Has anyone checked out Of Stranger Bonds?

[StSword]

I was browsing Open Gaming Store the other day and found a series of class books, Of Stranger Bonds by Alessandro Passera, capped with a culmination book that includes all 50 classes.

49 monster classes, and the Pledged, who have six archetypes available, orders ala the Cavalier for more customization, and a "summoner variant" available.

That's a lot of material.

But no reviews, no previews.

So has anyone bought and perused any of these 9 books?

I like monster classes, and the Pledged have a lot of options for a 3PP class, but I really want to know where it falls on "must buy" to "execution leaves something to be desired" scale.

It doesn't even have to be a big review, a mini review would do, truly.

Thanks for your time.

[Quarian Rex]

It's... interesting.

I just recently picked the full book up (so I haven't mulled it over fully) and it has a lot of very interesting things. It essentially gives a full 20 level monster progression for 49 different creatures (collectively known as Strangers), split up into different 'Orders' (those being Beast, Blessed, Corrupt, Elemental, Eternal, Fey, and Mythical) and archetypes (Scout, Mirage, Blocker, Hitter, Enhanced, Arcane, and Support). This gives you things like Sphinxs being Beast [Arcane], Zombies are Eternal [Blockers], and Dragons are Mythical [Support].

These are not direct 1:1 recreations of the normal Bestiary entries, but more of a thematic interpretation. Vampires are Monstrous Humanoids who don't burn in sunlight or need to drink blood to live (though they do need regular blood consumption to prepare for/sustain pregnancy) to provide an example. From a fluff perspective they mostly seem to be the result of interesting family lineages and curses manifesting in the character. Mummies are usually born normal till their flesh starts going dark, brittle, and flaking off, requiring alchemical bandages to ease their discomfort, that sort of thing.

Leveling is split up between HD progression, interesting mixes of familiar class features (the Babau is a bit of a mix of Assassin and corrupted Monk), and Advancement Tiers, the LA levels that don't really progress class/HD but are always tied to key abilities of the race. You can also take a feat to take any normal class levels instead of racial HD (with the option to have the feat be active by default) but Advancement Tiers still taking up their respective levels regardless of the class being progressed.

The advancement tiers don't really line up with the power levels of the standard monsters (Zombies lose 5 levels to Advancement Tiers while Liches lose none) but the balancing of the abilities isn't bad but YMMV. These classes don't really seem to be trying to replace the standard monsters, but to instead show their consequence.

The Pledged class is the catch-all Renfield/Igor/High Priest for the Strangers (all but the Eternal). A Stranger with a Pledged bound to them doesn't age and regresses to their prime if time has already had its way with them. The Pledged have six archetypes corresponding to the archetypes of the Strangers (all but Support) covering everything from enhanced martials to full arcane casters, all with shared abilities based on the type of Stranger they are linked to (those Orders mentioned earlier).

Like I said, it's interesting. It offers a lot of interesting options, and as a DM I would have no problem allowing any of it at my table. As a player though... LA is a tough thing to justify but this does a lot to lessen the pain. Requires more mulling on my part before I decide how much I like it, but I do like it.

Edit: Also, look here (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-classes/of-stranger-bonds/) for a bit more info and a look at the Lycanthrope (one of the weaker classes IMO).

[StSword]

It's... interesting.

Thank you!!

This is the third forum I've asked about this series and I was beginning to think that like no one had ever bought a Of Stranger Bonds book.

The Pledged have a different fluff than I was imagining, but I like it.

Makes me imagine an exotic land with monster nobility, with their orders of the Pledged acting as their knights.

This has definitely earned a place at the top of my wishlist.