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Spheres Apocrypha: Nature Talents, Fire $0.99
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Spheres Apocrypha: Nature Talents, Fire
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Spheres Apocrypha: Nature Talents, Fire
Publisher: Drop Dead Studios
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 03/29/2019 07:09:42

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the Spheres Apocrypha-series clocks in at 4 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page SRD, leaving us with 2 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

We begin this one with 7 different basic talents, all of which have the fire tag:

Dragonlung nets you a 30.-ft-cone or 60 ft.-line breath weapon that deals 1d8 fire damage per two caster levels, Reflex halves. The talent has no prerequisite and no minimum level, and thus could be useless at first level. Additionally, the breath weapon has only a 1d4 round cooldown, but no spell point cost associated. Yeah, not gonna happen anywhere near my game.

Firelord enhances CL for the purpose of magical fire size creation – and yes, there is an expansion of the fire size-table included, accounting for Colossal+ to Colossal+++ - cool! Reflash lets you relight nonmagical fires in the vicinity as an immediate action in a 15.-ft.-burst. This may reignite targets. Ride the Flames (also tagged with spirit) nets you a clumsy fly speed that basically duplicates rocket jumps plus gliding down. Smokewalk (also tagged with spirit) lets you walk on fire and byproducts, and sink in them – and you get a bit of fire resistance and may see through the like. Wreath of Flames (also tagged with spirit) allows you to use your immediate action to hit a target within your reach that hits you with an attack or combat maneuver take CL fire damage, Reflex save halves. Personally, I think that should specify that reach weapons don’t extend the wreath, but your mileage may vary. Trail Blaze (tagged as geomancing) allows you to clear a path through difficult terrain AND make critters in the area when cleared exhausted on a failed save. Neat!

We get two advanced talents: Phoenix Resurgence (fire, spirit) lets you blow up when disabled or dying as an immediate action that costs 3 spell points, returning battered, but with temporary hit points. Cool! Wildfire offers for an expensive (3 spell points), vast (1000 ft. + 100 ft. per CL) blast circle of flame.

The pdf sports 3 feats: Heat Absorption builds on Feed on Fire, and improves the healing and now nets temporary hit points over the maximum. (Can’t be cheesed, base ability costs spell points); Phoenix Flight makes the aforementioned jetpack-like flight of Ride the Flames to hover etc. Nice. Luminous Flames is a dual sphere feat that makes create fire geomancing also double as a glow. (this is not properly formatted).

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are good on a formal and rules language level. Layout adheres to the series’ two-column full-color standard, and the pdf sports a nice artwork of an azer. The pdf has no bookmarks, but needs none at this length.

Derfael Oliveira’s fire expansion is a solid offering; while Dragonlung should imho be relegated to the realm of advanced talents (being OP for a lower-powered game), it is, as a whole, a solid offering. My final verdict will hence clock in at 3.5 stars, rounded up due to in dubio pro reo.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Spheres Apocrypha: Nature Talents, Fire
Publisher: Drop Dead Studios
by James E. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/25/2018 12:28:04

Disclaimer: I purchased my copy of this product at full price.

This is the third entry in the Spheres Apocrypha series, and as the name suggests, it focuses on fire talents for the Nature Sphere. The PDF itself is four pages, two of which are actual content. On first read, some of the talents felt a little like they were leaning into other Spheres. The Dragonlung talent, for example, gives you a breath weapon - and to an extent, that also fits with the Alteration and Destruction spheres. It also makes sense with Nature, though, and I'm not overly bothered by its presence there.

Other new talents include things like a big boost to the size category of flames you can create (going up to CL 35, should that be relevant), flying on flames (rather like a Kineticist), and create a path through difficult terrain that allies can use. That's not very good on its own, but the Nature sphere has a lot of battlefield alteration abilities, and it might combo pretty well with other talents.

New advanced talents include exploding in fire and reforming with temporary HP and creating a truly massive fire (that might hit allies if they're not prepared!).

Supplementing the talents, we have three new feats. One lets you heal while using Feed on Fire, a Dual Sphere talent lets you apply effects from the Light sphere when creating fire (<- this is a great choice for a Dual Sphere power, thematically speaking, given the fire-makes-light thing), and an improvement for the fire flight.

Overall, this is a tidy, solid supplement for anyone focused on the Fire package of the Nature sphere. It's not something everyone will want, but anyone who wants to be a pyromancer will find a lot to love here.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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