Overall,
Children of the Sky looks like a great product! I've skimmed it all and read some sections in detail, and I'm excited to read the rest. The book has great Kio and Western Lands material, and it has interesting flavor and some useful rules. It is a must-have for anyone playing a kio character or any PC from the League of Princes. It's also good for anyone who likes Arcanis story, history, and flavor. With mechanics, some spells are useful to non-Kio.
val Holryn (Eric Gorman) wrote:
On balance, highly favorable. [...] I give the book an A-.
I agree with Eric's rating of A-. On a cruder scale, I'd say two thumbs up.
val Holryn wrote:
Why do the val'Sungha (IMO strangely) use elder magic when everyone else (including other "standard" Kio) uses eldritch? Do the progenitor "True" Kio use elder?
Rumor has it that the True Kio
do use Elder magic. I infer that kio/human hybrids can't use elder (only eldritch) sorcery, whereas kio/val get the elder kick. Genetics and celestial nature?
val Holryn wrote:
Where is House N'sai? There's been ONE Kio family that has repeatedly appeared in the modules set in Metra and the League, but there's not a peep of them anywhere.
The lack of House N'sai bothered me, too, but I respect Henry for being honest that he forgot them.
val Holryn wrote:
Where are the fallen Kio Wraith lords? After the BI at Seremas I feel like we should have something on them.
I had hoped for at least a paragraph on the Kion Wraith Lords, too, though at least Henry previously explained why he didn't include them.
Some of the things that bothered Eric Gorman (whom I'm citing a lot here) don't bother me. For example, I focused on this being a book about the Kio, not the League of Princes.
val Holryn wrote:
I don't like retcons in general.
Although I'm not a fan of retcons, I do respect PCI for making them solidly. Lots of whimsical retcons are annoying, but so is maintaining the past rules for the sake of continuity when there is good reason to change something. This book has some retcons. Some of them align well with the recent Arcanis 5e book (e.g., Kio generally don't worship the Pantheon of Man, and those few who do are pariahs), while others are new details. I like just making a clean, clear statement of retcon and moving on. (These will require mention in the Legends of Arcanis campaign guide since not all players own
Children of the Sky.)