Free Role Playing Game Supplement Review: GM’s Monthly Miscellany: November 2016

GM’s Monthly Miscellany: November 2016 is a free role playing game supplement published by Raging Swan Press. The Monthly Miscellanies are a regular series of supplements published eleven times a year, with the twelfth being a compilation of that year’s issues which is also available as a print on demand softcover. This is the final new issue for 2016. The supplement is intended for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and is therefore covered by the Open Game License and as a result some of it is considered to be Open Game Content.

This is a fourteen page bookmarked PDF. Two pages are the standard plain front and back covers, two pages are the standard illustrations promoting the publisher’s site and Patreon campaign, one page is the front matter and contents and one page is the Open Game License. One page is a Foreword giving an overview of the contents and a mention of the Patreon campaign.

10 Cultists with Personality gives a brief overview of 10 NPC cultists, their motivations and appearance, but no stats.

Suurin At a Glance is an overview of the village from Village Backdrop: Suurin. This is a small, drug-riddled halfling village and details of some rumours, NPCs and lore is given, as well as a map of the settlement.

Tumblestone Inn At a Glance is an overview of Places of Power: Tumblestone Inn, giving brief details on the settlement and its inhabitants, complete with a map.

Gloamhold Updates provides details of three things from Gloamhold, Raging Swan’s upcoming megadungeon. These are a monster, a landmark and a location.

20 Things to Find in a Cultist’s Lair is an extract from 20 Things #8: Cultist’s Lair and details 20 specific things that could be found there, as well as ten consequences of touching a profane object.

Although the PDF is bookmarked, which is unusual for a supplement of this size, a number of the bookmarks are incorrect, greatly diminishing their usefulness. Otherwise, the supplement seemed to be error free. Apart from the two large illustrations and the maps there are also a few pieces of black and white filler art.

Both Suurin and Tumblestone Inn, despite being simply extracts from two larger supplements, provide enough detail that the locations could actually be used as-is, although they could be fleshed out more. The 20 Things extract lacks stats, and could be dropped into any setting. The Gloamhold article is largely a teaser for the upcoming dungeon. Although this may be primarily intended to promote Raging Swan’s products, it does actually have use in itself. GM’s Monthly Miscellany: November 2016 is a decent supplement and not merely an advert, and it’s free, so click here to get it.