Product Name: Troglodytes of the Tentacled One
Publisher: Raging Swan Press
Author: Creighton Broadhurst
System: Pathfinder
Setting: The Lonely Coast
Series: TRIBES
Theme: Epic Fantasy
Type: Third Party Supplement
Link: http://www.ragingswan.com/
Troglodytes of the Tentacled One is the next supplement in the TRIBES series of supplements set in The Lonely Coast setting. This particular supplement is dedicated to a single tribe following an elder being illustrated in the style of H.P. Lovecraft and filled with new options for creating its troglodyte followers. The content delves into an immense amount of detail from ecology and religion to tactics and encounters details.
Raging Swan Press never ceases to amaze me with their publication quality and easy-to-read presentation of the content along with great looking illustrations and a lot of new stats. Each supplement brings about an in-depth look at a typical creature from Pathfinder making them 3-dimensional and filled with new options.
CONTENT
Troglodytes of the Tentacled One starts simply with a complete overview of the content giving GMs a quick reference to use during game-play after they understand all the details. Moving quickly into the first content section is the fleshed out details of the troglodytes and their elder master. This includes details of their society, body art used to distinguish the different “ranks” of the troglodytes, how they practice their religion and the demonic power they worship, details about their underground lair within the Ebon Lake region, and details about how they act in combat. There is so much detail here and its presented upon two pages for simple reading.
To coincide with the fleshing out of the details, new feats and class features are presented to boost the options available for creating the different types of troglodytes within the tribe. The troglodytes demonic worship has granted them new necromantic cleric spells and four of them are presented within. A pair of wicked magic items are used by certain members of the tribe and could fall into the hands of the adventurers should they succeed.
The content then moves on to the stat block areas with given encounter setups and a large listing of stat blocks along with options for scaling the encounters. Eleven total stat blocks are given ranging from CR 1 to 9. The encounters combine the various warrior types with applicable XP and various other things to enhance the encounter. The Master of Ebon Lake elder aboleth is introduced with some devastating stats. Details are also given about the elder’s background, personality, and tactics are present along with information on encounters using the elder along with its acolyte guards.
Troglodytes of the Tentacled One finishes up with a great new creature template for creating degenerate creatures. Degenerate creatures are those that have fallen back to a more savage society living in a state of regressed barbarism. This template is a great way to create unique and interesting bestiary that have been suppressed from the rest of the world either due to their locale, beliefs, or their master’s will. The template includes ecology, tactics, creation, and lore.
OVERALL
I’m a definite fan of the TRIBES series of supplements for Pathfinder. These supplements do a superb job of taking a normally mundane creature and turn them into a society with depth and purpose. Instead of encountering the same old bestiary from adventure to adventure, GMs can create a more role-playing styled encounter with all sorts of questing options and further details for campaign development. Troglodytes of the Tentacled One doesn’t sway from the regular series of TRIBES supplements and actually creates a more in-depth look at the troglodytes tribe as it only introduces a single tribe (as opposed to two or more). With the inclusion of only a single tribe, many more details can be introduced with a lot more stat blocks and creature character builds.
RATINGS
Publication Quality: 9 out of 10
Raging Swan Press produces high-quality publications that are simple and easy-to-read. Troglodytes of the Tentacled One contains a beautiful illustration of the elder aboleth but doesn’t contain any illustrations of the troglodytes. I would have preferred an illustration of the troglodytes as well especially one with the given body art contained early on in the content. It doesn’t detract from the publication but could make it that much more appealing visually. The publication still conforms to the highest of standards which I’ve come to enjoy from Raging Swan’s products.
Mechanics: 10 out of 10
Just the stat blocks and new spells would make the new mechanics worth purchasing, but with the inclusion of new feats and the creature template the mechanics are further enhanced and make the product even more desirable. I love the amount of mechanics provided in the TRIBES supplements and their purpose is blatantly obvious with their use is fully detailed.
Value Add: 10 out of 10
Any product that enhances your gaming experience is a worthwhile product. Troglodytes of the Tentacled One not only offers new options for encountering troglodytes, but also presents adventure seeds and even a possible launching point for a full campaign. The details are vast and give any GM plenty of options for catering to any type of gaming group. Plus the troglodytes’ setting is flexible enough where it could be placed within any adventure or campaign setting, not just The Lonely Coast.
Overall: 10 out of 10
I highly recommend Troglodytes of the Tentacled One for any GM that wants to enhance their player’s experience by bringing in colorful bestiary rather than the simple mundane creatures that often found throughout. It’s a great addition to the TRIBES series of supplements and The Lonely Coast setting, but more importantly it contains a great set of new mechanics for encountering troglodytes anywhere.
Follow Us!