This is not a playtest review.
Aztecs is a sourcebook on the part-historical, part-legendary Aztec culture, from Avalanche Press.
Aztecs is a 64 page book costing $16.95. It is a softcover mono book with slightly larger than normal spacing between lines. Together with the skewed sidebars with large borders and regular pieces of white space, this seems a bit less meaty than recent Avalanche releases in terms of the content amount in the pages. The mono internal art is a strange mix of doctored photos, symbolic Aztec art, and stylised pen-and-ink drawings. The cover art is as usual of good quality and questionable thematic matter. Writing quality is good as is editing, though there is a typo on the back cover which should have been caught.
The introduction gives an overview of the Aztec culture of Mexica (the Aztec name for Mexico) - concentrating on the history and harsh religious practices of the Aztecs.
Part 1: Aztec Culture, looks in more detail at that cultural aspect, covering:
* Expected behaviour in social situations (emotionally repressed and physically enduring)
* Death ceremonies (including funerary rites, sacrificial deaths, and a sidebar on ritual cannibalism)
* Weddings (including a sidebar on cosmetics which discusses an early form of chewing gum)
* War, including tactics, weaponry, and rewards (hopefully a captured foe for sacrifice)
* Education - including the complicated glyphic Aztec writing and the rare codices (books written on long strips of cloth or skin, usually recording astrological events). There is also a sidebar on Aztec clothing in this section.
* Dancing, an important Aztec pastime, usually a public dance in worship of the gods. There is also a sidebar in this section giving economic, population, linguistic, and geographical statistics for the land of Mexica.
Part 2: The Empire Of The Dying Sun, looks in more detail at the history and geography of the Aztec Empire and covers the following areas:
* Creation myth
* Government, with sidebars on Aztec law and social classes
* The capital city of Tenochtitlan - its history, temples, architecture, Tecpatl (undead guardians, with full stats), pyramids (with a sidebar discussing two pyramid styles), and avenue of the dead
* A sidebar discussing the appearance of the Aztecs
* The peaceful haven of Oaxaca - a site of education and agriculture, less war-like than the rest of the Empire. Also includes some information on the Oaxaca mines and a huge pit, at the bootom of which the body of the moon goddess Coyolxauhqui is said to lie after falling to earth. Further describes the retreat of Mitla, and the astronomical observatory on nearby Mount Alban.
* A sidebar on the sacred Quetzal bird, whose feathers are used in decoration.
* Cholula - a religious-orientated city with several pyramids guarded by Large constructed magical stone serpents (which have full stats), hot springs, a nearby volcano, and a cave of demons and dark sorcery whose walls secrete a deadly contact poison.
* A sidebar discussing the game of Tlatchtli, a very physical version of a cross between soccer and basketball.
* The mystical isle of Aztlan, the original birthplace and homeland of the Aztec people. Also covers the secret Migration scrolls that reveal the location of the island and a sidebar on the legendary hero Kokopelli who once visited Aztlan.
Part 3: Magic, Religion, and Faith, begins by looking at the Aztecs' understanding of astronomy and takes a closer look at the creation myth. Their calendar is explored in more detail and there is a sidebar showing the 20 days of the Aztec month, and another detailing the priests who interpret significant events and signs in the calendar. The Aztecs' belief in the thirteen heavens and nine hells is discussed, and each of the thirteen gods of the Aztec pantheon gets a paragraph or two, along with domains, favored weapon, and alignment. There is a short sidebar exploring the role of the Aztec priest. The three types of magical practitioners in Aztec society are then discussed in more detail - the priest, the shaman, and the sorcerer (or nagual).
Part 4: Aztec Characters, offers two new full classes:
* The Shaman - a kind of community priest who gains a Sorcerer's BAB and save progression, and hit dice, and a druid's skill points, spell progression, nature sense and venom immunity. They also gain a bonus metamagic feat every four levels from 4th level. They are also restricted to proficiency in only knives and staffs.
* The Nagual - a reality-bender who gains a druid's BAB progression, skill points, and hit die, and a sorcerer's save progression. Spellcasting progression is unique to the nagual, and they do not have to choose their spells at the beginning of the day - they can cast any spell they know as long as they have spell slots remaining. Additionally, they have five powerful class features - Seeds of Revolution (charm other with a Perform skill check) at 2nd level, Stirring The Sleeper (force another to re-roll a dice x3/day) at 5th level, Pulling Back The Veneer (immune to charm, sleep, and illusions) at 10th level, The Awakening (add +20 to a die roll x3/day) at 15th level, and Impose Reality (literally change reality temporarily by taking Con damage) at 20th level. The Nagual is subject to the suspicion and paranoia of the Aztec people and is liable to be killed for his beliefs and practices if discovered.
Also offered are two ten-level prestige classes:
* Eagle Knight - a kind of paladin for the Aztec gods, with similar class features at early levels, but with a d12 hit die, improved sight, intimidating scream, and the ability to change into a giant eagle at the higher levels. PrC req's can be achieved by 4th level.
* Jaguar Knight - evil assassin with the ability to add their Dex modifier to all saving throws at 1st level (called Hide Within Darkness for some obscure reason). They also gain darkvision, pass without trace, limited spellcasting (from 5th level), improved hearing, does not provoke attacks of opportunity and cannot be caught flat-footed (8th level), and shapechange to a big cat. PrC req's can be achieved by 4th level.
Part 5: Outfitting The Character, begins with a list of equipment unavailable in an Aztec campaign. Six new feats are offered:
* Eidetic Memory - +4 to all Knowledge checks
* Jack Of All Trades - a bit confused in the explanation, it seems to allow free use of 'trained only' skills
* Jaguar's Pounce - adds a (presumably) stackable +2 to Initiative or the first attack roll in a combat
* Monkey's Path - gives a -3 circumstance penalty to Track checks against the user
* Precise Timing - +1 to any roll, by using astronomical measurements of opportune hour for action
* Poison Resistance - +2 Resistance bonus to saves vs. poison. Can be taken multiple times.
Five new magic items and three new spells are also presented. There are two sidebars - one covering the atlatl (spear-chucker), the other rules for obsidian weapons (they add a +4 to damage for slashing or piercing weapons, but break on a check vs DC 5).
Part 6: Aztec Creatures, offers eight new creatures suitable for an Aztec campaign including the well-known Chihuahua and Llama, as well as more fantastical creatures such as the Serpent Quetzal (a flying snake), a couple of horrific demons, and the Chitectl (a large riding lizard).
Part 7: Aztec Adventures, gives eight short adventure ideas to inspire a GM to develop them further, from the return of a golden idol to the temple of a goddess, to a sinister plot by the trickster god to cause the Aztec people to move away completely from their present homeland as they did in ages past.
Conclusion:
The first half of the book is an inspiring and interesting look into Aztec history, geography, and religion. The final chapter takes some of these ideas and presents them as possible adventure ideas that exemplify the potential in this rich campaign setting.
Where the book fails is in the presentation of the d20 rules to back up this intriguing setting. From minor errors in creature stats through to completely unbalanced classes, and confused text in some of the feats, the weakness in d20 rules sours the good work done in the first half of the book. It seems that Avalanche rely on their authors to get their d20 stuff right, as the rules here were evidently not thoroughly checked for mistakes, or aspects of balance and clarity were ignored.
