TESTS OF SKILL
By Paul O. Knorr, Michael J. Varhola, and the Skirmisher Game Development Group
Skirmisher Games product number SKP0402
106 pages, $19.95
Tests of Skill is a--well, let me just quote from the back of the book: "
Tests of Skill is an adventure module and sourcebook designed to entertain and challenge players through scenarios and encounters that can be overcome optimally through role-playing, skill use, and diplomacy. While traditional hack-and-slash techniques can be used to complete portions of the scenarios, most groups will find that tact, thought, and appropriate use of skills, feats, and abilities are generally much more useful and effective."
However, that makes
Tests of Skill sound just like a bunch of skill-based adventures, when in fact it's quite a hodgepodge of ideas. There's a campaign regional map (based on a part of England, with many classic Greek influences, especially among the gods worshipped), a bunch of loosely-interconnected adventure encounters that can be strung together in various ways (in fact, that's how the "scenarios" are built: a rough plotline and goal are given, and then a bunch of these encounters are lined up in a row for the players to send their PCs through), plus various appendices covering such things as weather, sample NPC parties, 3 prestige classes, 16 skills, 22 feats, 2 monsters (the "half-troll" template and the dire hyena), and a system for gaining experience by reading books.
The front cover of
Tests of Skill is a painting by Sharon Daugherty (entitled "Marauding Gnoll Crocuta" - it was very classy listing the title of the piece on page 2). It depicts a band of three adventurers - judging from their appearances, I'd guess a male elf ranger (with Two-Weapon Fighting), a female elf or half-elf sorcerer or wizard (casting
burning hands, rather ineffectually I might add), and a female human or halfling (the perspective makes it difficult to accurately assess size) sorcerer or wizard (casting a
black tentacles spell) - fighting a gnoll wielding an oversized axe. Several things jump out at me from this piece: the gnoll has the coloration and markings of a white tiger rather than a hyena; while the battle takes place either in the arctic or on a high mountaintop, none of the adventurers are properly dressed for such an environment; and it's either very selectively windy (blowing the elven caster's dress but not her (or anyone else's) hair, or else she uses a whole lot of starch in her dress! It's an okay piece, but not the best cover I've ever seen. (Sharon did a really nice job on the color scheme, though, and I like her ice-mountain in the background.)
The back cover is a colored (and reversed) version of the artwork on page 4, taken from the Dover Pictorial Archive Series (according to the information on page 2). It features a bard playing a harp for a royal assemblage, and I have to admit I preferred the black-and-white version on page 4 over the colored version on the back, if only because the color scheme seems rather limited, and the blurb on the back goes right over everybody but the bard, making it not only difficult to appreciate the background figures but also difficult to read the blurb.
As for the interior artwork, there are three named artists (Sharon Daugherty, Todd Diamond, and Geoff Weber) that are responsible for some of the 23 black-and-white illustrations that appear in the book (the rest of the artwork being taken from either the aforementioned Dover Pictorial Archive Series or from unnamed sources within the public domain). It's perhaps telling that the best artwork in
Tests of Skill is taken from the unnamed sources; Todd's sole contribution - the half-troll on page 100 - is pretty good, but Sharon's work for the most part reminds me of pictures you might find in a kid's coloring book (although I did rather like her bear on page 36) and Geoff provides only two hastily-scribbled sketches, of a gnoll (whose head looks rather more like a Scottie dog) and a dire hyena. It's worth pointing out that some of the illustrations are full-page works, which many see as a bonus, but which tend to eat up a bit more space than my liking in a $19.95 book with only 106 pages. There's also a friezework border along the bottom of each page, depicting various adventurers in action poses, made to look as if they've been carved or painted on leather.
The first thing that I noticed about the writing in
Tests of Skill is that they opted to ignore some standard conventions in d20 books, like not capitalizing spell names (which they do in here, but at least they're consistent), capitalizing skill names (which they only do occasionally in this book), only putting actual feats in the "Feats" line in stat blocks (here we also get weapon and armor proficiencies thrown in with the feats, for no good reason I can ascertain), or choosing a single term for "DM" and sticking with it throughout the book (this book uses "DM," "GM," "gamemaster," and "referee" interchangeably throughout). The latter makes it pretty obvious that different sections of the book were written by different people, and not a whole lot of effort was made toward standardization. (This is also true in the stat blocks, where sometimes we get a Base Attack Bonus like normal and other times we get a "melee attack bonus" and a "ranged attack bonus" with the Strength and Dexterity modifiers already factored in.)
The layout is also a bit confusing at times, especially at the beginnings of a chapter when the text will go down column one for, say, a dozen lines before bumping over to column two for a dozen lines and then popping back over to column one. Sure, they have a blank line between the two sections, but a nice, solid line or a row of asterisks or something breaking up the page would have helped. Or, for that matter, there would have been nothing wrong with just going down column one and then moving over to column two like normal - there was nothing really gained by splitting it up that way.
The proofreading job was rather hit-or-miss, with quite a few errors getting past the (uncredited and thus purely hypothetical) proofreader, ranging from incorrect word usage ("complete" instead of "completely," "her" instead of "his" when referring to a male ranger's band, "he" instead of "she" just to balance out the gender confusion, "expect" instead of "except," "and" instead of "an"), misspelled words ("aninal" instead of "animal," "skilsl" instead of "skills," "Crocuta" instead of "Crocutaea" - and after explicitly spelling out the proper pluralization of "Crocuta," too!), incorrect apostrophe usage, and extraneous words (you only need one "be" in the phrase "can be most easily and realistically be done"). Then there were things like calling "Dragon" and "Demon" racial languages, when the proper terminology is "Draconic" and "Abyssal," and a couple of read-aloud texts that didn't get italicized like all of the others in the book. We also have a 20' by 30' by
2', 3-room building and a 40' by 60' by
2', 2-floor, 10-room mansion listed in the back. Who lives in buildings with such dimensions, paper doll cutouts? Finally, there are some things referenced in
Tests of Skill that don't actually show up anywhere in the book at all, like the Profession (Courtesan) skill. All in all, the proofreading and editing jobs could have been much better.
But then we come to the creature stat blocks (although for some reason the term "statblocs" is used throughout
Tests of Skill - that's a spelling I've never seen before!). Here's an interesting quote from page 13: "NPCs were generated using the standard version 3.5 rules and are 'by the book.'" I'll let you decide the merits of including that "by the book" phrase as you scan through the list of "unofficial errata" that I recommend applying to the following creature stat blocks:
- p. 15, Invee Ablehas, nixie Sorcerer 4: HD should be 1d6+1 plus 4d4+7, to account for the 3 hp from the Toughness feat. BAB should be +2, not +1 (+0 as a 1-HD fey, +2 as a Sor4). Grapple attacks should be at -4, not -1 (+2 BAB, -4 size, -2 Str). Water breathing should be listed as a Special Quality, not a Special Attack. "Spell-like abilities" should be dropped from Special Attacks as well, since both charm person and water breathing are already accounted for. Ref should be +6, not +4 (+2 as a 1-HD fey, +1 as a Sor4, +3 Dex). Will should be +7, not +5 (+2 as a 1-HD fey, +4 as a Sor4, +1 Wis). "Speaks Common" should be "Speaks Aquan, Common, and Sylvan." Dodge should be annotated as a bonus feat.
- p. 16, Doctor Fantastiko, human Rogue 4/Humbug 2: "+6 missile" should be "+6 ranged." The term "Thief" should be "Rogue." Flat-footed AC should be 12, not 10 (he keeps his +2 Dex due to uncanny dodge).
- p. 17, Invictus the Monkey: BAB should be +0, not +1 (as a 1-HD animal). Grapple attacks should be at -12, not -3 (+0 BAB, -8 size, -4 Str). Bite attacks should be at +4 melee, not +3 (+0 BAB, +2 size, +2 Dex with Weapon Finesse). Acid vial attacks should be at +4 ranged, not +3 (+0 BAB, +2 size, +2 Dex).
- p. 17, Orc Warrior 1: Grapple attacks should be at +4, not +3 (+1 BAB, +3 Str). Greataxe attacks should be at +4 melee, not +3 (+1 BAB, +3 Str). Stat block shows shortbow attacks, yet possessions include a javelin but no shortbow or arrows.
- p. 18, Grish, male orc Barbarian 1/Sorcerer 4: HD should be 1d12 plus 4d4, not 1d12+1 plus 4d4+4 (+0 Con). Initiative should be -2, not +0 (-2 Dex). Masterwork greatclub attacks should be at +5 melee, not +6 (+3 BAB, +0 Str, +1 Weapon Focus, +1 masterwork bonus). Fort should be +3, not +5 (+2 as a Bbn1, +1 as a Sor4, +0 Con). Sorcerer spells/day should be 6/7/4, not 3/2 (6/6/3 as a Sor4, plus 0/1/1 for having Cha 16).
- p. 19, Scab, rat familiar: "Animal" should be "Augmented Animal" (as he's a familiar). No touch or flat-footed AC values given; should be touch 14 (+2 size, +2 Dex), flat-footed 14 (+2 size, +2 natural). Speed should include "swim 15 ft." BAB should be +3, not +5 (as per his master, Grish, above). Grapple attacks should be at -9, not -7 (+3 BAB, -8 size, -4 Str).
- p. 21, Wolf Spider: BAB should be +3, not +4 (as a 4-HD vermin). Grapple attacks should be at +9, not +6 (+3 BAB, +4 size, +2 Str).
- p. 21, Titania the Faerie Queen, pixie Druid 7: With her barkskin spell, touch AC should still be 16, not 19 (natural armor is ignored for touch AC). BAB should be +5, not +6 (as a Druid 7). Grapple attacks should be at +1, not +5 (+5 BAB, -4 size, +0 Str).
- p. 22, Puck, dire badger animal companion: HD should be 7d8+31, not 3d8+12 plus 2d8+8 (animal companion to a Druid 7 implies 4 HD added to the dire badger's base 3 HD, then add on the +4 Con bonus and the +3 hp from the Toughness feat). AC should be 21, not 19 (+4 Dex, +7 natural). Touch AC should be 14, not 13 (+4 Dex). Flat-footed AC should be 17, not 16 (+7 natural). BAB should be +5, not +4 (as a 7-HD animal). Grapple attacks should be at +8, not +6 (+5 BAB, +3 Str). Claw attacks should be at +8 melee, not +5 (+5 BAB, +3 Str). Bite attacks should be at +3 melee, not +0 (+5 BAB, +3 Str, -5 for secondary attack). Bite damage should be 1d6+1, not 1d6+2 (half of the +3 Str bonus for a secondary attack). Fort should be +9, not +5 (+5 as a 7-HD animal, +4 Con). Ref should be +9, not +5 (+5 as a 7-HD animal, +4 Dex). Will should be +6, not +2 (+5 as a 7-HD animal - dire badgers have good saves for all three - +1 Wis). When raging, hp should be 64, not 70; AC should be 19, not 17; touch AC should be 12; flat-footed AC should be 15; claw attacks should be at +10 melee, not +7; bite attacks should be at +5 melee, not +2; bite damage should be 1d6+2, not 1d6+4; Fort should be +11, not +7. Track should be annotated as a bonus feat (as per the dire badger stat block in the Monster Manual), and thus it should have an extra feat (for having 7 Hit Dice).
- pp. 23-24, Human Warrior 1: As a human War1, he should have 2 feats, not 3.
- p. 24, Bandit Archers (human 1st-level Warriors): There are 2 males and 2 females, yet only 3 sets of hit points. As human War1s, they should have 2 feats, not 3.
- pp. 24-25, Suigenerix, Young Green Dragon: Breath weapon shouldn't be listed as a ranged attack, but solely as a Special Attack.
- p. 26, Griffon: BAB should be +7, not +6 (as a 7-HD magical beast). Grapple attacks should be at +15, not +10 (+7 BAB, +4 size, +4 Str).
- p. 27, Captain Marellyn, female human Bard 3: No Grapple listed; should be +3 (+2 BAB, +1 Str).
- pp. 27-28, Pirates, human 1st-level Warriors: No BAB listed; should be +1. No Grapple listed; should be +3 (+1 BAB, +2 Str).
- p. 29, Scao, owl familiar: "Animal" should be "Augmented Animal" (as a familiar). HD should be 4d8, not 5d8 (Maria's ranger level doesn't count, merely her Sor1/Wiz3 levels). No touch/flat-footed AC values listed; should be touch 15 (+2 size, +3 Dex), flat-footed 14 (+2 size, +2 natural). BAB should be +2 (like Maria's), not +5. Grapple attacks should be at -9, not +1 (+2 BAB, -8 size, -3 Str). Claw attacks should be at +7 melee, not +1 (+2 BAB, +2 size, +3 Dex with Weapon Finesse).
- p. 29, Brightscale, male kobold Rogue 3: Initiative should be +3, not +7 (+3 Dex, no Improved Initiative feat). AC should be 19, not 18 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +1 natural, +3 studded leather armor, +1 buckler). Flat-footed AC should be 16, not 15 (+1 size, +1 natural, +3 studded leather armor, +1 buckler). BAB should be +2 (as a Rog3), not +3. Grapple attacks should be at -3, not +2 (+2 BAB, -4 size, -1 Str). Light crossbow attacks should be at +7 ranged, not +8 (+2 BAB, +1 size, +3 Dex, +1 masterwork bonus).
- p. 30, Longtooth, female kobold Sorcerer 2: AC should be 15, not 14 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +1 natural). Flat-footed AC should be 12, not 11 (+1 size, +1 natural). BAB should be +1 (as Sor2), not +2. Grapple attacks should be at -6, not -2 (+1 BAB, -4 size, -3 Str). Dagger attacks should be at -1 melee, not -2 (+1 BAB, +1 size, -3 Str). As a Sor2, should only have 1 feat, not 2.
- p. 30, Timbluck, cat familiar: "Animal" should be "Magical Beast (Augmented Animal)" (as a familiar). Flat-footed AC should be 13, not 12 (+2 size, +1 natural). BAB should be +1 (same as a Sor2), not +0. Grapple attacks should be at -11, not -12 (+1 BAB, -8 size, -4 Str). Claw attacks should be at +5 melee, not +4 (+1 BAB, +2 size, +2 Dex due to Weapon Finesse). Bite attacks should be at +0 melee, not -1 (+1 BAB, +2 size, +2 Dex, -5 for secondary attack).
- p. 32, Dire Hyena: HD should be 6d8+21, not 6d8+18 (+3 Con, Toughness feat). Flat-footed AC should be 17, not 14 (-1 size, +3 natural, +5 +1 chain shirt barding). Grapple attacks should be at +16, not +12 (+4 BAB, +4 size, +8 Str). Bite attacks should be at +12 melee, not +13 (+4 BAB, -1 size, +8 Str, +1 Weapon Focus). Fort should be +8, not +9 (+5 as a 6-HD animal, +3 Con). Ref should be +7, not +8 (+5 as a 6-HD animal, +2 Dex). Will should be +6 or +3, not +7 (if a good save, +5 as a 6-HD animal, +1 Wis; if a poor save, +2 as a 6-HD animal, +1 Wis). As a 6-HD animal, it should have 3 feats, not 5 - two should be dropped or annotated as bonus feats.
- p. 32, Deorn, male human Commoner 1: BAB should be +0, Grapple attacks should be at -3 (neither stat was provided). "Subdual" should be "nonlethal." Why no feats? (As a human Com1, he should have 2.)
- p. 33, Krakelheur, male gnoll Adept 4/Crocuta 3: Touch AC should be 12, not 11 (+2 Dex). Grapple attacks should be at +7, not +5 (+5 BAB, +2 Str). Masterwork heavy flail attacks should be at +8 melee, not +7 (+5 BAB, +2 Str, +1 masterwork bonus). Fort should be +6, not +5 (+3 gnoll, +1 Adp4, +1 Crocuta 3, +1 Con). Ref should be +4, not +3 (+0 gnoll, +1 Adp4, +1 Crocuta 3, +2 Dex). He should only have had one scorching ray prepared as an adept, not 2 (a moot point, since he cast it already).
- p. 34, Commander Valentinian, male human Fighter 6/Mercenary Commander 2: Speed should be 20 ft. mot 30 ft. (he's wearing full plate armor). Masterwork heavy crossbow attacks should be at +9 ranged, not +10 (+8 BAB, +1 masterwork bonus - you don't get 2 masterwork bonuses for the crossbow and the bolts). Under full Attack, masterwork heavy crossbow attacks should be at +9/+5 ranged, not +10/+5. "Simple Weapon Proficiency (class)" is listed twice; one should be "Martial Weapon Proficiency (class)" - although again, these really shouldn't be listed under "Feats."
- p. 35, Hornsplitter, male half-elf Ranger 4: Touch AC should be 13, not 10 (+3 Dex). Flat-footed AC should be 14, not 12 (+4 +1 studded leather armor). Mighty masterwork composite longbow attacks should be at +8 ranged, not +9 (+4 BAB, +3 Dex, +1 masterwork bonus - you don't get an additional +1 masterwork bonus for having masterwork arrows as well).
- p. 37, Mother Bear (brown bear): Grapple attacks should be at +15, not +10 (+4 BAB, +4 size, +7 Str).
- p. 38, Rockhew the Hill Giant: Fort should be +12, not +8 (+8 as a 12-HD giant, +4 Con).
- pp. 38-39, Captain Scar, male human Rogue 3/Fighter 5: Masterwork composite shortbow attacks should be at +9 ranged, not +3 (+7 BAB, +1 Dex, +1 masterwork bonus); under Full Attack, they should be at +9/+4 ranged, not +3/-2/-6. Full Attack trident attacks should be at +12/+7 melee, not +11/+6 (+7 BAB, +2 Str, +2 magic weapon bonus, +1 Weapon Focus). Trident damage should be 1d8+6, not 1d8+7 (+2 Str, +2 magic weapon bonus, +2 Weapon Specialization).
- p. 44, Aerrokaer, female gnoll Cleric 4/Crocuta 1: HD should be 7d8+14, not 7d8+7 (+2 Con). Initiative should be +0, not +5 (+0 Dex). Grapple attacks should be at +6, not +5 (+4 BAB, +2 Str). Masterwork light flail attacks should be at +7 melee, not +6 (+4 BAB, +2 Str, +1 masterwork bonus). Heavy crossbow attacks should be at +4 ranged, not +5 (+4 BAB, +0 Dex).
- p. 47, Makrob the Trollkeeper, male half-troll Fighter 4: AC should be 20, not 18 (+1 Dex, +3 natural, +4 chain shirt, +2 heavy steel shield). Flat-footed AC should be 19, not 17. BAB should be +4; Grapple should be +10 (neither was listed).
- p. 48, Tarnberg, male human Barbarian 1/Druid 5: Masterwork mighty composite longbow attacks should be at +6 ranged, not +7 missile (+4 BAB, +1 Dex, +1 masterwork bonus).
- p. 48, Chubbs, male boar animal companion: HD should be 5d8+18, not 3d8+9 (+2 HD as an animal companion to a Drd5 added to the boar's base 3 HD, +3 Con bonus, Toughness feat). Average hit points should be 40, not 28. AC should be 18, not 16 (+8 natural); ditto with flat-footed AC. BAB should be +3, not +2 (as a 5-HD animal). Grapple attacks should be at +6, not +4 (+3 BAB, +3 Str). Gore attacks should be at +6 melee, not +4 (+3 BAB, +3 Str). Gore damage should be 1d8+4, not 1d8+3 (1.5 times +3 Str bonus). Fort should be +7, not +6 (+4 as a 5-HD animal, +3 Con). Ref should be +4, not +3 (+4 as a 5-HD animal). Str should be 16, not 15; Dex should be 11, not 10 (+1 Str/Dex for being an animal companion to a Drd5).
- p. 50, Gruffee, male human Expert 5/Warrior 2: Speed should be 30 ft, not 20 ft. Flat-footed AC should be 12, not 13 (-1 Dex, +1 padded armor, +2 heavy wooden shield).
- p. 51, Nordbaum the Treant: Flat-footed AC should be 20, not 21 (-2 size, -1 Dex, +13 natural). Trample damage should be 2d6+13, not 2d6+5, with a Reflex save at DC 22, not DC 20.
- p. 62, Marshal Cettmac Grimtooth, male human Ranger 6: BAB should be +6, not +6/+2. +1 longsword attacks should be at +10 melee, not +8 (+6 BAB, +2 Str, +1 Weapon Focus, +1 magic weapon bonus).
- p. 62, Swithwulf, light warhorse animal companion: No touch/flat-footed AC values listed; should be touch 11 (-1 size, +2 Dex), flat-footed 15 (-1 size, +6 natural). Hoof attacks should be at +5 melee, not +4 (+3 BAB, -1 size, +3 Str). Bite attacks should be at +0 melee, not -1 (+3 BAB, -1 size, +3 Str, -5 for secondary attacks).
- p. 67, Huge Centipede: HD should be 6d8, not 4d8 (monstrous centipedes with 4 HD are Large, not Huge). Fort should be +5, not +4 (+5 as a 6-HD vermin, +0 Con). Ref should be +4, not +3 (+2 as a 6-HD vermin, +2 Dex). Will should be +2, not +1 (+2 as a 6-HD vermin, +0 Wis). Poison Fortitude save should be DC 13, not DC 18 (10 + 3 + 0) - this differs from the standard Huge centipede's DC 14 because for whatever reason this one has a Con 10 instead of a Con 12.
- p. 74, Geoff, male wolf animal companion: No touch/flat-footed AC values listed; should be touch 13 (+3 Dex), flat-footed 14 (+4 natural). Since Track is a bonus feat, he should have one other feat with his 4 HD (Alertness or Run would be logical choices, based on the Dire Wolf stat block in the Monster Manual).
- p. 74, "Prester" Nevella, female human Cleric 3: Masterwork heavy mace attacks should be at +3 melee, not +2 (+2 BAB, +1 masterwork bonus).
- p. 75, Thorn, owl familiar: Touch AC should be 15 (+2 size, +3 Dex), flat-footed AC should be 16 (+2 size, +4 natural); neither was listed. Claw attacks should be at +8 melee, not +6 (+3 BAB, +2 size, +3 Dex with Weapon Finesse). Fort should be +2, not +1 (+2 as an animal, +0 Con). Ref should be +5, not +4 (+2 as an animal, +3 Dex).
- p. 75, Gumawine, female human Wizard 4 (Necromancer): Flat-footed AC should be 11, not 12 (+1 bracers of armor).
- p. 76, Broga, cat familiar: Touch AC should be 14 (+2 size, +2 Dex), flat-footed AC should be 14 (+2 size, +2 natural); neither was listed. BAB should be +2, not +3 (as a Wiz4). Grapple attacks should be at -10, not -9 (+2 BAB, -8 size, -4 Str). "Familiar Abilities" should include Alertness.
- p. 76, Frofre, male half-elf Cleric 2/Fighter 1: BAB should be +2, not +3 (+1 as Clr2, +1 as Ftr1). Grapple attacks should be at +3, not +4 (+2 BAB, +1 Str).
- pp. 76-77, Wynn Blanden, female human Rogue 3: No BAB listed; should be +2.
- p. 77, Heavy Cavalryman: BAB should be +1, Grapple should be +3 (neither was listed).
- pp. 77-78, Light Cavalryman: BAB should be +1, Grapple should be +3 (neither was listed).
- p. 78, Heavy Infantryman: BAB should be +1, Grapple should be +3 (neither was listed).
- p. 78, Light Infantryman: BAB should be +1, Grapple should be +3 (neither was listed).
- p. 78, Yeoman Farmer: BAB should be +1, Grapple should be +3 (neither was listed).
- p. 78, Typical Commoner (human Commoner 2): Fort should be +0, not +2.
- pp. 99-100, Dire Hyena: Grapple attacks should be at +16, not +12 (+4 BAB, +4 size, +8 Str). Bite attacks should be at +12 melee, not +16 (+4 BAB, -1 size, +8 Str, +1 Weapon Focus). Fort should be +8, not +9 (+5 as a 6-HD animal, +3 Con). Ref should be +7, not +8 (+5 as a 6-HD animal, +2 Dex). Will should be +6 or +3, not +7 (if a good save, +5 as a 6-HD animal, +1 Wis; if a poor save, +2 as a 6-HD animal, +1 Wis). With 6 HD, it should have 3 feats, not 4 - one should be dropped or annotated as a bonus feat. Trip attacks should be with a +11 check modifier, not +15 (+4 BAB, -1 size, +8 Str).
Were this a straight monster book, the stat blocks alone would be enough for its rating to plummet straight to a "2 (Poor)." Fortunately, the stat blocks are just a small part of
Tests of Skill, and since the whole point of the book is to develop encounters where skills come into play more so than straight combat, there's a likelihood that the combat stats won't come into play that much (a good thing, too, given the state of the stats!).
One thing definitely worth pointing out - and I'm surprised this isn't spelled out either on the book's cover or on the product listing over on the Skirmisher site - is that these encounters were all designed for 4 PCs of levels 3-5. While quite a lot of information in
Tests of Skill is equally useful to PCs of any level (the prestige classes, skills and feats, book-learning rules, etc.), the DM/GM/Referee is going to have to do quite a bit of work if he wants to modify the encounters for PC parties of much higher levels.
My final gripe with
Tests of Skill - last one, I promise! - is that many of the encounters could really have used an encounter map. This is especially true of those with underground chambers, like the Abandoned Mine on pages 13-15.
Okay, as for the positive stuff in
Tests of Skill, I can honestly say that there are some really cool gems hidden in among the rest of the material in this book. The largest encounter in
Tests of Skill ("Troll Twin Gap") has a map entirely composed of Dwarven Forge Master Maze components. That was a very cool idea, allowing those who have the appropriate Dwarven Forge pieces to build an exact replica of the adventure map right there on the table (and even for those without, it makes for a very cool looking map). Since the book is so skill-based, they came up with a neat addition to the Aid Another rule: the standard rule is that if you succeed on a DC 10 check, you can add +2 to the roll of the PC you're aiding; they've added that if you make a DC 20 check, you can add a +4 bonus. It's a little thing, but I really like it. (That's one rule I'm incorporating into my own campaign!) While the half-troll template was so-so (it was nicely done, but I'm getting oversaturated with "half-whatever" templates), I really liked the dire hyena, especially since it's such a nice fit with gnolls. And speaking of gnolls, the Gnoll Crocuta prestige class was very nicely handled, making it tie in very well with the gnoll demon lord Yeenoghu (without referring to him by name, of course, since he's not part of the SRD): the flails, the associations with ghouls, they're all there. It's another little thing, but I also really liked the use of the strikeout font to denote spells that have already been cast.
Finally, the scenarios and encounters all get bonus points for actually using the extra material in the appendices. All three prestige classes make appearances in the various encounters (there are even two different gnoll crocutaea), as do the two new monsters, and the weather rules show up in one of the connect-a-bunch-of-encounters-together-to-form-an-overall-adventure scenarios. There's even a book in one encounter that uses the "read a book, gain XP" rules from the last appendix.
However, taken as a whole, I put
Tests of Skill in the low "3 (Average)" range. Stronger stat checking, proofreading, layout, and artwork could have helped this book significantly; as it is, I'm afraid the negatives far outweigh the positives. I can only hope the Skirmisher Game Development Group will take a bit more time
developing the material in future books.
