Review: Kobold Press – Avarice (Monsters of Sin)


Monsters of Sin #1: Avarice
Avarice is a supplement from the Monsters of Sin series of supplements for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game written by Ryan Costello, Jr. and published by Kobold Press (AKA Open Design).
By Cape Rust

Learn more about Avarice here
Purchase Avarice here
Find other Monsters of Sin products here

Monsters of Sin #1: Avarice is a supplement that delves into the 7 deadly sins and gives players and GMs an idea of what creatures created from the concept of those sins would be like.

CONTENT

This 10 page supplement contains 6 pages of content. Included in this product are 4 new monsters and the embodiment of sin trait.

OVERALL

I have actually been involved in a few games that were based on the concept of the 7 deadly sins and to see a product that takes that concept a few steps farther is great. Talk about a great way to test a characters alignment!

RATINGS

Publication Quality: 9 out of 10
Open Design has a reputation for putting out useful, good-looking products, and it looks like all of the Monsters of Sin products will follow suit. The cover art had high production value, which I expect from the folks over at Open Design. The full cover is done well. The monsters of sin emblem looks smart and clean. Rather than trying for something creepy they went for a streamlined approach that will carry through the entire series. I was happy to see the Pathfinder emblem on the cover. Most people know this is a supplement to Pathfinder, but quick references like this make it easy to spot amongst the title wave of products out there. The main piece of art shows a knight (I think he is actually a Paladin) in full armor standing over a hoard of gold, dropping a few coins. It conveys the sin without overdoing it. The art is great but the Paladin’s front leg looks a little amateur. I know that is a bit nit-picky but based on Open Design’s past products it stood out; thus the 9.

Mechanics: 10 out of 10
The concepts for the monsters included in this product are great and as is to be expected, the mechanics are spot on. The creatures’ CRs are as follows: the Hoard Golem weighs in at CR 12, the Map Mimic CR 1, the Midasite a CR 4 and the Embodiment of Avarice CR 20. This gives the GM the flexibility to introduce Avarice elements to the players at all levels. This progression allows GMs to “build up” to the dreaded Embodiment of Avarice. None of the creatures’ abilities seem unreasonable. Even the Midasite’s golden touch ability is limited to 3 times a day and based on the descriptions of these creatures, it almost isn’t worth trying to employ their services. I was impressed that the folks over at Open Design went so far as to discuss the weight increase the gold to flesh ability incurs without making things overly crunchy.

Value Add: 9 out of 10
This product even has value for people who don’t want to follow the whole 7 deadly sins theme. The monsters can be thrown into any adventure. I could see an entire game session devoted to dealing with a Midasite. The Map Mimic is a great low CR creature. Imagine being tasked with trying to capture one alive….

Overall: 9 out of 10
This is a good product; it isn’t long and there are not a ton of creatures, but they are well-thought out and packaged well. I like the idea of each of the sins being released separately, but I could see the value in a collection of them later on. This is a product that every GM running a Pathfinder or Midgard game should keep in their hip pocket; it is worth parting with your hard earned wealth to get this product.

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