Brethren of the Crimson Altar by Creighton Broadhurst is a role playing game supplement published by Raging Swan Press for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result.
The supplement is available as a 34-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $3.99 but was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. Two pages are the front and rear covers, four the front matter, Contents and Open Game License, one is Stat Blocks by CR and Stat Blocks by Type and one is an ad. The PDF comes in two versions, one intended for print and high-end devices, one intended for low-end and mobile.
Reading Stat Blocks is a standard page for the publisher explaining how to use these.
Brethren of the Crimson Altar starts by explaining that the Brethren are four vampires dedicated to serving an artefact known as the Crimson Altar of Kulan‐Wyr. It briefly gives details on the four vampires, and the pages they are covered more fully. It talks about the Brethren as a threat, individually and together, and that three of them are found in a major city. They prefer subtlety when it comes to troublemakers, rather than attacking directly. It covers their combat & tactics, which in three cases is to rarely enter combat personally, their lairs, for all four, hooks and schemes and how the vampires feed. Sidebars cover using the Brethren in a campaign, how the city is just referred to generically to make the supplement easier to use with any city and lore that can be discovered about vampires, the Altar and the Brethren.
Crimson Altar of Kulan‐Wyr covers the artefact, a type of undead guardian and the encounter that would be had in the fane cave, where the Altar is.
Vampires in Battle summarises their skills.
The Brethren & Their Minions starts by covering all four vampires, with stats, background, personality, mannerisms, distinguishing features and hooks. two also have favoured disguises. Finally, there are stats for bat swarm, rat swarm and wolf.
Encounters with the Brethren has encounters with the group. Death in the Mist, Hired Thugs and Skulking Death are more standard combat encounters. Ruined Reputations, however, is something different. This has a host of ways in which the Brethren can attack the characters without doing so physically, spreading rumours, getting them in trouble with the law, arson, theft and more ways to ruin characters’ lives.
Brethren of the Crimson Altar in Review
The PDF is well bookmarked with everything except sidebars linked. The Contents is brief but is hyperlinked. Navigation is very good. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of error. There are a number of pieces of black and white stock art. Presentation is decent.
The supplement is included in the Scions of Evil compilation which is the more cost-effective way to get it. The vampires in this supplement are deadly. Not only do they each have their own individual powers and skills, making them dangerous in combat, it’s the fact that combat is a last resort for them. Apart from one bloodthirsty vampire, the others consider discretion to be the better part of valour and the Brethren would rather work behind the scenes against enemies, who may not even know they exist. It’s possible for the Brethren to do a huge amount of damage to the characters before even facing them in battle. They could be used as a foe for a significant campaign, as characters slowly work out who is attacking them, before a possible final confrontation near the artefact. Brethren of the Crimson Altar is an excellent supplement and it can be found by clicking here.
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