Fear and Loathing in Faerûn by Kian Bergstrom
Format : PDF
Acquired 18 January 2019 ; paid $4.99 [full price]
Product released/last updated 15 January 2019
Read 21-22 January 2019 ; re-read 07-11 June 2020
Number of stars : 4
Rules extended for alcohol, drugs, psychotropics, poisons and a few arbortifacients. Magical versions of a few of those. Over 100 drugs updated from previous editions, along with 26 new substances, feats, rules for making and buying/selling drugs, random tables for generating plants and substances, and the Arcane Apothecary (a prestige class) [that I quite admire as a potentially amazing NPC].
There are also new conditions: nauseated and hungover [not specifically labeled a condition but is nothing else but] and both drunkeness and withdrawal have levels and increasing effects ala exhaustion.
If you want a lot more detail to drugs and alcohol, including hangovers and addiction, then this is a pretty good system. But before venturing down this road (or any other version) make sure your players are OK with this. Addiction, drugs, alcohol. Triggers for lots of people. But if this is something your table wants, then it is a good value.
Some mention of the possibility to inflict potential harm on anyone, beside any purchaser who is clearly intrigued enough to
buy this, and the need for a table discussion before introducing such material into the game would have been greatly appreciated. Don't get me wrong, I am one of those who bought it immediately as, for reasons, I am intrigued by the mechanics and flavor and I acquired it three days after it came out. But I would not even remotely consider using it at a table without a frank, open and honest discussion first, whether DM or player. There are certainly medicinal (or poison, but that's another discussion) bits you could pull out without using the addiction (or hangover) pieces. But it shines more as a whole than as pieces to be pulled out.
Good value if you need it. But do you and your players all agree?
Preview : Both previews show quite a bit.
Attribution : Amazing attribution of sources for both content and art. 5-star attribution (well, assuming all the citations are correct.)
TOC : Present but not hotlinked. I would certainly prefer it to be as, while there are only four entries, the page numbers each begin on are 2, 15, 68, and 73. Those are big gaps which would be well-served by being clickable.
Formatting : Seems well laid out, although the font is a bit small.
Art : There are several pieces of art, ranging from full-page to one corner of a page. They are applicable to the content and are all attributed.
Style : Mostly follows WotC style guide pretty well except for the capitalization of feats and skills.
Editing : This is where it lost its 5th star. Too many typing errors easily caught by someone not heavily involved in the product. Or good editors, even better.
Number and type of files included : One PDF
Value : If your table wants a lot more detail to drugs and alcohol, to include alcohol, drugs and addiction, then this is a good value.
Notes for the author:
p2 "An adventurer, like you used to me." Change to "be."
Glossary : Anaesthetic : missing a period.
Glossary : Elixir : "substanes" Change to "substances"
p3 Glossary : Poison : just a comment that many poisons do have medicinal uses in small amounts, and I believe there is even one, perhaps more in here, that do. Thus, the definition seems a bit limiting.
Glossary : Poisoner's kit : "... treat their effects one oneself ..." Change "one" to "on"
Basic Medicine : "As these require ..., ... in Medicine has learns a number ..." Remove "has" or change to "has learned"
p5 Tutelage : "The novice will be expected ..., t do some ..." "to do"
Research : "The materials are fragile and often one-of-a-kind the guilds of different cities ..." Probably supposed to be two sentences with a period after "one-of-a-kind" and a capital T on "the"
p6 Buying and Selling Ingredients : "On the other hand, the Xanathar Guild has eyes everywhere..." Needs a period after the ellipsis since is the end of a sentence.
p7 Complications for Buying Drugs table, entry 9 : missing a "by" in the middle.
p9 Chichiatl. The period should be a :
p10 Garnet Wine : "... of ground of garnet ..." Remove second "of"
Burning Bronze Ale : "Ale" should be "Rye"
p12 Herschel's Drinking Problem : "First, he rolls ..., he wont ..." "won't"
p16 Medicine List : text, last sentence : "as noted on the final section of this handbook." Change "on" to "in"
Alindluth : Addict Effects [AE] : "... the duration of the initual effects ..." "initial"
Appearing Ink : "... their tattoo willglow .." "will glow'
Arthorvin : Side Effects [SE] : "disasvantage" to "disadvantage"
Azuldust : IE : "(10 miunes the ...)" "minus"
SE: "disasvantage" to "disadvantage"
Baccaran : "There are slight differences ... when inhale and when eaten." "inhale" to "inhaled"
Bitterleaf Oil : Overdose Effects [OE] : "Disadvantage of all Dexterity checks." "of" to "on"
Blacktooth Fungus Paste : SE : "... all attack rolls and damage roles, ..." "roles" to "rolls"
OE : "... 1 point every 2 rounds." should be "2 points every round."
Bloodflower Leaf : Addict Effects [AE] : "... blooddflower ..." Remove a "d"
Dose of Haagen OE : "Wisdom (perception)" capitalize "Perception"
Drowth : 1st line has "droth" and once again in same paragraph.
IE : "damag" make "damage"
Fezrah : IE : "... saving throw or frightened of ..." insert "be/become" before "frightened"
OE : "fezrad" change "d" to "h"
Gnomish Moonguard : IE : "gnomish moonshine" should be "gnomish moonguard"
Grell Bile : IE: has "grell venom" twice
Jalynfein : "Jalynfein is a crystalline powder must be introduced ..." put "that" between "powder / must"
"When dry, jaynsfeir ..." to "jalynfein"
"The flesh affected by the jalynfein bubbled and swells, ..." to "bubbles"
Mad Foam : IE : capitalize "intimidation"
Mindfire : IE: "in order to case a spell ..." to "cast a spell"
Moon Honey : throughout you use both "moon honey" and "moonhoney"
Musk Muddle Salve : "... severe burns. ." Remove the second period.
Oil of Taggit : "party mamber" to "party member"
Phoenix Powder : "... root of desert plant." to "root of a desert plant.
Ralayan's Comfort : "... our own musics ..." to "music"
"The effects ... user are be quite ..." to "are quite"
Sakrash : SE: "Harming them is as morally ..." pronoun confusion. Based on a natural reading the "them" refrred to is the imbiber. Consider "Harming others ..."
Scorcher Fumes : "... swamps, scorcer fumes ..." to "scorcher fumes"
"... fit that forces them either to leave the area. If the cannot leave, ..." Either what? Since the next sentence states what happens if they can't leave you could simply remove "either" in the first sentence.
Commentary: For such widespread use across industries, this really does not seem very effective. After a minute, and every minute thereafter, there is an equal chance that the user will be overcome with a coughing fit as they were to be affected by it in the first place. None of those jobs can be done within one minute. I also understand that it is a common drug but a 50% chance (assume no bonus to CON) that it will even work does not make for a very effective substance. And if you are reasonably hardy then there is even less of a chance.
In an enclosed space (morticians, slaughterhouses, taxidermists): I would raise the DC to about a DC 16 for the Intial Effects; as I feel it needs to be far more effective [you want to fail]. For Secondary Effects (2 main options: complex and easy, but also confined vs. open space): (complex, confined space) I would make the first save DC 5 and have it go up by either 1 or 2 every round. I feel, that with great rolls, that ~7-15 minutes is pretty generous, since it would mostly be less than that. And honestly, that is not much time to do most of those jobs.
Outdoors (refuse collectors and swamp explorers)(complex, open space) I would make the DC for Secondary Effects go up more slowly since the space is open.
(simple) I would still raise the DC to about a DC 16 for the Intial Effects [again, you want to fail]. For the Secondary Effects I would leave it at DC 10 perhaps. Still seems too high a chance early on to start coughing. This needs more possibility to be effective than it does to make someone cough until they leave or collapse unconscious. Just some thoughts.
Sehan : SE: capitalize "persuasion"
Shadowbalm : "... a monstrosity that dwellsin ..." put a space between "dwells / in"
SE: two periods at end
Shrinkwort : "inefinitely" to "indefinitely"
IE : "... it shrinks in size as though under the enlarge effect ..." No! They "reduce." Same but reverse issue under SE.
Sweetheart's Confection : IE : "Neither detail of emotion nor is any degree of intensity is communicated, ..." Either rewrite or remove second "is."
Tatterskye : SE : "(as as the condition)" remove an "as"
Tekkil : OE 2nd paragraph : "tekkel" should be "tekkil"
Thever : IE : "Inhaling thever fumes proves ..." should be "provokes" most likely, or "requires"
Tongueloose : IE: "..., probably not worth involved in performing them." Maybe "worth the effort/time ...."
Trueform Oil : text 1st paragraph : Could easily drop "to" at end, or make it "onto."
SE : The advantage on DEX checks. Is this on DEX checks forced by others or by one's own actions, that is, a DEX check to evade something/somebody or say a DEX check to manipulate some fine-grained implement? One should be advantage and the latter should be disadvantage.
Tuanta Quido Miancay : IE : the atmosphere has been "effected,: not "affected"
Vlonwelv's Silvertongue : SE : capitalize "deception," "intimidation," and "persuasion"
Wurple : "inefinitely" should be "indefinitely"
IE: "A creature that drinks one a glass ..." get rid of either "one" or "a," not both
p69 App. A : Apothecary Metamagic : "You must spend arcane points ..., ... options on a spell with you cast it." should be "when you cast it."
p70 Friendly Spell : "... but does no hit point damage also have the effect ...." Rewrite OR add "and" between "damage / also" and change "have" to "has"
p70 Gentle Spell : " ..., you make a spell that deals hit point damage nonlethal." Move "nonlethal" between "deals" and "hit point"
p71 Cook : Master Chef : Capitalize "deception," "intimidation," and "persuasion"
p71 Physician : Natural Philosopher : Capitalize "naturalist" (feat)
p71 Healer : Capitalize "alchemist" and "master herbalist" (feats)
p71 Venenator : Locusta : Capitalize "expert poisoner" (feat)
p72 Bagoas : Capitalize "iron constitution" (feat)
p72 Arcane Apothecary Spell List : formatting is really wonky: first six 1st-level spells are across the top and then down the page in the first column.
p74 Random Ingredients : "To determine difficult it is to find the ingredients:" Insert "how" between "determine" and "difficult" OR rewrite as "To determine difficulty in finding the ingredients:"
|