Spes Magna Games is a publisher of Pathfinder content we are especially fond of since the leader, Mark Chance, has been a vocal fan of the site as well as actually adding content to the site himself. Spes Magna Games produces exceptional quality products and strongly supports the Open Gaming License not to mention this site! Mark has been with us almost since the beginning and has frequently directly contributed content to this site. He has his own Lab here and he frequently personally creates content here and links back here in his PDFs.
Mark recommended two books for us to add to the site: "5 Adventures, 25 Rooms" and "Barbaric Traits." Below we'll discuss both as well as provide links to the content contained in those books and then provide links to where you can find other products by Mark and Spes Magna Games.
"5 Adventures, 25 Rooms"
Credits: Written by Mark L. Chance; Emu stats by Shane O'Connor; Proofreading and Suggestions by Christopher Chance, Katrina Chance, and Eric S. Seagren
Open Game Content: Like almost all of the Spes Magna content, this book is almost 100% Open Game Content. Mark understandably keeps the name "Spes Magna Games" and certain business phrases as "Product Identity" but basically everything in the book is Open Game Content.
Format: The book contains 5 short "adventures" that each include 5 "rooms" or scenes. This content was originally made available to subscribers to Quid Novi? a (free email newsletter). Mark describes these as "a narrative synopsis of a short adventure built on the 5-room dungeon format." These are not "complete adventures" but more like "an extended adventure seed." While the adventure ideas presented are imagined for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, the ideas themselves are system neutral and can be used with any game system.
Crunch: This book contains one new template (Unseelie Creature), two new monsters (emu and undead emu), stats for an emu animal companion, and two NPCs (Aengus the Wanderer and Fergus Blackheart). Each adventure also includes suggestions on scaling the difficulty up a bit as well as tips on making sure the encounters run as intended.
Content: All of the content from "5 Adventures, 25 Rooms" has been added here. If you like that content then you can not go wrong by subscribing to the Quid Novi? newsletter and/or checking out his other products on the Paizo store.
"Barbaric Traits"
Credits: Written by Mark L. Chance. Proofreading & Suggestions by Brady Boothe, Christopher Chance, Katrina Chance, Anthony Emmel, Joe Medica, and Terry Keller
Open Game Content: Just as with "5 Adventures, 25 Rooms," almost all of this book is Open Game Content.
Format: The book contains 36 new Traits inspired by Robert E. Howard's most famous barbarian stories such as "The Hour of the Dragon", "People of the Black Circle", and "Red Nails". There are 9 different Traits divided between Combat, Faith, Magic, and Social. While the traits are called "Barbaric" traits, they aren't intended solely for barbarians but can apply equally well to "any character that hails from some savage frontier where honor and sharp steel matter more than manners and shiny coins."
Crunch: Included in the Content section below is a summary table of the new traits, linked to their full descriptions.
Content: See Table below.
Table: Barbaric Traits Summary
| Trait Name | Type | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Battle-Born | Combat | +1 attack rolls when outnumbered |
| Beast Slayer | Combat | +1 attack rolls vs. animals |
| Blood-Mad | Combat | +2 weapon damage when injured |
| Combat Healer | Combat | +2 Heal with first aid and poisons |
| Skirmisher | Combat | +2 AC vs. AoO when moving |
| Smoke-Stained Hand | Combat | +2 damage with normal fire |
| Spring-Steel Quickness | Combat | Initiative and attack roll bonus in surprise round |
| Steel Suffices | Combat | Damage bonus vs. DR |
| Wild Reaver | Combat | +1 attack rolls when mounted |
| Barbaric Mythology | Faith | +1 bonus to select Knowledge |
| Face Death | Faith | Save bonus vs. death and fear |
| Fateful Birthmark | Faith | +1 bonus when recovering |
| Heathen Oath | Faith | Bonus when swearing specific task |
| Lords of Light | Faith | Save bonus vs. “dark” magic |
| Motivational Expletive | Faith | +1 bonus after expletive |
| Ophidian Cultist | Faith | Bonuses with reptilian creatures |
| Superstitious | Faith | Save bonus vs. evil creatures |
| Thrive on Success | Faith | Save bonus when successful |
| Blasphemed Nature | Magic | +2 Spellcraft with “dark” magic |
| Child of Darkness | Magic | +1 AC bonus with “dark” magic |
| Deadly Touch | Magic | Bonus with melee touch spells |
| Hell-Tongued | Magic | Bonus language and Diplomacy bonus |
| Lambent Gaze | Magic | Hypnotic power with certain spells |
| Poisonous Sorcery | Magic | Bonus with ability damage spells |
| Prestidigitator | Magic | +1 bonus with Sleight of Hand |
| Seer | Magic | Bonus while using divination |
| Voice of Pain | Magic | Bonus with damaging verbal spells |
| Aura of Menace | Social | +1 bonus to Intimidate |
| Black Corsair | Social | Bonus with select pirate skills |
| Barbaric Ambassador | Social | +1 bonus with select skills |
| Iron Nerves | Social | +2 Will saves vs. fear |
| Pack Horse | Social | +5 STR for carrying capacity |
| Rebellious Beauty | Social | Bonus with certain interaction checks |
| Sorcerous Taint | Social | Interaction bonus based on alignment |
| To the Conqueror | Social | Wealth and equipment bonus |
| Wild Lander | Social | +1 bonus with select wilderness skills |
If you like that content then you can not go wrong by subscribing to the Quid Novi? newsletter and/or checking out his other products on the Paizo store.
