Bastion Press: Best Books?

[Knightfall]

First of all, I have a lot more experience with Bastion Press's line of d20 books. I already have Airships, Arms & Armor v3.5, Ink & Quill, Into the Black, Lore of the Gods, Minions: Fearsome Foes, and I just bought Into the Green, which is great. Therefore, I'm only looking for advice on only a few of the company's titles.

I think that Into the Blue will likely be my next purchase since I really like the "Black" and "Green" books. (Into the Black is my favorite Underdark book.) Doom Striders didn't get much praise in my 10 sourcebooks thread, so I'm shying away from that one, for now. (I do like Steampunk, so I might get it if I can find it for $5.)

Crothian's review of Guildcraft, that he posted on the 10 sourcebooks thread, make me think it isn't something I want.

I might get back into Oathbound at some point but for now it isn't on my radar. ( I owned the main hardcover at one point and wish I'd kept it. Doh! )

These are the Bastion books that I'm the most interested in learning about:

• Alchemy & Herbalists [v.3.0 or v.3.5?]
• Druids & Druidism [PDF only]
• Out for Blood
• Pale Designs: A Poisoner's Handbook
• Spells & Magic

However, advice on any of the Bastion Press books would be very much appreciated.

Cheers!

Knightfall

 

[Azgulor]

Out for Blood was ok. It wasn't bad and I really liked a few of the ideas (although details escape me without the book on hand), but overall I liked Green Ronin's vampire book better.

However, I love Torn Asunder. My players have always liked more detailed critical hit rules. Torn Asunder provides these better than anything else I've seen. They have hit locations based upon body type, so a hit location on a giant spider is a different chart than a horse, or a biped, etc. They also expand the healing rules. Lots of cool ideas to mine.

 

[Stormonu]

From my understanding, all but Arms & Armor are 3.0.

I have most of the books you mentioned as well as Alchemy & Herbalists and Spells & Magic. If you like books like Spell Compendium, you're sure to like Spells & Magic - many good and usable spells within that don't duplicate PHB spells.

Alchemy & Herbalists is more for the deep immersion roleplayers. It's a very informative book, but not something a Hack'n'Slasher would find interesting and a casual player would probably glance through but find little to use in a game (mostly alchemy items). If you are the type that like to describe to the DM the exact material component you're using for a spell (and I know a couple of players that do) or what herb they're gathering to clot a wound (I am reminded of the scene in Fellowship of The Ring looking for Kingsfoil and in Shrek with donkey looking for the red flower), this book would likely thrill them. The classes presented herein are not designed for outright combat and probably work better for making long-term NPCs who help the PCs in their adventures or send them on quests for specific mcguffins.

 

[kenmarable]

I can see Doom Striders not being highly regarded mostly because of the topic. The quality is great, however. It is one of those "if you are even remotely interested in the topic, BUY IT!" kinds of books. If the topic isn't interesting, then it is utterly useless.

Also, from your list, I'd say Pale Designs is the same way. If you want to make poison more of a factor in your games (including a massive index of OGL poisons and even more robust rules if I recall), then definitely buy it! Probably the best 3.x book on poisons. Same with Torn Asunder that Azgulor mentions. If you want more robust critical hits and healing rules, then Torn Asunder is easily the best book out there. (And Paizo's critical hit deck is the best accessory.)

As for the other books, they aren't bad, but none of them really caught my attention. I really liked the idea behind Alchemy & Herbalism, but found that I never really used it.

Spells & Magic is another hit and miss one. From what I recall, it's a lot like a 3.0 3pp Tome of Magic, but with a wider variety. I think Atlas did a similar book as well. In both cases, 80% was stuff I would never use, another 15% was interesting conceptually and inspired new ideas but the mechanics didn't grab me, and 5% was "I have got to use this!!" So if you find it for a price that justifies maybe a handful of useful pages, or are REALLY into alternate magic systems for PCs or NPCs, then get it.

Or hunt down a copy of Oathbound again (although I am biased). The Oathbound books, Torn Asunder, and Doom Striders (other than some typos) are their best books in my opinion.

 

[Treebore]

Despite all the heat BP took from this board over the years, their material, at the very least, is chock full of cool ideas to inspire an idea strapped GM.

However, of what you have listed the ones I like most, and it is because of their "immersive" nature:

* Alchemy & Herbalists
* Pale Designs: A Poisoner's Handbook


I have so many other spell/magic resources that I prefer to use that I haven't touched Spells and Magic since I bought it, however I do remember liking what I read in it. Its just simply to low on my totem pole of similar resources.

 

[JustKim]

Alchemy & Herbalists and Spells & Magic are both 3.0, very early 3.0. I didn't pick them up until much later because they were overpriced at the time at $25 for under 100 pages. I think I got them for $5 and I imagine retailers are practically giving them away now.

They're worth picking up for cheap if only for a flip through. There's some nice art and the flavor is worth borrowing. The rules content is wretched.

Alchemy & Herbalists introduces a system for herbalism and alchemy that demands such investment, it will almost certainly dominate the campaign and be an enormous sink for any alchemist character. It's unfortunate, then, that the alchemy is piddly from level 1 to 20. If you strip away all of the feats and skills and retool the costs, you are left with some interesting items. You are left with many more poorly designed items and rules misunderstandings, such as pastes that give objects +2 to Fortitude saves against fire.
It's clear that the book was written with love, but not with a love for the d20 system.

Spells & Magic is a Netbook style collection of alternative magic sources. Some of them, like the jewel and mirror chapters, are pretty cool. Almost all of them have been done better in the 8 years since the book was published. Half the book are new spells and magic items that support the new magic systems, so between flavor, PrCs, spells and items, each magic source gets about 9 pages. I can't really say much about the rules content in this one, but I'm willing to bet it's underpowered and requires some fiddling, if not as much as Alchemy & Herbalists.

 

[Voadam]

Druid and Druidism is pdf only, I didn't care for it very much, the prestige classes were OK fluff wise but really weak mechanically, such that you would never want to take them, just go for their archetype with a straight druid and not give up half your powers.

I like all the Into the series, including Into the Blue. Just turn the deep-sea bottom dwelling turtlefolk who never come to the surface into crabfolk and it will work better.

I would recommend Faeries, even though it is 3.0 it is a very folkloric/mythic take on the subject of a D&D fairyland demiplane with denizens such as Oberon, Old Man Winter, Titania, Jack Frost, Sand Man, and Baba Yaga (I forget the name of the queen of air and darkness). Very evocative D&D fey.

Out for Blood is a fun alt vamp sourcebook with about a third devoted to about a dozen variant vamps and vamp associated monsters, a third devoted to prestige classes along vamp and vamp hunter themes, and a third on campaign ideas like secret societies and such.

Spells and magic is half magical prestige classes going into very nonstandard magical practices (I like the flavor but not a lot of the mechanics) and half spells and magic items. Herbalists and poisons go in-depth on their subject matters and provide tons of options but I was not overly impressed with their mechanics.

Oathbound and the follow ups are all fantastic.

 

[Knightfall]

However, I love Torn Asunder. My players have always liked more detailed critical hit rules. Torn Asunder provides these better than anything else I've seen. They have hit locations based upon body type, so a hit location on a giant spider is a different chart than a horse, or a biped, etc. They also expand the healing rules. Lots of cool ideas to mine.

Same with Torn Asunder that Azgulor mentions. If you want more robust critical hits and healing rules, then Torn Asunder is easily the best book out there. (And Paizo's critical hit deck is the best accessory.)

The idea of more robust critical hits doesn't really appeal that much to me. The healing rules could be of interest but I likely wouldn't buy it for just that.

I can see Doom Striders not being highly regarded mostly because of the topic. The quality is great, however. It is one of those "if you are even remotely interested in the topic, BUY IT!" kinds of books. If the topic isn't interesting, then it is utterly useless.

Are there detailed but appropriate rules for designing fantasy-based mechs? I had the d20 Mecha Compendium at one point but it was too 'modern' for my taste. I want my fantasy mechs to be like in Escaflowne.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Oathbound =

 

[Zaukrie]

How is Airships? I'm potentially moving my "stargate" campaign to an airship campaign (kind of like the tv show, though completely unplanned).