Review: Raging Swan Press – Lizardfolk of the Dragon Fang


Product Name: Lizardfolk of the Dragon Fang
Publisher: Raging Swan Press
Author: Marc Radle
System: Pathfinder
Setting: The Lonely Coast
Series: TRIBES
Theme: Epic Fantasy
Type: Third Party Supplement
Link: http://themysticalthrone.com/?p=27083

Lizardfolk of the Dragon Fang is the next supplement in the TRIBES series for Pathfinder, While its a continuation of the series, the presentation is different than the most previous few supplements. As opposed to taking a single creature and giving it a “society” to be a part of, Lizardfolk of the Dragon Fang is a mish-mash of different lizard-type creatures. The supplement spends less time looking at the background of the group and instead details different warrior and spellcaster with a range of ratings and a grouping of powerful NPCs. To add to these creature stats is a grouping of new feats, spells and magic items.

CONTENT

Lizardfolk of the Dragon Fang starts with a look at the group known as the Dragon Fang tribe. The have interesting societal features as the tribe is a grouping of different creatures that are all lizard-like in nature. Lead by a seemingly obsessive lizard king determined to return these lizardfolk to their rightful honor. The trick to fully understanding the tribe is by understanding the different leaders (explained later). The new mechanics that pertain to the tribe are then presented including Feats, Spells, and Magical Items.

The content moves on to detailing the different ranks and characters found within the tribe. To give the GM a bit of help, encounters are described first for different levels including the variety of ranks found herein. The variety of ranks begins with simple CR1 Warriors and CR3 Scouts to CR3 and CR5 Shaman. Some variant warriors are offered to represent the different types of creatures found within the tribe. The content then moves on to the creature characters, starting with the Lizard King and moving on to his advisors and closest cohorts. There are four total and each one is briefly described and includes all applicable stats. While seemingly short, they are very easy to read and should make for quick inclusion into any encounter. All-in-all there are 13 stat blocks including two familiars and the four creature characters.

OVERALL

Lizardfolk of the Dragon Fang is a great addition to the TRIBES series of supplements, although it carries similar qualities to that of the GMs Resource line. Instead of running static encounters with boring and mundane creatures, this supplement adds depth to the ranks of those creatures, gives them some type of purpose and brings in a powerful leader.

RATINGS

Publication Quality: 9 out of 10
Lizardfolk of the Dragon Fang follows the same great layout and presentation quality as previous Raging Swan Press products. There are a few illustrations with a couple great illustrations of the magical items. There are lots of stat blocks and Raging Swan Press always makes it very easy to read stat blocks. However, the main characters do not have associated illustrations which could help the visual appeal. However, this is a fairly minor point and doesn’t detract from the books quality.

Mechanics: 9 out of 10
The spells and feats are pretty good, although the spell for walking through swamps is a good representation of these types of creatures and their habitat. The magic items are fantastic and the battle feats are interesting. However, the simple mechanics are more of an enhancement to the content and the stat blocks are the true focus.

Value Add: 9 out of 10
There is an abundance of great new stat blocks in Lizardfolk of the Dragon Fang. Not only with the warriors and spellcasters, but also the detailed character creatures that can be thought of as “leaders” in this ragtag group of creatures. There is a great variety from simple warriors and shaman to elite and the powerful creature characters. This is a great way for a GM to quickly and easily introduce new bestiary into an encounter without having to construct the creatures on their own. This helps to add variety and flavor to seemingly mundane encounters with an available “leader” to be placed in as the “big bad boss”. This concept truly seems to be what the supplement is about.

Overall: 9 out of 10
Lizardfolk of the Dragon Fang is a great tool to enhance or add dimension to an encounter the GM has already constructed. The supplement gives the GM more options for lizard-type creatures with various CRs and a (small) pool of leaders to choose from. While the group itself contains a listed background with characteristics, the are more of a “plug-in” creature group rather than a main focus for an adventure or for creating the framework of a campaign. It’s a valuable tool when it comes to creating more interesting encounters.

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