Product Name: Wyrd of Questhaven
Publisher: Rite Publishing
Author: Steven D. Russell
System: Pathfinder
Setting:
Theme: Fantasy
Type: Supplement
Link: http://ritepublishing.com/
Wyrd of Questhaven is a third party supplement introducing the Wyrd race into Pathfinder. The Wyrd race came about when the Five Elven houses were commanded to bear children with the Ogre Magi of the Eastern Jade, thus creating the new race. The supplement goes into to great detail on the Wyrd culture, society, and their general qualities. They are thus a race of pompous, self-centered hybrids who view many other societies as a lower life. This concept is detailed and displayed throughout in a presentation that is easy to read and well-thought out.
While the supplement may be short it has more then enough content to make the Wyrd usable throughout an array of adventures and/or campaigns.
DESCRIPTION
A brief but adequate history of the Wyrd is given in a narrative format. This helps to create the framework for understand where the race came from. This narrative continues with a physical description detailing a tall and properly proportioned fey-type creature that believes themselves to be pretty much perfect in every way. Society, relations, and religion follow along these same lines and you begin to develop a good understanding of the race and a knowledge that they are very arrogant and seem to care little about the other races around them (except for their lineage).
I find the narrative description to be much easier to read instead of feeling like you’re reading a manual.
DETAILS
Once you get past the narrative description, the supplement moves into the stats, traits, and all other game related content. This is presented in a fairly standard method but is quite comprehensive and includes: Paragon Class, Wyrd Feats, Character Types, and Spells of the Wyrd. The new Feats and good and fit well with the Wyrd race and their related lineage. This means that the Feats found herein are not only meant for the Wyrd race, but are usable by other lineage races as well (such as Elves, Fey, etc…).
The format and layout are high quality including the easy to read font and the non-intrusive border around the pages. There are a handful of illustrations found throughout giving a glimpse of the race and the presented character types. While they are no color, the depth of the illustrations make color a non-requirement. There are 9 new spells listed and fully detailed giving plenty of options to make game-play as unique and interesting as you can. Again, each one is fully detailed and presented in an easy-to-follow manner.
The supplement manages to end abruptly with the listing of the last new spell. I found this a little odd and find the content could be better tied-off with a wrap-up of the narrative already found throughout.
OVERALL
While players may not need a new race for their Pathfinder adventures and campaigns, the Wyrd offer another level of possibilities for character creation and plot direction. The supplement is short and to-the-point while maintaining a high level of quality.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 9 out of 10
While the PDF contains a bookmark menu, the supplement itself does not contain a Table of Contents, Index, or defined section headers. While it may only be 12 pages of content, it could still benefit from some method of highlighting where the content is for quicker reference. The illustrations are more than adequate and paint a good picture of the Wyrd race. The narrative is a great way of presenting the description but the abrupt ending of the content felt a little out of place.
Source Material: 10 out of 10
Considering what Rite Publishing and this supplement are trying to provide to the Pathfinder system, I find that it is done completely and in a very comprehensive manner. The new race is not only introduced but it is fully detailed, described, and fleshed out with loads of new options.
Value Add: 8 out of 10
Value add is a tough thing to rate on this supplement as it may have appeal to some while is unnecessary to many others. My rating is based on those who desire an added option for player races or even constructing NPCs. The one thing I find most difficult as a player is having such a conceited player character as part of my adventuring team. While this may seem fun and interesting in many situations, there are plenty of players out there that may find that it interferes. There is also the constraint that the Wyrd race is more conducive to being a Wizard or Sorcerer which removes some of its’ flexibility.
Overall: 9 out of 10
Overall I find Wyrd of Questhaven to be an excellent third party supplement for Pathfinder and recommend it for anyone looking to create a new type of player character with more role-playing options.
