The Sigil
Mr. 3000 (Words per post)
DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliation whatsoever with the company, Malladin's Gate Press, that released this book. I have not been solicited by them to put this here. I honestly think the book is THIS good...
With all of the ranting going on about the BoVD and what might go into a Book of Exalted Deeds/Book of the Righteous, I stumbled across this little beauty on RPGNow.com today... "Forgotten Heroes - Paladins." http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=292&
Let me just say, "wow." This is a spartan book - no pretty cover, no pretty graphics - but the content is VERY well done. Plenty of "seasoning" (Fluff/cream) to go with the meat (crunch) but VERY meaty book.
A quick review (identical to the one I posted at RPGNow):
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QUICK HIT: Model of fantastic - if spartan - sourcebook for paladins. In the top three "classbooks" I've seen from any d20 Publisher, print or PDF. No, not "paladin classbooks", "Classbooks" - for ANY class.
Excellent book... one of the better ones I've seen to date. Don't let the plain text look fool you - the writing is superb. It lacks some of the artistic polish of other offerings here, but the content is A+ stuff.
This book contains several variant paladin core classes (20 levels' worth) to start you off - paladins who focus in healing or smiting evil or defending the innocent. Each is a slight tweak on the basic paladin class.
The prestige class selection is good - well-detailed and 5 levels apiece. Nearly every one is well thought-out in terms of both abilities and how it fits into a campaign. There are even a couple of classes for campaigns with firearms (not that I use firearms, but nice touch).
In addition you have sections detailing further Feats for your paladin - well thought-out, flavorful Feats, and new paladin spells are included as well.
The "Tests of Faith" section is also excellent - it provides a means for a paladin to "prove himself" to himself - or fail to do so - with appropriate bonuses (or penalties) if his faith is found to be true (or lacking). Also included is a section on expanding the paladin's Smite Evil ability - a wonderfully flavorful section. Abilities for armor and shields round out the selection of goodies with a few other extras thrown in.
All in all, a wonderfully comprehensive book on paladins - easily the best one I've seen to date (not that there are many). I was VERY pleased to find this little gem. If you are considering playing a paladin - or a DM looking for a way to differentiate Paladin Joe from Paladin Bob, I can't recommend this book highly enough. Best of all, I saw no glaring balance problems (granted, I haven't had time to playtest everything) in any of the material presented - a huge plus.
Even if you're not inclined to play a paladin, pick this up - you just might want to play one when you're done.
--Spencer "The Sigil" Cooley
With all of the ranting going on about the BoVD and what might go into a Book of Exalted Deeds/Book of the Righteous, I stumbled across this little beauty on RPGNow.com today... "Forgotten Heroes - Paladins." http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=292&
Let me just say, "wow." This is a spartan book - no pretty cover, no pretty graphics - but the content is VERY well done. Plenty of "seasoning" (Fluff/cream) to go with the meat (crunch) but VERY meaty book.
A quick review (identical to the one I posted at RPGNow):
----------------------------------------
QUICK HIT: Model of fantastic - if spartan - sourcebook for paladins. In the top three "classbooks" I've seen from any d20 Publisher, print or PDF. No, not "paladin classbooks", "Classbooks" - for ANY class.
Excellent book... one of the better ones I've seen to date. Don't let the plain text look fool you - the writing is superb. It lacks some of the artistic polish of other offerings here, but the content is A+ stuff.
This book contains several variant paladin core classes (20 levels' worth) to start you off - paladins who focus in healing or smiting evil or defending the innocent. Each is a slight tweak on the basic paladin class.
The prestige class selection is good - well-detailed and 5 levels apiece. Nearly every one is well thought-out in terms of both abilities and how it fits into a campaign. There are even a couple of classes for campaigns with firearms (not that I use firearms, but nice touch).
In addition you have sections detailing further Feats for your paladin - well thought-out, flavorful Feats, and new paladin spells are included as well.
The "Tests of Faith" section is also excellent - it provides a means for a paladin to "prove himself" to himself - or fail to do so - with appropriate bonuses (or penalties) if his faith is found to be true (or lacking). Also included is a section on expanding the paladin's Smite Evil ability - a wonderfully flavorful section. Abilities for armor and shields round out the selection of goodies with a few other extras thrown in.
All in all, a wonderfully comprehensive book on paladins - easily the best one I've seen to date (not that there are many). I was VERY pleased to find this little gem. If you are considering playing a paladin - or a DM looking for a way to differentiate Paladin Joe from Paladin Bob, I can't recommend this book highly enough. Best of all, I saw no glaring balance problems (granted, I haven't had time to playtest everything) in any of the material presented - a huge plus.
Even if you're not inclined to play a paladin, pick this up - you just might want to play one when you're done.
--Spencer "The Sigil" Cooley
