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The Chains that Bind: A Pact of the Chain expansion $4.99
Average Rating:4.3 / 5
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The Chains that Bind: A Pact of the Chain expansion
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The Chains that Bind: A Pact of the Chain expansion
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by Sandwich H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/14/2021 23:18:06

To be honest, I think this supplement is far more useful as a source of inspiration than as any sort of direct resource for adding content to a game, as in "drag-and-drop" familiars that are ready for the table.

There are spelling, grammar, and formatting mistakes on almost every statblock. The wording of abilities doesn't even attempt to emulate the language or syntax found in WOTC products. In some cases, this can cause enormous discrepancies about the power of a feature based on how you interpret it, such as if only one or multiple creatures must make a saving throw, or whether a creature gets advantage on its next check made within the next minute or all checks made within the next minute. Many abilities that are clearly intended as actions are listed as traits, and in some cases, this would (rules as written) allow a familiar to use an ability infinitely (because there is no action cost associated with the feature).

Despite this, I don't even think most of these familiars give the most popular Chain familiar - the Imp - a run for its money. The Imp's Challenge Rating doesn't just come from its Magic Resistance (which all these familiars have) but also from its damage resistances and immunities, its flight, and its high damage from its poison. Most of these familiars lack one or all of these aspects. All these familiars are listed as CR 1 but I think the truth is most are far below that, only offering a single "thing" they really do well compared to the imp's use as a scout, a spy, a damage dealer, and a speaking companion.

Forget the Imp, really, - many of the familiars can't even stand up compared to others in the same document. Who would take a melee frog familiar with 7 HP that can swallow Tiny creatures when you could take a ranged familiar with 7 HP that essentially bypasses resistance and immunity to cold damage and can send out ice cantrips at will? Some of the few powerful options include an elephant that can effectively cast ranged Guidance that also protects against saving throws, and a Shadowfell abomination that, horrifyingly, causes all creatures within 5 feet of it to have disadvantage on ALL rolls (!!!)

More frustratingly, at least a moderate amount of the balance of these familiars appears to have been designed around a homebrew Eldritch Invocation that allows a familiar's proficiency bonus to match yours, and effectively grants the familiar Ability Score Increases whenever you would get one. This is fine as a concept but somewhat bothersome if you realize that many familiars might have been made weaker only because they become more powerful with this Invocation, a feature that is now essentially mandatory for every serious Chain Pact warlock, instead of being balanced around the base 5E rules first.

I've mentioned a lot of negatives. What are some positives about this supplement?

For one, the sheer creativity behind each familiar is fantastic. Many of them made me smile reading them, and a few made me laugh out loud. The descriptions of the familiars' origins and their attitudes provide a lot of great flavor for players and DMs alike. One of the changes to default familiar rules that I am actually a fan of is that familiars become more independent with their own personalities and goals (rather than a spirit given a particular form) and could potentially end their service if mistreated. This is open to some abuse by a merciless DM, based on how the player might want to use their familiar, but I think a DM permissive enough to grant use of these familiars is unlikely to be too harsh with this new rule.

My favorite aspect of all is the art, which is absolutely gorgeous and evocative, and allows even the weirdest concepts (like a kaleidoscope squid-aberration and a demon that's effectively made up of humanoid organs) to come to life in vivid detail. I would have paid the full price just for larger, transparent versions of the familiar artworks (so I can use them for my own monsters).

Unfortunately, I more or less gave this work the stars I did for the art and ideas alone. However, this wasn't advertised as "30 familiar concepts and accompanying artwork to spark your imagination", but rather as a finished work.

For a player who wants to use these familiars, the effort required by their DM to vet each familiar choice, rebalance any issues, clarify any ambiguous wordings, and so on seems like quite the downside to an already big ask (allowing homebrew at the table). For a DM who wants to offer these familiars as choices for their warlock players, the aforementioned effort is such that even a DM only slightly experienced with homebrewing creatures would probably be more inclined to whip up their own statblocks rather than deal with the issues present in these ones.

I think most, if not all, of the issues I pointed out here would have been caught by any reasonable amount of proofreading and peer-review. With so many places in the D&D community where people are more than willing to sit down and balance-check your content, I don't think there's any excuse to publish content described as finished in a form that's this sloppy.

Luckily, it's much easier to get better at balancing homebrew over time than it is to develop a fantastic imagination, and you've already got that part down. Best of luck with your future works.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
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Creator Reply:
I do agree, Adela's art is fantastic and one of the best selling points of this book. I must disagree with 'this does not follow WotC style guidelines, because it does. Also, just because some familiars are not exactly at the same power level, or they do not meet the same min/max power standard of 'the imp' honestly, doesnt mean anything. I am sorry you did not think that it is perfect for your min/max gameplay style, but someone is going to enjoy this book for what it is. Thank you again for leaving an absolutley garbage review, Mr. Sandwich (such a true and real account and name, I am sure)
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