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Fresh Look: Companions of the Firmament

Companions of the Firmament was a kickstarter I backed a while ago.  Today the softcover of the book arrived.  Think of this book as "Flying for Pathfinder".  Original estimated delivery was November 2012.  That being said, all kickstarters are late, and I don't take off points for a good product that doesn't meet schedule.  Late schedules show that real development is going on, which is what kickstarters really should be about.

Now I'm not much of a PDF reader, and though I have had the PDF for a while, getting a physical book opened up the content more for me.  So here are my thoughts on the book:


  • I am worried slightly about the softcover binding.  I'm not sure it will hold up.  Time will tell.  Based on the time that was spent getting everything right on the printing, I am probably worried for no good reason.
  • The artwork is not Paizo-level artwork.  Maybe I am spoiled because of all of the Paizo books and modules I have, but that is my bar.  At the same time, the artwork is good and used to support the manual but not overly populate it with extra crap.  I wish more PDF books were done like this so they would load faster.  Also, I have to say that the artwork was even better when you take into account the cost of the kickstarter to produce it.  Kudos to the team for managing their funds well.
  • The style of the book is wonderful.  It lays out different play styles.  It provides content based on the rules as written.  It enhances the other Pathfinder books I have. As a GM, it even clarifies some rules, which is important.  Where play styles vary, it offers some changes that can be easily adopted.
  • Content is combined into useful tables.  This level of practicality in a Pathfinder book is hard to find.  I wish these folks would teach Paizo how to write GM-friendly modules along the lines of this book.
  • New content is balanced, useful, and fun.
  • Lots of references and copyable worksheets are included to make everything easier.  Again, this makes things very GM friendly.
  • The personalized post card that was sent along was a nice touch.  I appreciate the work in hand writing all the post cards.
So I like the book overall, and I would back another projects from these folks in a second.  They produced a quality project that I will get a lot of use out of.  As grades go, I would give them a solid A.
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