A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Pazuzu’s Fury by Eric Menge

Pazuzu’s Fury by Eric Menge is a role playing game supplement published by Raging Swan Press for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. As such, the supplement is covered by the Open Game License and some of it is therefore considered to be Open Game Content. The supplement is one in a series which each detail a specific nonhuman tribe, in this case a tribe of harpies who are followers of the demon lord Pazuzu. A sample of the supplement can be found in the free GM’s Monthly Miscellany: July 2014. The tribe itself is located in The Lonely Coast mini-setting.

This is a twenty four page bookmarked PDF that is available from RPGNow at the regular price of $2.99 but which, as part of a special bundle deal, was purchased at the reduced price of $0.13. The tribe is also one of those included in the compilation supplement TRIBES Anthology I.

Two pages of the supplement are Raging Swan’s standard plain front and rear covers, one page is blank, three pages are the front matter, which included the Contents, a list of stat blocks by CR, a short poem and the Open Game License, one page is the standard Reading Stat Blocks on how stat blocks are laid out in the supplement and one page is an advert for an online graphic novel (this may seem like an odd advert, but the supplement’s author is also involved in the graphic novel).

Pazuzu’s Fury has a full page title followed by two pages which cover ecology and society, lairs, religion and combat and tactics. There are also two sidebars on tribal lore and the creation of the tribe, and a brief note on the Lonely Coast setting.

New Feats has six new tribal feats which also have a summary table.

New Spells has five new spells. Unusually for these supplements, the spells are available for quite a few classes, four in total.

New Magic Items has three new magic items and a new, non-magical weapon. One of the magic items is actually used by foes of the tribe, not the tribe itself, and the other two are both unique.

Stat Blocks, Allies & Encounters has a full page title and starts with two pages having four different encounters at different ELs, with notes on how to adjust the ELs up or down by one, as well as a sidebar on aerial combat. Three pages then have stat blocks for eight different harpies as well as sidebars on their special abilities.

Corrupting Aspect of Pazuzu has a description of an aspect of the demon lord Pazuzu, including how to summon him, his stats and how he behaves.

The Harpy Roost gives an example of a harpy lair – the tribe is migratory – with a sidebar on disease in the lair and another giving brief examples of other suitable places.

Finally, Adventure Seeds has suggestions for five adventures including the stats for an outcast of the tribe.

The supplement is very well bookmarked for its length and the Contents is hyperlinked as well, all of which make this one of the easiest supplements to navigate. The text maintains a two column format, and one notable error was noticed; in the New Magic Items section a ring is named in the introduction as a ring of charm immunity but in the description of the item itself as a ring of clear mind. There are several black and white illustrations, some of which look custom and others may be stock.

The tribe may be linked to the Lonely Coast but, as they have no specific lair, they can easily be dropped into any other setting without any problems. Even in the Lonely Coast the tribe can be encountered almost anywhere. Overall, locating the tribe is very flexible.

The link to Pazuzu, and the tribe’s history as former nuns of a good deity who turned to evil, provide hooks to tie them to a number of circumstances and add depth to the tribe. The usual tribe-specific feats, spells and magic items also make them more standout. The addition of a sample lair, albeit unmapped, and the adventure seeds all help provide many different ways of encountering the tribe, from brief encounters to more serious, in-depth attacks. Interestingly, one of the adventure seeds has the tribe as a potential ally against another demon foe.

Pazuzu’s Fury is one of the more interesting supplements in what is a decent series anyway, and it can be found by clicking here.