AHA! 3e got something right! congrats wizards of the coast!

[Psion]

I thought it was pretty cool. I especially dug the resurrection options.

 

[Crothian]

I'm hoping Santa brings it for me.

 

[Psychic Warrior]

I'm hoping Santa brings it for me.

I've got so many RPg books on my Xmas list I have little hope to see this under the tree.

However I have just about bought my way to a free gift certificate at my FLGS so Heroes of Horror might have to be my 'freebie'!

 

[Mouseferatu]

I also think it is a great book and our very own Mouseferatu will be happy to hear that you like it.

DM

Indeed he is.

If/when you have the chance to use the material in an ongoing game, I'd love to hear about how it goes.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I felt a little cheated by this book. It read like the Complete Book of Taint and if you don't like that particular mechanic, then you're left with less than half a book. Maybe it'll grow on me. Either way, I'm glad to hear that it's rekindled interest for some of you.

I certainly do hope it grows on you. But if not, such is life. I know better than to think everything I work in will please everybody.

That said, "less than half the book" is usable if people don't like taint? Taint takes up, or is at least heavily involved with, approximately:

=Six pages of optional rules in a 21-page chapter of optional rules.

=Three of eight new classes (and neither of the new base classes are among those three).

=Ten of 31 new feats.

=Three of 31 new spells.

=Four of 13 new monsters.

Plus, of course, there's the various "DM advice" chapters, which talk only a bit about taint.

Don't get me wrong. I do fully understand that people who don't want to use taint aren't going to get full use out of the book. But it's a smaller portion than a lot of people seem to feel.

And again, if the book just isn't your cup of tea, so be it. The above is presented in the hopes that it'll encourage you to take a second look, but if that second look doesn't change your overall decision, I can respect that.

 

[fafhrd]

Ari, I really should have had the data to back up my statements, especially when those comments could unfavorably color someone's product. I apologize. My copy is out on loan, and I was speaking from general impression.

I was quite excited about the book and, well, you know how expectations can be. In fairness, there are some real gems in the book. When I read the oneiromancy and spirit sense feats, new character ideas started popping into my head fully clothed. The archivist and dread necromancer(in spite of some bugginess) were desperately needed plugs for some holes in standard d&d.

The taint and some of the fluff ...tainted the work for me, but we gamers are a picky and disparate bunch. I don't want to give the impression that I don't appreciate that difficulty. Thanks for the hard work.

 

[Nightfall]

Ari,

While the taint mechanic isn't my thing, Herrors of Heroes is WAY better than Heroes of Battle. At least with HoH, I can certainly use more piecemeal aspects than I can HoB. But that's just me.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Hey, man, not a problem at all. I know full well how expectations of a project can color perception. I won't mention names, since I try to avoid complainig about other publisher's work in public, but I've had my share of books that just weren't what I wanted/expected, whether or not they were technically "good."

(And heck, I'll be the last person to try to claim that all my work is perfect, in any case. )

 

[Nightfall]

Ari,

Well that's cool. I will say I could use your help on a project of mine. No hurry. Just lookie here: Scarred Lands Revised

 

[engrishonly]

I felt a little cheated by this book. It read like the Complete Book of Taint and if you don't like that particular mechanic, then you're left with less than half a book. Maybe it'll grow on me. Either way, I'm glad to hear that it's rekindled interest for some of you.

I think the Taint mechanics aren't my thing when it comes to D&D... but I think they're great for d20 Star Wars... far better than the simplistic Dark Side corruption thing. So while I'm not sure about using Taint with D&D, it's still useful.

I think both the "Heroes of..." books have been solid buys for me.