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Aerial Adventure Guide: Sky Captain's Handbook
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<blockquote data-quote="Teflon Billy" data-source="post: 2011321" data-attributes="member: 264"><p><strong>Goodman Games</strong> <em>Aerial Adventure Guide</em> is a product I’ve been pretty hyped up for, as I thought it would mesh well with <strong>Bastion Press’s</strong> <em>Airships</em> (which was my biggest “surprise joy” of last year).</p><p></p><p>It’s written by Mike Mearls! (who is apparently now going by “Michael”) , which is good news. Mearls’ name on a book is about as close as D20 has to a hallmark of quality, and he doesn’t disappoint here.</p><p></p><p>As far as the new character mechanics presented go, the good stuff is really good. <em>The Archials</em> are intelligent race of evil, man-sized spiders.(with an excellent <em>religiously-based</em> reason for their evil behaviour). They are a very nicely done “enemy” race. <strong>The Avians</strong> were something of a surprise as I read about them. First off they are Barbaric, secondly they are not <em>beautiful</em>. I’ve lost count of the “winged races” I’ve seen written up that are presented as handsome paragons of virtue and the switch up presented here was like a breath of fresh air. </p><p></p><p>…and the bad stuff you may well ask? Well, the bad stuff isn’t all that bad. The <strong>Sky Elves</strong> included in the supplement both fill the “elf for every occasion” slot that Forgotten Realms has placed in the common parlance as well as fulfilling the “elf only” needs of a certain percentage of my fellow gamers (Hi Ron) <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>A quick aside regarding the section the use of surface races> This is the 50,000th supplement I’ve seen that attributes some kind of scientific and/or mechanical aptitude to <em>Gnomes</em>. I can’t find anything in the core rules that might hint as to why this keeps happening. Can anyone enlighten me down in the comments section below this review?</p><p></p><p>Anyway, moving on…</p><p></p><p>The <em>Heroic Legacies</em> presented seem an awful lot like the <em>Regional Feats</em> that WotC’s <strong>Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting</strong> brought us (that is; they are abnormally powerful “extras” that beginning PC’s get for free). Wait…that’s not fair. Some of them are abnormally powerful (Shipbuilder Family), while others would make a weak <em>standard</em> feat (Cloud Miner). So I guess, with the wide variety of power levels present in the <em>Heroic Legacies</em> section, we can actually assume that they were created not as power ups, but for the purpose stated: to explain how they came to live in the sky--though honestly I think we can expect to see more members of <em>Shipbuilding Families</em> and those of <em>Stratosheric</em> background represented in the ranks of the PC’s than we can <em>Pirate Outlaws</em>, which flies in the face of the usual choices my players would make left to their own devices..</p><p></p><p>A short section describes how the standard classes fit into the game world and then it’s onto <em>Prestige Classes</em>, which I usually think are—again—overpowered munchkin bait in any thing not by <strong>Bad Axe Games</strong>, but again I need to bite my tongue as the three presented here seem to have nice balance, utility and setting-appropriateness (surely that’s not a word?)</p><p></p><p>The <strong>Air Knight</strong> is what you would expect: a member of a knightly order that makes use of flying mounts. The <strong>Elemental Convert</strong> represents and evolutionary leap triggered by living in the skies (the counter-example given is that of the Drow, whose elven nature changed from living beneath the earth) . The dynamically-named <strong>Sky Elf Battle Captain</strong> looks very much like something from the age of sail, and I like it a lot.</p><p></p><p>The new Feats provided are a good selection tailored to use by any flying characters, those with flying mounts, those who pilot skyships and the new races presented (I particularly like the “web” feats available to Archials…the Archials are looking cooler to me with every read).</p><p></p><p>The second chapter, <em>Aerial Combat</em>, gives changes to the standard d20 system combat rules specifically for aerial combat. The abstract movement system provided was a very thoughtful add for those who of us who don’t use miniatures anymore (I should really get back to that…I <em>love</em> miniatures!) The <em>Aerial Distance</em> table provided on page 39 is a godsend for those of us who are bad at math. I would’ve wished for a similar table but with a Z axis as well as the X and Y presented (to mimic 3D distances) but I have no idea how you would lay such a thing out (Again, bad math here)</p><p></p><p>The next chapter covers the creation of Sky Ships. Skyship construction was pretty simple, even on first try and I thin it would be to anyone familiar with D20. The Size and Materials used to make the ship are the starting point and give you most of its basic “stats”. Templates are then used to add specific qualities (<em>Zeppelin</em>, <em>Undead Hulk</em> etc.). I’m not sure that these rules will replace Bastion’s <strong>Airships</strong> for my group, but they are at first glance of comparable utility, if not as flavourful. </p><p></p><p>Chapter four <em>Sky Realms</em> gives us what <strong>Airships</strong> failed to: a setting. Though sparsely described (and mostly concerned with the Cloud City of Sellaine) chapter four is teeming with good ideas for a sky-based campaign. The descriptions of Sellaine’s political situation, its important figures, its neighbourhoods and its culture provide a nice “Jumping off Point” (sorry) for a sky based campaign within its 10 or so pages.</p><p></p><p>The rest of the book is comprised of a bestiary filled with about what you would expect: Aerial Foes suitable for a fantasy setting, as well as a few appropriate templates and a short section on running Aerial Adventures.</p><p></p><p>All told, I think this book will be a welcome addition to our <strong>Airships</strong> game, really fleshing out some of the spots that Bastion overlooked in favor of their more comprehensive Skyship construction mechanics.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Teflon Billy, post: 2011321, member: 264"] [b]Goodman Games[/b] [i]Aerial Adventure Guide[/i] is a product I’ve been pretty hyped up for, as I thought it would mesh well with [b]Bastion Press’s[/b] [i]Airships[/i] (which was my biggest “surprise joy” of last year). It’s written by Mike Mearls! (who is apparently now going by “Michael”) , which is good news. Mearls’ name on a book is about as close as D20 has to a hallmark of quality, and he doesn’t disappoint here. As far as the new character mechanics presented go, the good stuff is really good. [i]The Archials[/i] are intelligent race of evil, man-sized spiders.(with an excellent [i]religiously-based[/i] reason for their evil behaviour). They are a very nicely done “enemy” race. [b]The Avians[/b] were something of a surprise as I read about them. First off they are Barbaric, secondly they are not [i]beautiful[/i]. I’ve lost count of the “winged races” I’ve seen written up that are presented as handsome paragons of virtue and the switch up presented here was like a breath of fresh air. …and the bad stuff you may well ask? Well, the bad stuff isn’t all that bad. The [b]Sky Elves[/b] included in the supplement both fill the “elf for every occasion” slot that Forgotten Realms has placed in the common parlance as well as fulfilling the “elf only” needs of a certain percentage of my fellow gamers (Hi Ron) :) A quick aside regarding the section the use of surface races> This is the 50,000th supplement I’ve seen that attributes some kind of scientific and/or mechanical aptitude to [i]Gnomes[/i]. I can’t find anything in the core rules that might hint as to why this keeps happening. Can anyone enlighten me down in the comments section below this review? Anyway, moving on… The [i]Heroic Legacies[/i] presented seem an awful lot like the [i]Regional Feats[/i] that WotC’s [b]Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting[/b] brought us (that is; they are abnormally powerful “extras” that beginning PC’s get for free). Wait…that’s not fair. Some of them are abnormally powerful (Shipbuilder Family), while others would make a weak [i]standard[/i] feat (Cloud Miner). So I guess, with the wide variety of power levels present in the [i]Heroic Legacies[/i] section, we can actually assume that they were created not as power ups, but for the purpose stated: to explain how they came to live in the sky--though honestly I think we can expect to see more members of [i]Shipbuilding Families[/i] and those of [i]Stratosheric[/i] background represented in the ranks of the PC’s than we can [i]Pirate Outlaws[/i], which flies in the face of the usual choices my players would make left to their own devices.. A short section describes how the standard classes fit into the game world and then it’s onto [i]Prestige Classes[/i], which I usually think are—again—overpowered munchkin bait in any thing not by [b]Bad Axe Games[/b], but again I need to bite my tongue as the three presented here seem to have nice balance, utility and setting-appropriateness (surely that’s not a word?) The [b]Air Knight[/b] is what you would expect: a member of a knightly order that makes use of flying mounts. The [b]Elemental Convert[/b] represents and evolutionary leap triggered by living in the skies (the counter-example given is that of the Drow, whose elven nature changed from living beneath the earth) . The dynamically-named [b]Sky Elf Battle Captain[/b] looks very much like something from the age of sail, and I like it a lot. The new Feats provided are a good selection tailored to use by any flying characters, those with flying mounts, those who pilot skyships and the new races presented (I particularly like the “web” feats available to Archials…the Archials are looking cooler to me with every read). The second chapter, [i]Aerial Combat[/i], gives changes to the standard d20 system combat rules specifically for aerial combat. The abstract movement system provided was a very thoughtful add for those who of us who don’t use miniatures anymore (I should really get back to that…I [i]love[/i] miniatures!) The [i]Aerial Distance[/i] table provided on page 39 is a godsend for those of us who are bad at math. I would’ve wished for a similar table but with a Z axis as well as the X and Y presented (to mimic 3D distances) but I have no idea how you would lay such a thing out (Again, bad math here) The next chapter covers the creation of Sky Ships. Skyship construction was pretty simple, even on first try and I thin it would be to anyone familiar with D20. The Size and Materials used to make the ship are the starting point and give you most of its basic “stats”. Templates are then used to add specific qualities ([i]Zeppelin[/i], [i]Undead Hulk[/i] etc.). I’m not sure that these rules will replace Bastion’s [b]Airships[/b] for my group, but they are at first glance of comparable utility, if not as flavourful. Chapter four [i]Sky Realms[/i] gives us what [b]Airships[/b] failed to: a setting. Though sparsely described (and mostly concerned with the Cloud City of Sellaine) chapter four is teeming with good ideas for a sky-based campaign. The descriptions of Sellaine’s political situation, its important figures, its neighbourhoods and its culture provide a nice “Jumping off Point” (sorry) for a sky based campaign within its 10 or so pages. The rest of the book is comprised of a bestiary filled with about what you would expect: Aerial Foes suitable for a fantasy setting, as well as a few appropriate templates and a short section on running Aerial Adventures. All told, I think this book will be a welcome addition to our [b]Airships[/b] game, really fleshing out some of the spots that Bastion overlooked in favor of their more comprehensive Skyship construction mechanics. [/QUOTE]
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