Faces of the Tarnished Souk: Gobseck Vaultwright, Meister of the Golden Anvil (PFRPG) by Matt Banach and Justin Sluder is a role playing game supplement published by Rite Publishing 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. This is a single NPC at three different CRs.
The supplement is available as a 17-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $2.95 but was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. One page is the front cover, one the front matter, one the Open Game License and one is an ad.
Gobseck Vaultwright, Meister of the Golden Anvil is the usual introductory text for the NPC, a duergar who is the banker, moneylender and bookie to the Coliseum Morpheoun’s elite. Handling Dreamburning for Gobseck, where they can be found – it varies, but their vault is obvious – lore and how to use them in game is covered.
The three different versions follow, arranged in the book from high to low CR. Each of the three also comes with two variants; divine and exemplar creature.
The CR 6 version is a duergar fighter (unbreakable) 1/magister 6.
The CR 13 version is an air-infused duergar fighter (unbreakable) 2/magister 11.
The CR 20 version is an air-infused smoke duergar fighter (unbreakable) 3/magister 16.
This section also has some new feats, which cover a varied selection of uses, new spells, armour and weapon enhancements and some new magic items. Some of the magic is intended to detect any who have cheated the owner or user.
The Vault of the Golden Anvil is Gobseck’s vault, and it’s a CR 33 creature in its own right, a clockwork construct that may not be intelligent but is still really, really dangerous. As befits something that is essentially a huge lump of metal that can move. Even without taking into consideration its special powers; it can imprison people inside it.
Templates has three new templates. Divine creature is one touched by a deity or ethos. Element-infused creature is one with elemental powers. Exemplar creature is one with powers beyond the norm.
Faces of the Tarnished Souk: Gobseck Vaultwright, Meister of the Golden Anvil (PFRPG) in Review
The PDF is bookmarked with major and minor sections linked. Navigation is decent. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. There are several black and white stock images, as well as the cover illustration. Presentation is decent.
Gobseck may be an evil being, but they also have a rather tragic backstory, one that makes them a rather more sympathetic individual if this is known. That doesn’t mean they’re nice, of course, and they are a moneylender, never a particularly popular profession. They are more than a little bitter. Gobseck may be potentially dangerous, but sees no profit in combat and avoids it. Their vault, however, is the truly deadly part. Anyone planning to rob this moneylender is in for a nasty surprise. Faces of the Tarnished Souk: Gobseck Vaultwright, Meister of the Golden Anvil (PFRPG) is an interesting NPC and can be found by clicking here.
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