Pathfinder Player Companion: "Osirion, Land of Pharaohs" [RPG]

 I love running and playing adventures in Osirion.  You just can't go wrong with ancient Egyptian-themed drama: thousand-year old pyramids, devious riddles, competing archaeologists/tomb robbers, and much, much more.  It's a downright interesting and intriguing setting, and speaks to me more than traditional "castles and jousting" motifs.  I've now run a couple of classic modules set in Osirion (Entombed with the Pharaohs and The Pact Stone Pyramid) as well as some shorter PFS scenarios, and I can't wait to someday run or play in Mummy's Mask.  All that's a lead up to saying I was looking forward to reading Osirion, Land of Pharaohs.  

This 32-page entry in the Player Companion line definitely gets one's attention with a great cover (reproduced sans text as the inside back cover).  I love how shocked Sajan is as the mummy arises, plus the creepy giant-head statue in the background.  The inside front cover is a useful, player-friendly map of Osirion that notes the most important cities and  ruins.  There's one page for the table of contents, and then the book proper starts, divided into seven sections.  It's worth noting a couple of things: this was one of the earlier books in the line (meaning it's far more lore/flavour heavy than game option crunch--a good thing, in my opinion) and it's from the 3.5-era, so some rules options would need to be updated for the PFRPG.

"Osirion" (14 pages) provides a brief introduction to the country and then a gazetteer of notable locations.  The writing's a bit cumbersome, unfortunately.  Still, it contains some good story seeds.  I found myself interested in the Lost Fortress of Mekshir (an entire fortress--and regiment of troops--buried alive by a sandstorm) and the Pyramid of An Hepsu XI (containing the Incorruptible Pharaoh, who could not be destroyed but only contained).  From a GM's perspective, there's a lot of information to draw upon.  However, I can see that from a player's perspective it's just a lot of setting lore that they can't really interact with unless the GM specifically wants them to by setting an adventure in a particular location.

"Sothis" (6 pages) is an overview of Osirion's capital city, one of the largest metropolises in the setting.  It features a good description of the city's bazaar, its slave market, and the memorable Black Dome--a truly massive hollow shell of . . . something . . . that dominates the city's skyline.  For a GM, setting info like this is invaluable.  For players, it'll give them a good feel for what Osirion is like (so they could make characters from the country), but it's probably more detail than they need.

We now move to a series of two-page-long sections that provide new character options.

"Combat: The Living Monolith" (2 pages) introduces a new prestige class.  The Living Monolith is a warrior who seeks to emulate the legendary stone sentinels of the land.  An interesting idea that needs a bit more flavour and development, in my opinion.  It has some cool abilities, but I'd worry they're a bit unbalancing.

"Faith: Cults of Osirion" (2 pages) discusses worshippers of Apep, Wadjet, and Khepri--secret cults with deep roots in Osirian history.  The section introduces three new magic items (one related to each of the three).

"Magic: Spells of the Dead" (2 pages) has, of course, necromancy themed spells.  I really like canopic conversion, which literally eviscerates the target and places their internal organs into different canopic jars while the body arises as a mummy!  Pity it's a Level 9 spell, so probably only an end-of-campaign boss would get a chance to use it . . .  There's also a couple of important metamagic feats that allow death spells to pierce common protections like death ward and mind-affecting spells to affect undead creatures.

"Social: Dark Dealings" (2 pages) has new feats for black market dealings and more.  I love "swarm dodger", which gives a PC a chance to avoid the damage and related effects from those peskiest of Pathfinder threats, swarms!  (and in Osirion, one can find all manner of swarms--scorpions, spiders, snakes, beetles, and more)  Because these feats were written for 3.5, some minor adjustments would be necessary to update them.

We finish with "Persona: Ruby Prince Khemet III, the Forthbringer" (2 pages), a full stat block and write-up for Osirion's ruler.  The entry includes two of his unique magic items.  Interesting, though probably not something even most GMs running adventures in Osirion are likely to need.

All in all, Osirion, Land of Pharaohs suffers from the problem that many of the early Player Companions did: it's sort of all over the place.  Players looking for cool character options will find over have of the book is material that should be in the Campaign Setting line.  GMs will find a useful overview to the setting but probably wish it were more in-depth.  Modern Pathfinder gamers will find the 3.5-era rules require some fine-tuning.  Still, with those flaws acknowledged, it's a relatively inexpensive introduction to a cool area to adventure in.