.  Taken as a whole, I rate the artwork in Stormwrack as well above average.The book is laid out as follows: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Introduction: A one-page explanation to how this book is laid out</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Chapter 1 - Into the Maelstrom: Sections dealing with different types of aquatic environments/terrain, hazards and perils, navigation, and a "narrative naval combat" system making sea chases and combat between two ships easy to run</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Chapter 2 - Races of the Seas: Aventi (aquatic humans), darfellans (humanoid killer whales - much cooler than they sound), aquatic elves and half-elves, hadozee (Spelljammer's "deck apes"), seacliff dwarves, wavecrest gnomes, and shoal halflings</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Chapter 3 - Classes and Prestige Classes: Aquatic adaptations for the 11 main character classes from the PH, scout, spirit shaman, swashbuckler, and warmage, plus 7 new prestige classes focused on aquatic races</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Chapter 4 - Skills and Feats: A look at 15 skills with a focus on how aquatic environments change how they're used, plus 24 new feats</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Chapter 5 - Ships and Equipment: Details on 21 different sailing vessels, 6 ship weapons, 4 ship accessories, 6 new types of armor, 6 new weapons, and 8 new types of gear</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Chapter 6 - Spells and Magic Items: 4 new cleric domains (Blackwater, Ocean, Seafolk, and Storm), 45 new spells, 3 new epic spells, 4 new psionic powers, 2 new special materials, 4 new magic armor properties, 2 new types of magic armor, 3 new magic weapon properties, 5 new magic weapons, 3 new magic rings, a new rod, a new staff, and 20 new wondrous items</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Chapter 7 - Monsters: 46 new monster stats, 1 new template, and 2 new aquatic creatures made from minor changes to MM creatures (monstrous diving spiders and sea snakes), plus a new table for adding these aquatic creatures to various summoning spells</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Chapter 8 - Adventure Locales: 4 mini-adventures with ELs ranging from 5 to 12</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Appendix - Encounter Tables: 9-1/2 pages of encounter tables for various aquatic environments and ELs</li> </ul>As is becoming the Wizards norm, there is no index in the back, but a comprehensive Table of Contents should do the job just as well.For almost all of the chapters, I was much more impressed with the specifics than I have been with the corresponding chapters in previous books in the series.  The authors of Frostburn, for example, found it necessary to come up with ways to add acid, negative energy damage, rust attacks, electricity, dispel magic effects, and so on to normal snow, sleet, and so on.  Sandstorm had a lesser amount of such silliness; Stormwrack, I'm pleased to say, confines itself mostly to normal aquatic dangers like drowning, slippery decks, hypothermia, and the like; even their few supernatural hazards (airy water, airless water, dead calm, maelstroms, and stormfire) seemed much more likely - perhaps "plausible" is a better word - to me, even in a fantasy campaign.  Likewise, while the previous books seemed to have about a 50/50 "coolness" rating when it came to the new races they offered, I really like all three of the new races presented in Stormwrack.  The aventi are basically underwater humans, whose Atlantis-like civilization fell when their island sunk into the ocean, and their patron god changed them into water-breathers.  (Marvel Comics enthusiasts may feel like they've heard of this "species origin" before; it's virtually identical to the Atlanteans of the Marvel Universe.  Furthermore, it seems as if one of the authors is a fan of the Sub-Mariner, as the names "Nimor" and "Nimora" are given as examples of aventi names; these are very close to the names of Namor, the Sub-Mariner, and Namorita, a female Atlantean in the comics - possibly even his cousin, if my memory isn't tricking me.)  Aventi are often paladins, and while the concept of an underwater paladin might sound strange, I feel they really make it work.  (The proof: I'd be very tempted to run an aventi paladin myself if I ever found myself a player in an underwater campaign.)The darfellan are a race of humanoid orcas, and while I agree that that sounds rather silly, again, the authors really make the concept work.  Darfellans tend to be barbarians, and often hunt Huge creatures to prove their courage and battle prowess.  I think it's cool that many of the sample names include a "!" - for those unaware of it, "!" is usually used to represent a sort of tongue-clucking sound.  (The South Park episodes featuring "Starvin' Marvin" use a lot of these sounds when the African natives are talking.)  About the only thing I'd change about the darfellans is their appearance; while they'd described as having black and white areas of skin (much like a killer whale), nobody mentions (either in the book or to the artists) that killer whale markings tend to be symmetrical; the darfellan illustrations are all rather randomly black and white, and the effect looks less like a humanoid killer whale and more like either a humanoid "Little Rascals" dog or a humanoid Gateway computer box.The third "new" race is the hadozee, a rehash of the "deck apes" of Spelljammer (which were themselves a rehash of an alien race from the old Star Frontiers RPG from the early TSR days).  In any case, it's good to see their return, in any form, and they work just as well here aboard terrestrial sea vessels as they did among vessels that sailed the stars (or "voidspace," if you want to be a Spelljammer purist).In similar fashion, I really liked most of the prestige classes, and that's an area where it's getting more and more difficult to impress me.  I think the reason I liked these is that, much more than in the past, these seemed very focused on a very specific group.  A Knight of the Pearl is very much an aventi paladin prestige class; a Leviathan Hunter is almost always going to be a darfellan.  Scarlet Corsairs and Legendary Captains aren't quite as racially-targeted, but they're both good fits for leaders of sea vessels.  Wavekeepers are aquatic druids, and Sea Witches and Stormcasters are for the arcane spell-focused classes.  Each serves a specific niche, and I can see each of them playing an important role in an aquatic-themed campaign.As for the spells, I was pleased to see a return of some old favorites (airy water, for one), and I'm glad the authors kept the number of new spells down to 45 instead of artificially padding the number by making slight changes to existing spells and pawning them off as brand-spanking-new.  And as for the mini-adventures, I was very pleased to see a much broader range of ELs than has been seen in some recent products; with adventures for PC groups of levels 5, 6, 9, and 12, there's a much greater chance that a given group will be able to use at least one of the adventures right off the bat without too much tweaking.The deck plans for the various ships are very well done, and will no doubt plan an important part in many aquatic adventures.  I like the fact that we get a fairly broad selection as far as ship types go.It was a nice touch adding "DM Tips" in the giant leech and leech swarm combat sections in the monster chapter, suggesting a good way of running an encounter with these bloodsuckers in such a way that the PCs might not even notice their presence (depending upon the result of hidden Spot vs. Hide checks).  I hope we see more "DM Tips" in the future; it's a really great idea.Another cool new item deals with the new stat block format.  The very bottom line is "Hooks," where the DM is given a sample quote that the monster in question might say, kind of as a shorthand peek at how it should be played.  This is a nice idea; anything that helps the DM can only be a good thing.  It also provides a place for in-jokes; since the typical goblin sailor's "hook" on page 177 is "Grr, arrgh!" I have to assume that at least one of the authors is a Joss Whedon fan!  (For those wondering what the joke is, Joss Whedon's TV shows - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly - end with the "Mutant Enemy" logo and an animated "mutant" ambling across the screen saying "grr, arrgh!")However, when it comes to the monster stats, Stormwrack takes a giant leap backwards, as the quality virtually plummets.  I'm not sure if it's a result of the change to the new DMG II format or what, but the entire book is riddled with stat errors.  Jesse Decker is listed as the Development Manager and Stephen Schubert, Andy Collins, and David Noonan are credited as the developers; collectively, they have a lot of D&D talent, so I'm at a loss to explain what happened here.  In any case, I recommend making the following changes to these stats: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">pp. 55-56, Timora Argareth, female aventi paladin 5/knight of the pearl 3: Fortitude should be +11, not +9 (+4 as a Pal5, +3 as a KotP3, +2 Con, +2 divine grace).  Reflex should be +3, not +1 (+1 as a Pal5, +1 as a KotP3, -1 Dex, +2 divine grace).  Will should be +9, not +7 (+1 as a Pal5, +3 as a KotP3, +1 Wis, +2 Iron Will, +2 divine grace).  No mention is made of her special mount, which at her level she should have.  (There should be a separate stat block for her mount following her own.)  Why are her spells cast at CL 6th? - she has 2 spellcasting levels as a paladin and none as a Knight of the Pearl.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 60, Valanthe the Golden Dolphin, female aquatic half-elf rogue 4/fighter 4/legendary captain 4: Fortitude should be +12, not +10 (+1 as a Rog4, +4 as Ftr4, +4 as LCp4, +1 Con, +2 cloak).  Reflex should be +11, not +9 (+4 as a Rog4, +1 as Ftr4, +1 as LCp4, +3 Dex, +2 cloak).  Will should be +7 (+9 against enchantments), not +5 (+7 against enchantments) (+1 as a Rog4, +1 as Ftr4, +4 as LCp4, -1 Wis, +2 cloak).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">pp. 64-65, Lillikakooet, male darfellan barbarian 2/ranger 5/leviathan hunter 3: Initiative should be +2, not +1 (+2 Dex).  Under the "Speed" entry, 20 ft. does not equal 8 squares!  (Since a darfellan has a base speed of 20 ft., and since he's got 2 barbarian levels - and thus fast movement, which adds +10 ft. - the "Speed" entry should be "30 ft. (6 squares)" for his land movement rate.)  When raging, his Grapple attacks should be at +14, not +18 (+10 BAB, +4 Str); when not raging, Grapple attacks should be at +12, not +14 (+10 BAB, +2 Str).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 65, Seal animal companion: Fortitude should be +5, not +4 (+3 as a 2-HD animal, +2 Con).  Reflex should be +5, not +6 (+3 as a 2-HD animal, +2 Dex).  Will should be +1, not +2 (+0 as a 2-HD animal, +1 Wis).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 68, Aida Ironheart, female human rogue 4/fighter 3/scarlet corsair 8: She has 11 feats, but she should only have 10 (6 as a 15th-level character, 2 bonus feats as a Ftr3, 1 bonus feat as a ScC8, 1 bonus feat as human).  Initiative should be +3, not +7 (+3 Dex, no Improved Initiative).  AC should be 20 (24 aboard ship), not 20 (21 aboard ship) - (+3 Dex, +6 +3 studded leather, +1 shield from Two-Weapon Defense, and a +4 dodge bonus aboard ship as an 8th-level scarlet corsair).  Touch AC should be 13 (17 aboard ship), not 13 (14 aboard ship).  Flat-footed Ac should be 20 (24 aboard ship), not 16, due to uncanny dodge - which in the new format is now actually listed on the AC line!  Attacks with Levinous (a magic cutlass) should be at +17/+12/+7 melee, not +15/+10/+5 (+14 BAB, +3 Dex due to Weapon Finesse, +1 Weapon Focus, +1 magic weapon bonus, -2 for Two-Weapon Fighting), and attacks with Deepshard (a magic cutlass) should be at +17 melee, not +15 (ditto, as both weapons are light weapons).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 71, Sibi alin Zakor, male human wizard 7/sea witch 8: Fortitude should be +10, not +8 (+2 as a Wiz7, +6 as a SW8, +2 Con).  He should be able to call maelstrom 1/day as well as call major maelstrom 1/day.  (They're two different prestige class features.)  It should be 1d20+13, not 1d20+15, to overcome his spell resistance (CL 13th).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 72, Octopus familiar: First of all, why is this a Medium creature instead of a Small one?  Initiative should be +3, not +2 (+3 Dex).  Touch AC should be 13, not 14 (+3 Dex) - unless it's Small, in which case its normal AC should be 23, not 22 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +9 natural), and its flat-footed AC should be 20, not 19.  If it's Small, grapple attacks should be at +4, not +8, and all attacks should be at +1 more than listed.  (Personally, I think it should be Small.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 76, Small Water Elemental familiar: Hit points should be 19, not 13 (one-half its master's, and its master has 39 hp).  Fortitude should be +9, not +4 (+2 as a Wiz6, +6 as a stormcaster 9, +1 Con).  Reflex should be +8, not +1 (+2 as a Wiz6, +6 as a stormcaster 9, +0 Dex). Will should be +8, not +4 (+5 as a Wiz6, +3 as a stormcaster 9, +0 Wis).  (A familiar gets its master's saves, using its own ability scores.)  Base Attack Bonus should be +7 (same as its master's), not +1.  Grapple attacks should be at +5, not -3 (+7 BAB, -4 size, +2 Str).  Slam attacks should be at +10 melee, not +4 (+7 BAB, +1 size, +2 Str).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 80, Admarin of the Blue Waters, male merfolk druid 7/wavekeeper 4: Initiative should be +3, not +2 (+3 Dex).  Base Attack Bonus should be +8, not +9 (+5 as Drd7, +3 as WvK4).  Grapple attacks should be at +8, not +9 (+8 BAB, +0 size, +0 Str).  +2 frost spear attacks should be at +10/+5 melee, not +11/+6 (+8 BAB, +0 Str, +2 magic weapon bonus).  It should be 1d20+10 to overcome his spell resistance, not 1d20+11 (his caster level is 10th, as the first level of the wavekeeper prestige class does not advance spellcasting ability).  As an 11th-level character, he should have 4 feats, not 5.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 80, Large Shark animal companion: Initiative should be +4, not +3 (+4 Dex).  AC should be 23, not 22 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +10 natural).  Flat-footed AC should be 19, not 18.  Grapple attacks should be at +18, not +16 (+9 BAB, +4 size, +5 Str).  With 13 HD, it should have 5 feats; since it has 5 listed but Swim-By Attack is annotated as a bonus feat, it should get another as a replacement (normal Large sharks have Great Fortitude and Improved Initiative, which this one lacks; either would be a good match); optionally, Swim-By Attack shouldn't be a bonus feat but a normal one.  It only spent 10 out of 16 skill points (sort of - it also managed to spent "-1 skill points" on Swim somehow); if we spend the other 6 on Swim it should have Swim +19, not Swim +12 (+8 racial, +5 Str, +6 points spent).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 116, Doom of the Seas, Fiendish Kraken: First of all, despite the creature's title, the half-fiend template was applied to the kraken, not the fiendish template.  (Special Qualities lists "half-fiend traits," it has resistance to acid 10/cold 10/electricity 10/fire 10 and SR 30.)  It'll be easier to just rename this creature as "Doom of the Seas, Half-Fiend Kraken" rather than redo the creature from scratch as a fiendish kraken.  (Note that this also means reworking the spell description for the doom of the seas spell.)  In any case, getting back to our critter: Fortitude should be +22, not +21 (+12 as a 20-HD magical beast - since saves don't change from the original creature type, +10 Con).  Constitution should be 31, not 30 (this makes no difference as far as the game stats go, but a normal kraken has Con 29 and the half-fiend template adds +2).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 131, Giant Turtle: With HD 8d10+32, average hit points should be 76, not 87.  Since its reach is 10 ft., why is bite (its sole attack) reiterated as having a 10 ft. reach?  With 8 HD, it should have 3 feats, not just 2.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 136, Anguillian: With HD 3d8+6, average hit points should be 19, not 28.  Fortitude should be +3, not +5 (+1 as a 3-HD aberration, +2 Con).  Will should be +5, not +3 (+3 as a 3-HD aberration, +2 Wis).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 138, 1st-Level Aventi Warrior: He spent 6 skill points (3 each on Handle Animal and Intimidate), but should have 8 skill points to spend as a 1st-level warrior: (2 base, +0 Int) times 4.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 139, Blackskate: Either the "Attack" line should read "bite +6 melee (1d8+5)" and the attack bonuses should be switched in the "Full Attack" line (+6 for bite, +1 for stinger), or stinger damage should be 1d6+5 plus poison and bite damage should be 1d8+2.  Alphabetically, "damage reduction" should come before "darkvision" in the Special Qualities line.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 142, Colossal Monstrous Crab: Grapple attacks should be at +69, not +65 (+36 BAB, +16 size, +13 Str, +4 racial bonus).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 143, Darfellan: When a harpoon is used in melee, is it a two-handed weapon (as indicated under "Attack" - 1d10+3 with a +2 Str bonus) or a one-handed weapon (as indicated under "Full Attack" - 1d10+2 with a +2 Str bonus)?  I don't believe that having a bite attack as a secondary attack negates the "1.5 times your Strength bonus" rule for two-handed weapons.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 143, 3rd-Level Darfellan Barbarian: Masterwork ranseur attacks should be at +7 melee, not +6 (+3 BAB, +3 Str, +1 masterwork).  Bite attacks aren't listed as attack options; Attack should include "or bite +6 melee (1d6+3)" and Full Attack should add "and bite +1 melee (1d6+1)" at the end.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 145, Ichthyosaur: Flat-footed AC should be 15, not 12 (-1 size, +6 natural).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">pp. 148-149, Aquatic Elf Dolphin Rider, Drd1/Ftr2: Should have 4 feats, not just 2 (2 as a 3rd-level character, and 2 bonus feats as a 2nd-level fighter).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The ability scores for the hadozee warrior and first mate (before racial adjustments) are the same as the final ability scores - in other words, the racial adjustments weren't made!  Given this, the following two stat blocks need adjustment - p. 151, Hadozee 1st-Level Warrior: Dexterity should be 13, Charisma should be 6, Initiative should be +1, AC should be 14, touch AC should be 11, javelin attacks should be at +2 ranged, Reflex should be +1, Balance should be +5.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 151, Hadozee First Mate, 3rd-Level Ranger: Likewise, after actually applying the hadozee racial adjustments, the following changes need to be made: Dexterity should be 17, Charisma should be 12, Initiative should be +3, AC should be 17, touch AC should be 13, cutlass attacks should be at +7 melee (under Attack) or +5 melee and +5 melee (under Full Attack), Reflex should be +6, Balance should be +7, and Handle Animal should be +7.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 152, Hammerclaw: With HD 6d10+18, average hit points should be 51, not 54 (either that, or it should have Toughness as a bonus feat).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">pp. 157-158, Scyllan: Normally, the swallow whole rules have the AC of the stomach/mouth interior having half of the creature's natural armor bonus.  Since scyllans have a +18 natural armor bonus, their mouth interior should be AC 19, not 17.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">pp. 165-166, Albatross: Bite attacks should be at +2 melee, not +1 (+0 BAB, +1 size, +1 Dex due to Weapon Finesse).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">pp. 167-168, Sea Lion: Fortitude should be +5, not +4 (+3 as a 2-HD animal, +2 Con).  Reflex should be +5, not +6 (+3 as a 2-HD animal, +2 Dex).  Will should be +1, not +2 (+0 as a 2-HD animal, +1 Wis).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 168, Snapping Turtle: Bite attacks should be at +4 melee, not +3 (+1 BAB, +1 size, +1 Str, +1 Weapon Focus).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 169, Stingray: Hide should be +7 (+11), not +3 (+7) (+3 Dex, +4 size, with a parenthetical +4 racial bonus when lying on the sea floor).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 177, Typical Goblin Marine: It's not specified (it just says "warrior"), but it looks like this is a 1st-level Warrior.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">pp. 177-178, Kumi, female goblin adept 2: Masterwork silvered dagger attacks should be at +2 melee, not +1 (+1 BAB, +1 size, -1 size, +1 masterwork).  Masterwork silvered dagger damage should be 1d3-1, not 1d3-2 (-1 Str).  Light crossbow attacks should be at +2 ranged, not +1 (+1 BAB, +1 size, +0 Dex).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 178, Captain Naki, Goblin Form (female goblin wererat Exp1/Adp3): Reflex should be +3, not +5 (+0 as an Exp1, +1 as an Adp3, +2 as a dire rat, +0 Dex).  Will should be +12, not +9 (+2 as an Exp1, +3 as an Adp3, +2 as a dire rat, +3 Wis, +2 Iron Will).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 179, Captain Naki, Hybrid Form (female goblin wererat Exp1/Adp3): Touch AC should be 14, not 11 (+1 size, +3 Dex).  Reflex should be +6, not +8 (+0 as an Exp1, +1 as an Adp3, +2 as a dire rat, +3 Dex).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 179, Captain Naki, Dire Rat Form (female goblin wererat Exp1/Adp3): Touch AC should be 14, not 11 (+1 size, +3 Dex).  Reflex should be +6, not +8 (+0 as an Exp1, +1 as an Adp3, +2 as a dire rat, +3 Dex).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 179, Weasel familiar: Flat-footed AC should be 14, not 12 (+2 size, +2 natural).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 187, Ambraga, female sea hag Sor2: With an 18 Cha providing a bonus 1st-level spell, she should have 6/5 spells per day, not just 6/4.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 192, Fiendish Huge Shark: Will should be +6, not +4 (+3 as a 10-HD animal, +1 Wis, +2 Iron Will).  As an aside, this is also incorrect in the Huge Shark stats in the Monster Manual.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">pp. 192-193, Sahuagin Sentry, male sahuagin Ftr1: Swim speed should be 60 ft., not 30 ft.  (This is straight from the MM sahuagin entry.)  Masterwork trident attacks should be at +8 melee, not +7 (+3 BAB, +4 Str, +1 masterwork).  This bumps up to +9 melee when the sahuagin is under the effects of its blood frenzy.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 193, Sahuagin Lieutenant, male sahuagin Ftr3: Swim speed should be 60 ft., not 30 ft.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 194, Typical Underpriestess, female sahuagin Clr 3: Swim speed should be 60 ft., not 30 ft.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 196, Typical Priestess, female sahuagin Clr5: Swim speed should be 60 ft., not 30 ft.  Should only have 4+1 1st-level spells/day, not 5+1.  (I suggest dropping one of the doom spells.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 197, Sahuagin Captain, male sahuagin Ftr6: Swim speed should be 60 ft., not 30 ft.  Fortitude should be +10, not +11 (+0 as a 2-HD monstrous humanoid, +5 as a Ftr6, +3 Con, +2 Great Fortitude).  When in a blood frenzy, Fortitude should be +11, not +12.  Feats should be alphabetized.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">pp. 198-199, Naatrigitt the Fifth, female sahuagin Clr8: Swim speed should be 60 ft., not 30 ft.  Flat-footed AC should be 16, not 15 (+5 natural, +1 deflection from her ring).  Trident damage should be 1d8+5 plus 1d6 acid, not 1d8+6 plus 1d6 acid (1.5 times +3 Str = +4, +1 magic weapon bonus).  When in a blood frenzy, flat-footed AC should be 14, not 15; and hit points should be 96, not 50; and Fortitude should be +12, not +9; and it should read "+1 corrosive trident +14/+9 (1d8+7 plus 1d6 acid) and bite +10 (1d4+2)" not "mwk trident +12 melee (1d8+7) and bite +8 melee (1d4+2)" under the first "blood frenzy" Melee heading; and grapple attacks should be at +12, not +10; and 2 rakes should be at +10 melee, not +8; and Strength should be 18, not 21.  (It looks like the blood frenzy section was copied and pasted from the Sahuagin Lieutenant without being updated.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">pp. 203-204, Vashkal, male anguillian Rgr8: AC should be 23, not 25 (+3 Dex, +4 natural, +6 +2 chain shirt of buoyancy).  Touch AC should be 13, not 12.  Flat-footed AC should be 20, not 23.  Spear damage should be 1d8+8 plus 1d6 acid, not 1d8+4 plus 1d6 acid (1.5 times +5 Str = +7, +1 magic weapon bonus).  When attached to a foe, AC should be 20, not 23.  His ranger combat style isn't mentioned, but since he doesn't have two melee weapons we can assume he went the archery route; thus, add Rapid Shot and Many Shot to his list of feats as bonus feats.  Also, anguillians don't have 4 arms (at least there's nothing about that in the anguillian entry), despite what it says on page 205, and Vashkal's stat block doesn't support him having 4 arms; perhaps the author was getting mixed up with sahuagin mutants?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 204, Anguillian Champion, male anguillian Rgr4: AC should be 20, not 19 (+3 Dex, +4 natural, +3 masterwork studded leather).  Touch AC should be 13, not 12.  Speed entry shouldn't have "take -10 penalty to Survival to track at double speed" as that's gained as a Rgr8, and these guys are only Rgr4s.  Pincer attacks should be at +10/+5 melee, not +15/+10 (+6 BAB, +4 Str).  Bite attacks should be at +9 melee, not +14 (+6 BAB, +4 Str, -2 secondary attack with Multiattack, +1 Weapon Focus).  Spear attacks should be at +11/+6 melee, not +16/+11 (+6 BAB, +4 Str, +1 magic weapon bonus).  Spear damage should be 1d8+7 plus 1d6 acid, not 1d8+4 plus 1d6 acid (1.5 times +4 Str = +6, +1 magic weapon bonus).  Anguillians shouldn't have a tail slap attack!  Aquatic crossbow attacks should be at +11 ranged, not +15 (+6 BAB, +3 Dex, +2 magic weapon bonus).  When attached to a foe, AC should be 17, not 16.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">pp. 208-209, Ugrushaa, female advanced water naga: Base Attack Bonus (as a 14-HD aberration) should be +10, not +15.  Grapple attacks should be at +25, not +20 (+10 BAB, +8 size, +7 Str).  Also, it might have been nice if she didn't know exactly the same spells as her three daughters, one room away.  It wouldn't take up any more space (since they listed each spell anyway), and it would have made for a more interesting encounter.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">p. 209, Galoril, fiendish dragon turtle: The Senses line should include low-light vision.  AC should be 26, not 27 (-2 size, +1 Dex, +17 natural).  Flat-footed AC should be 25, not 26.  There's no need to list fire resistance 10 when dragon turtles are already immune to fire.  Swim speed should be 30 ft. (as a normal dragon turtle), not 40 ft.  Should have spell resistance 17; none is listed.  No reason given why its stats differ so much from a normal dragon turtle (+4 Str, +2 Dex, +4 Con, -2 Wis, +2 Cha); it almost looks like the half-fiend template was partially applied (this would also explain that AC discrepancy, as half-fiends gain a +1 to natural armor).  Claw damage should be 2d8+5, not 2d8+4 (half of its +10 Str bonus).</li> </ul>This is by far the worst bunch of monster stats I've seen in recent Wizards of the Coast books; hang your heads in shame, developers!The problem areas aren't limited to just monster stats, either.  There were a few typos, misspellings, instances where spell names weren't italicized, and the like, but their number was fortunately pretty few.  Other problem areas I noticed: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Stormcaster Lore table on page 75 claims that stormcasters can fly in storms, but this is not listed as a class feature.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The spell lists claim stormwalk is an 8th-level sorcerer/wizard spell, yet the spell description on page 122 says it's a sor/wiz 6 spell.  (I suspect it's a sor/wiz 6 spell, as it's also a drd 6 spell.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">From page 128: "When a slashing weapon made of pearlsteel is used in the water, its damage [emphasis mine] is reduced by -1 rather than the normal -2 for fighting in the water with a slashing weapon, and its damage is reduced by -2 instead of half."  I think the underlined part above should be replaced with "attack roll".</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The krakentooth magic weapon (a +2 wounding shocking burst trident) is missing Mordenkainen's sword as a prerequisite (for the wounding property).  Also, the illustration on page 130 is inaccurate, as the middle prong should be the shortest of the three, not the longest.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Here's a humorous double-typo sentence beginning: "Threat the coast as a shirt or vestment..." should be "Treat the coat as a shirt or vestment..."</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Why have sails of displacement, minor if there are no sails of displacement, major?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Mention is made in the otter's description that otters often serve as familiars, but the specific benefit they grant their masters is conspicuously absent, both in the otter's description and on Table 3-1: Aquatic Familiars on page 52.  Lacking any further guidance, I'd suggest either a +3 to Balance checks or a +3 to Climb checks.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There's a 4-line paragraph in the "Animals" section of the monster chapter explaining how some herbivorous animals use their natural weapons as secondary weapons, but this doesn't actually apply to any of the animals in this book, so its inclusion isn't necessary.</li> </ul>With this many problems, you'd think I'd be giving Stormwrack a pretty low score.  However, the monster stat problems don't weigh as heavily here as they would be if this were strictly a monster book; as it is, the monster chapter takes up only 36 pages out of 224 (well, 221, anyway - the last 3 pages are ads).  And, like I said earlier in the review, all of the other chapters seemed to me to be much better than their counterparts from the earlier environment books.  Stat block errors aside, I still think Stormwrack is my favorite of the three.  It does what it sets out to do - provide the DM and players with the tools needed to run adventures above and below the waves - and what it does right, it does very well.  I'm going to go ahead and give it a low "4 (Good)" overall, with the proviso that Stormwrack is horrendously deficient in the monster stats department.  Hopefully, errata will be forthcoming soon.</blockquote>

Verification