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You're Gonna Die Screaming Pay What You Want
Average Rating:3.8 / 5
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You're Gonna Die Screaming
Publisher: Misfit Studios
by Thomas R. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/11/2017 15:16:00

From the title, it's immediately apparent that this is intended to be a joke product, or at least a lighthearted one. The pertinent question then becomes; is it funny?

It isn't. You might laugh at the idea, once, but then you're left with 22 pages of being told that the Commoner class doesn't have options. Having read this product, from cover to cover, I don't feel that I've gained anything from the experience.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
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You're Gonna Die Screaming
Publisher: Misfit Studios
by Nathan K. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/09/2014 05:53:24

Such a simple idea, and yet this supplement was required to fire the imagination. It is well written and thought provoking, well worth the asking price and yet the publisher lets you choose what you want to pay. I cannot emphasize enough how intuitive this book is, everything he tells you makes complete sense and while you may not need this book to come to the realizations that it puts forth, the way it reads quickly and explains the choices made will encourage you to try it while avoiding some of the pitfalls of trial and error. I highly recommend this for experienced gamers ready to try something different and for DMs so that they realize that while not as effective as PC classes even the weakest of NPC classes is capable of at least existing (I know I've encountered games where even random shmoes seem to be built with fighter levels)



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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You're Gonna Die Screaming
Publisher: Misfit Studios
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 10/08/2014 13:47:00

An Endzeitgeist.com

This Pay-what-you-want-optimization guide clocks in at 22 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page advertisement, leaving us with 17 pages of content, so what exactly do we get here?

Firts of all - this is exactly what it says on the tin - an optimization guide. In case you're not familiar with these, usually, a color code of Red, Green, Blue and Purple is applied to skills, feats, spells etc.pp. to denote at a glance the feasibility of options available.

That being said, personally, I'm not too big a fan of optimization to the oomphteenth degree, mainly because some of my players are into it - adhering strictly to these can get in the way of making a character rounded, if you adhere too strictly to a guide. Those little touches like your PC being a baker's boy - they don't contribute to the combat capabilities and thus are often left by the wayside. Rogue Genius Games proposed bonus skills per level for exactly such "non-relevant" skills and introducing this house-rule into my game helped quite a bit.

That out of the way, the more pressing question on your mind will probably be "Why play a commoner?" And the pdf delivers answers - in brevity, here are my answers, for I have actually already pulled off this stunt. 1) The challenge. My players are extremely capable and taking away all those class features makes for a very challenging game-play less based on system mastery and more on guerrilla warfare and player smarts. 2) Get a perspective. I do like my main campaign (the non playtesting one) gritty and beyond 15-point-buy, players are wont to forget why those commoners keep on buggering them to kill threat xyz - even 15-point-buy heroes are exactly that - HEROES. This means they have so much more capabilities to deal with threats than average joe. Playing a commoner can make that apparent and drive home the reason why those guys don't deal with threats themselves. 3) Go for a tactics-high game. Every item, every purchase in a commoner game is relevant - each little bonus precious. 4) A change of pace. The PCs have been captured and those guys they saved time and again may now be their only hope - as an alternative to a TPK, the "PCs are captured"-scenario that has the players save their characters via commoners is better because the adversary not necessarily has underestimated the PCs, but failed to take those nameless, faceless losers into account - and that, ladies and gentlemen, is rather easy to justify and believe...

So these are my basic suggestions, so what does the pdf offer - well, essentially an optimization break down of attributes, core races, skills - one by one, with feasible and well-thought suggestions. It should also be noted that general combat styles (as in not-style-feats) receive their break-downs - suddenly those light crossbows and halfling slingstaffs don't look so bad anymore, don't they? Fascinating, what a few lacking attributes, feats and proficiencies can do...

It should be noted that even non-recommended styles d receive concise break-downs of options to make them work. Traits mainly are glanced over, with highlights pointed out.. Beyond these options, advice on granting at least a bit of starting gold, weapon-selection and magical/mundane items rounds out this pdf.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to Misfit Studios' two-column full-color standard with artworks ranging from b/w to full-color and being stock as far as I could tell. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience.

This is intended as a teaser and first introduction to the matter at hand for author J. M. Perkin's "The Adequate Commoner" kickstarter to making commoners not suck...so much. As an optimization Guide, it does a decent job and is actually a good read, though you should be aware that it does not go through all options available at the level of detail found in some guides online - it can be considered a basic optimization guide that is well-written and actually fun to read. It offers smart advice for truly low-power-level gaming and as such can be considered a well-crafted book. This being a "Pay what you want"-file, it can be obtained for free, though I do suggest some sort of donation. But how much? Basically, this guide is good at what it is intended to do - it's a teaser, a help, an introduction and does that job well. If you have expected a full-blown, ultra-detailed 100+page guide of covered options, well, then this pdf does not deliver - surprise.

What it's intended to do, it does well and hence, my final verdict will clock in at 4.5 pages, rounded up to 5 for the purpose of this platform.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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You're Gonna Die Screaming
Publisher: Misfit Studios
by chris m. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/25/2014 11:42:23

This guide is amazing!!! I picked it up free 99 and read through it and had to go back and pay some coin for this gem!

In the familiar style of most other Pathfinder class guides out there, this manual goes through telling you what is best [blue], fair [green or black] and worst [red] for a character built as a commoner in a campaign that focuses on playing commoners in a legitimate and serious manner. it ha slots of funny writing too and I found myself laughing a few times through out. This guide also gives you some real ideas as GM for what NPC commoners might do to maximize their survival.

I'm pretty much fatigued on playing d20 games, but this book has renewed my interest in delving into pathfinder for something fresh to do with the system! Highly recommend!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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