Slit518
Adventurer
I hear you on this. It was $30 on Amazon, so the price was right. Not sure if it was still on sale or not though.
D&D 5E Xanathar's Poll
- Thread starter Bladecoder
- Start date
I hear you on this. It was $30 on Amazon, so the price was right. Not sure if it was still on sale or not though.
I looked at it at Barnes and Noble and put it back on the shelf. Pages 77-86, 113-134 would be useful to me and, maybe, the same for the spells. The rest of the book I found to be worthless to me. The subclasses were, with two or three exceptions, completely disappointing to me conceptually and/or mechanically. The two or three subclasses that I might allow in a campaign, I could still probably find better takes by searching DM Guild, Reddit Unearthed Arcana, Homebrewery, or various blogs, website (which is definitely true for a few of the others).
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Li Shenron
Legend
I am still planning to get it after they incorporate the errata. I don't actually mind the overprice, considering it will be only our fourth 5e book in four years. I don't think the content is all gold, but the majority of it is.
The good:
- mostly doubles the archetypes for all classes (except Wiz/Cle); IMHO the PHB archetypes were still a bit too few, and too specific for some classes (e.g. Sorcerer), so this expansion greatly helps players to play a class closer to the way they see it [50+ pages]
- very good spells additions, even if they are not entirely new [25 pages]
- very useful narrative suggestions for all classes [~10 pages]
- fairly good expansions to tools proficiencies [~7 pages]
- downtime activities, although there seem to be many reprinted from the DMG, perhaps with only small additions [~12 pages]
The meh:
- traps rules are nice, but examples are lacking
- new feats could have been much better and so much more than just racial feats, as they had at least 3 UA articles on feats plus a few more feats scattered around in other articles, surely at least some of those must have received positive feedback; instead they ended up with the most boring of the sets, significantly reduced in size, and almost all of them are just "half-feats" with an ASI
- new rules all cover very minor things, and a couple of them are seriously poorly thought-out
- random encounter tables, useful but always feel like they should rather be freebies, since they are not true design work but only gathering of existing information
The bad:
- 20 pages of names, but the actual number of names is very small, thanks to an atrocious layout that is mostly empty
The good:
- mostly doubles the archetypes for all classes (except Wiz/Cle); IMHO the PHB archetypes were still a bit too few, and too specific for some classes (e.g. Sorcerer), so this expansion greatly helps players to play a class closer to the way they see it [50+ pages]
- very good spells additions, even if they are not entirely new [25 pages]
- very useful narrative suggestions for all classes [~10 pages]
- fairly good expansions to tools proficiencies [~7 pages]
- downtime activities, although there seem to be many reprinted from the DMG, perhaps with only small additions [~12 pages]
The meh:
- traps rules are nice, but examples are lacking
- new feats could have been much better and so much more than just racial feats, as they had at least 3 UA articles on feats plus a few more feats scattered around in other articles, surely at least some of those must have received positive feedback; instead they ended up with the most boring of the sets, significantly reduced in size, and almost all of them are just "half-feats" with an ASI
- new rules all cover very minor things, and a couple of them are seriously poorly thought-out
- random encounter tables, useful but always feel like they should rather be freebies, since they are not true design work but only gathering of existing information
The bad:
- 20 pages of names, but the actual number of names is very small, thanks to an atrocious layout that is mostly empty
Sword of Spirit
Legend
If I were going to do it myself, I would have changed which subclasses made it in (there probably would have actually been less in quantity, but they would have filled some missing spots and had less quasi-redundancy), added more feats that weren't just about races, and put in some rules such as mass combat or some of the things that didn't make the DMG (like monsters as characters and gestalt multiclassing).
But...since I follow along pretty closely I already knew what I'd be getting in the book, and from that stand-point I'm happy with it.
There are only a couple sub-class features I have to house-rule, I can get meaningful inspiration from the downtime activities even if I can't really use many of them as-is, and the behind the scenes material (such as the minor vs. major magic items reveal/classification) is hugely useful in working up my own modifications to the game. Normally I'm not a fan of material I can't basically just use as-is, so the fact that I still appreciate this material is a big compliment coming from me.
But...since I follow along pretty closely I already knew what I'd be getting in the book, and from that stand-point I'm happy with it.
There are only a couple sub-class features I have to house-rule, I can get meaningful inspiration from the downtime activities even if I can't really use many of them as-is, and the behind the scenes material (such as the minor vs. major magic items reveal/classification) is hugely useful in working up my own modifications to the game. Normally I'm not a fan of material I can't basically just use as-is, so the fact that I still appreciate this material is a big compliment coming from me.
Tales and Chronicles
Jewel of the North, formerly know as vincegetorix
I like the book, but feel they went a little too safe for the content. Its probably just because we had a long time to preview the material, but it came without any ''wow'' effect, nothing that feels new or totally needed/desired. Maybe its because 5e relative simplicity impact on design space, but I feel most new subclasses are pretty basic and dont add anything game-changing (not in the sense of overpowered, much in the sense of function). I guess we'll have to wait for new classes becauses archetype dont allow for much differentiation.
I think in the future we need classes that use something more than Advantage/Disadvantage, Expertise and Healing Pools, classes that use other mechanics of the game like HD, Exhaustion, Inspiration, Backgrounds, Underwater fighting, Downtime/Rituals, Cover rules etc They all are in the PHB, yet most of those are left out in many games because most players mechanics dont use them.
I think in the future we need classes that use something more than Advantage/Disadvantage, Expertise and Healing Pools, classes that use other mechanics of the game like HD, Exhaustion, Inspiration, Backgrounds, Underwater fighting, Downtime/Rituals, Cover rules etc They all are in the PHB, yet most of those are left out in many games because most players mechanics dont use them.
Warpiglet
Adventurer
It all depends on how we evaluate the book, right?
Do I like all of it. Absolutely not. Cannot stand the flavor of some subclasses or really, the lack thereof. However, there is enough that I DO like that it is a no brainer. I think it is a fun addition.
I enjoy some subclasses, some spells, the random encounters tables, the suggestions for backstory and so forth.
It is not a weighty book, but the quality is pretty good. I like the art generally, racial feats and some more. Easily worth the amazon price.
Do I like all of it. Absolutely not. Cannot stand the flavor of some subclasses or really, the lack thereof. However, there is enough that I DO like that it is a no brainer. I think it is a fun addition.
I enjoy some subclasses, some spells, the random encounters tables, the suggestions for backstory and so forth.
It is not a weighty book, but the quality is pretty good. I like the art generally, racial feats and some more. Easily worth the amazon price.
ART!
Deluxe Unhuman
Got it for Christmas, so there's no issues for me of buyer's remorse, bang-for-my-buck, page-count, etc.
I'm diggin' it, and a player has already made a kensei monk and is very happy with it!
First time it got cracked open at the table pretty much every player rolled on the This Is Your Life tables and had a lot of fun with that.
I like the random tables at the beginning of each class section, too.
Haven't looked at much else in it yet.
I'm diggin' it, and a player has already made a kensei monk and is very happy with it!
First time it got cracked open at the table pretty much every player rolled on the This Is Your Life tables and had a lot of fun with that.
I like the random tables at the beginning of each class section, too.
Haven't looked at much else in it yet.
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I both agree and disagree with you on this.
I prefer that the players find creative and imaginative ways to explore the traditional races and classes. I strongly dislike parties that have the Star Wars cantina feel to them. This keeps the barrier to entry low. They only need a Player's Handbook and some handouts from me.
On the other hand, I love options. As a DM I love to have additional books with more fluff and more crunch. The more options I have the more inspriaration I might find for interesting NPCs with which to harass and entertain my players.
Just because those options are in official printed material does not mean that I have to allow players access to it in the campaign that I am running, though I am more open about Classes than I am about Races.
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