Pathfinder Player Companion: "Knights of the Inner Sea" [RPG]

 I love the cover to Knights of the Inner Sea—it’s a classic fantasy scene, beautifully drawn.  Poster-worthy, in my opinion.  In contrast, the internal artwork is pretty weak, and it’s clear many of the freelancers didn’t have much experience drawing armor (and a lot of the human proportions are off).

 As the theme of the book is obvious from the title, we’ll get right into it.  The inside front cover has details on four knightly families in the Inner Sea: the Darahans (Taldor), Graydons (Ustalav), Tilernos (Lastwall), and Khavortorovs (Brevoy).  Along with the expected info (heraldry, motto, etc.), each has an associated combat trait—they’re strong, but the one for Graydon is a one-time-use only thing and that’s pretty limiting.  The inside back cover is on mounts—several types of horses (like a “Lastwall Jasper” or a “Taldor Jennet”) and some more exotic ones, like an “Erutaki Husky”.  Each type is given a Bestiary equivalent along with a special trait (taken in lieu of one of a PC’s two traits) that modifies the animal in a particular way.  I think it works well for those who want to add a bit more impact to their choice of mount.

The book itself is divided into a series of two-page long entries on various topics.  The only way out is through, so here we go!

·       “For Your Character” has an index of the new rules options presented in the book and some stuff on what classes can benefit the most from it.  I did like the funny little aside about the origin of the name “Knights of Ozem”.

·       “Knights Overview” discusses different types of knights in Golarion and has some really good cross-references to other Pathfinder books that flesh some of the types out in more detail.

·       “Eagle Knights” has a brief introduction to the group, two good new regional traits, and a “role” (essentially a suggested template) for how a knight of each of the group’s three orders could be built mechanically.

·       “Hellknights” has a brief description of the seven orders within the organisation, two roles, and two regional traits that are pretty niche.

For both the Eagle Knights and the Hellknights, there’s a lot better material elsewhere, and the entries here are only the barest of introductions.

·       “Knights of Ozem” has two new traits (both good), two roles, and a paragraph each on three of the order’s castles.  I think it might be a bit trickier to come up with an explanation for why a Knight of Ozem has joined an adventuring band (since the group’s whole mission is Lastwall-focussed).

·       “Mendevian Crusaders” has the usual stuff, but I like the theme of people of low-birth disguising themselves as aristocrats to better carry out the role of knight.

·       “Other Knightly Orders” has a couple of paragraphs each on the Kortos Calvalry, Risen Guard, and Taldan Knights.  This material is descriptive only, with no game mechanics.

·       “Anatomy of the Knight” is an interesting visual primer on the equipment that (real-world) knights wore and carried, along with a couple of paragraphs on heraldry. 

·       “Knights and Religion” and “Knights and Race” are very brief sketches of how different religions and races in the game relate to the concept of knights.

·       “Squires” is a potentially important addition to the game for knightly characters.  By taking a feat (at fourth level), knight PCs can have what’s essentially a mini-Leadership feat providing a single Cohort—a squire.  The entry gives four archetypes for the squire (Combat Healer, Gunner, Herald, and Weapon Bearer).  Very useful in a one-PC game, but probably overpowered in a group game if all it costs is a single feat.

·       “Mounts” essentially allows a PC to use the Leadership feat to take a monstrous mount like a giant owl or a unicorn as a Cohort.

For both squires and monstrous mounts, it’s good to have these as supplemental rules, but (just like the Leadership feat itself) I wouldn’t expect every GM to allow them in every game.

·       “Cavalier Orders” adds three new Orders (a cavalier class feature) to the game: the Order of the Land (protecting rural areas), the Order of the Penitent (former criminals), and the Order of the Staff (aides to spellcasters).  Interesting concepts, but the associated powers are pretty weak.

·       “Knightly Codes and Traits” provides secular knights a nice role-playing counterpart to the idea of Paladin codes.  The Codes include Freedom, Perseverance, Revolution, Valor, and Vigilance.  Each has an associated social trait that the character gets if they maintain the code. 

·       “The Spells of Serren” is a collection of eight new spells ostensibly created by Serren, a half-elven magus who spent a lot of time associating with knights.  I’ve actually seen a lot of these come up in games—carry companion, bed of iron, and especially the overpowered and problematic keep watch (allowing PCs to stay awake all night every night).

·       “Magic Items” has what you would expect—nothing jumped out at me, and I haven’t noticed any of them being used or abused. 

And that’s Knights of the Inner Sea.  It covers a ton of ground, though much of the setting material seems incredibly cursory to someone familiar with Golarion.  However, if given to a player new to the world that wants to play a knight PC, it could be a good entry point.