Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad (he/him)
I've probably already missed a discussion on this book, but since I didn't see it I figured I would start this thread (since it is one of the official WOTC licensed products).
What did people like and dislike about the book?
Here is my review, for what it is worth.
Divine casters - a ton of new stuff. I really liked the Channeled Abilities section. It adds both an interesting role playing aspect to divine casters, as well as neat new abilities that seemed fairly balanced. Similarly I liked the Temple Rank section, with powers and duties for temple membership. And finally, the domains section was excellent, and making the former Prestige Domains into just additional normal domains makes good sense (the prestige domain system introduced in Defender's of the Faith never really worked for me).
The feats section is massive, though I was disappointed by the amount of stuff that was repetitive of former products (though the combined official feats and spells lists in the appendix was a fantastic idea, and I was particiularly happy they referenced dragon magazine feats and spells there). There were plenty of new, interesting feats here however.
I was very unimpressed with the Prestige Class section. Virtually all of these seemed like good NPC's, but rotten PC classes to take. The new base classes were similarly uninspiring, with Shaman being so close to Druid as to be almost not worth a second thought, and Spellsinger seeming damn close to Sorceror as well (though I admit to not reading it very carefully, so far). A few of the other base classes looked interestng, but I have not had a good chance to read through them yet. In particular the Infiltrator and Bigand look good, and the Basiran Dancer does not.
The races section was fairly solid. Hobgoblins (and the half-Hob version) do deserve their own section, and get it here. Some of the more powerful races from FR that had level adjustments have been dumbed down to get rid of the adjustments (like Dark Elves instead of Drow), yet make them playable from 1st level still, which is a nice option. I like the combined Gnome section, but was disappointed the full Dragon Magazine inclusion of river gnome and arcane gnome were not there.
The magic items section is solid, but short. In particular I liked the Bracelet of Attunement and Bracelet of Secrets, which give a +1 DC to spells cast by the wearer for Divine and Arcane casters, respectively, for not much money. I can see these being added to spell-focus folk quickly.
The skills section seems fairly weak to me. With the exception of Pantomine, the entire section is either new uses for old skills, or new Knowledge, Craft, Profession, or Speak Language skills. Now not to say that some of those are not fun (particularly Craft: Poisonmaking, and some of the Knowledge combat-oriented skills), I just expected some more entirely new skills, rather than expanded old skills.
The Equipment wasn't bad. I like the Alchemical Mixtures, Herbal Mixtures, and Poisons sections (and on a related note, the new diseases were a useful addition as well). The slaves section seemed unnecessary, and the new weapons, armor, and ammo were acceptable, but not thrilling, and quite short.
The Fighting Schools section is a nice role playing touch, though probably will be used more often for DMs in a Kalamar setting than PC's not in a Kalamar setting (however the vast majority of this book is useful for folks playing in any setting). On a related note, the new combat options are a nice addition, though I wish there were more than just the 4 new options. I'm definitely going to try a Throw manuever next time I find myself with the advantage in a grapple.
The spells section was also well done, though again I was disappointed by the number of repeat spells from other official non-PHB supplements. Still, plenty of new spells to make me happy here, and again that combined appendix is quite useful. Scalable spells are also an interesting addition here, and make sense.
Organizationally, I was very disappointed. This book needed better editing. The decisions on splitting sections up were pretty rotten at times. Here is one of several examples: if you want to see what your converted greyahwk cleric can do with this book, here is what you may need to do: 1) Find your current God on a chart in one place, and track that to the equivelent Kalamar God. 2) Now go find that Kalamar god, in another chart, and look up their domains. 3) Now go find the domain section, and look up those domains. 4) Want to know the cannons of the church for your new god? That's another section. 5) Want to know about Temple Ranks for your new temple? Another separate section. 6) Decided to take the channel energy feat and want to know what Channeled Abiities your new church knows about? Yet another section. All of this should have been in the chapter titled Religion, and we should have had one big chart for all of it. I understand the desire to follow the PHB format, but when you start adding in this much new religion-oriented stuff, that system breaks down.
Overall I like the book, and I think it is well worth the $30 I paid. I will get as much, if not more, out of this book than I will out the of the Forgotten Realms book (assuming I play in neither specific setting). I just wish there was a bit more attention paid to editing and final touches.
What did people like and dislike about the book?
Here is my review, for what it is worth.
Divine casters - a ton of new stuff. I really liked the Channeled Abilities section. It adds both an interesting role playing aspect to divine casters, as well as neat new abilities that seemed fairly balanced. Similarly I liked the Temple Rank section, with powers and duties for temple membership. And finally, the domains section was excellent, and making the former Prestige Domains into just additional normal domains makes good sense (the prestige domain system introduced in Defender's of the Faith never really worked for me).
The feats section is massive, though I was disappointed by the amount of stuff that was repetitive of former products (though the combined official feats and spells lists in the appendix was a fantastic idea, and I was particiularly happy they referenced dragon magazine feats and spells there). There were plenty of new, interesting feats here however.
I was very unimpressed with the Prestige Class section. Virtually all of these seemed like good NPC's, but rotten PC classes to take. The new base classes were similarly uninspiring, with Shaman being so close to Druid as to be almost not worth a second thought, and Spellsinger seeming damn close to Sorceror as well (though I admit to not reading it very carefully, so far). A few of the other base classes looked interestng, but I have not had a good chance to read through them yet. In particular the Infiltrator and Bigand look good, and the Basiran Dancer does not.
The races section was fairly solid. Hobgoblins (and the half-Hob version) do deserve their own section, and get it here. Some of the more powerful races from FR that had level adjustments have been dumbed down to get rid of the adjustments (like Dark Elves instead of Drow), yet make them playable from 1st level still, which is a nice option. I like the combined Gnome section, but was disappointed the full Dragon Magazine inclusion of river gnome and arcane gnome were not there.
The magic items section is solid, but short. In particular I liked the Bracelet of Attunement and Bracelet of Secrets, which give a +1 DC to spells cast by the wearer for Divine and Arcane casters, respectively, for not much money. I can see these being added to spell-focus folk quickly.
The skills section seems fairly weak to me. With the exception of Pantomine, the entire section is either new uses for old skills, or new Knowledge, Craft, Profession, or Speak Language skills. Now not to say that some of those are not fun (particularly Craft: Poisonmaking, and some of the Knowledge combat-oriented skills), I just expected some more entirely new skills, rather than expanded old skills.
The Equipment wasn't bad. I like the Alchemical Mixtures, Herbal Mixtures, and Poisons sections (and on a related note, the new diseases were a useful addition as well). The slaves section seemed unnecessary, and the new weapons, armor, and ammo were acceptable, but not thrilling, and quite short.
The Fighting Schools section is a nice role playing touch, though probably will be used more often for DMs in a Kalamar setting than PC's not in a Kalamar setting (however the vast majority of this book is useful for folks playing in any setting). On a related note, the new combat options are a nice addition, though I wish there were more than just the 4 new options. I'm definitely going to try a Throw manuever next time I find myself with the advantage in a grapple.
The spells section was also well done, though again I was disappointed by the number of repeat spells from other official non-PHB supplements. Still, plenty of new spells to make me happy here, and again that combined appendix is quite useful. Scalable spells are also an interesting addition here, and make sense.
Organizationally, I was very disappointed. This book needed better editing. The decisions on splitting sections up were pretty rotten at times. Here is one of several examples: if you want to see what your converted greyahwk cleric can do with this book, here is what you may need to do: 1) Find your current God on a chart in one place, and track that to the equivelent Kalamar God. 2) Now go find that Kalamar god, in another chart, and look up their domains. 3) Now go find the domain section, and look up those domains. 4) Want to know the cannons of the church for your new god? That's another section. 5) Want to know about Temple Ranks for your new temple? Another separate section. 6) Decided to take the channel energy feat and want to know what Channeled Abiities your new church knows about? Yet another section. All of this should have been in the chapter titled Religion, and we should have had one big chart for all of it. I understand the desire to follow the PHB format, but when you start adding in this much new religion-oriented stuff, that system breaks down.
Overall I like the book, and I think it is well worth the $30 I paid. I will get as much, if not more, out of this book than I will out the of the Forgotten Realms book (assuming I play in neither specific setting). I just wish there was a bit more attention paid to editing and final touches.
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