Anybody know anything about AEG's Secrets

[DarkMerlin]

I did a bit of work on it (chapter 4), and I must say it was the most fun I've had since working on Relics. I'm glad you guys seem to enjoy it.

Incidently, if any of you happen to try my Soldier of Truth class, I would appriciate it if you would email me (darkmerlin12@hotmail.com) and tell me how it went. I am always interested in seeing how things playtest in games other than my own.

-Andrew Hudson

 

[Crothian]

That's good to hear as I really enjoyed Relics.

 

[thundershot]

yessss.... relics was a verrrry good read, even though I'll never get to utilize the mass majority of it...



Chris

 

[Crothian]

it would be hard to use that many relics in a gems. I've used about 9 so far and plan on using more though....

 

[DM_Jeff]

AEG's Secrets

>>It's funny - two of the bigger d20 companies, AEG and FFG, have really >>awful websites, at least when it comes on information on their upcoming >>products. I guess they don't have to worry about it.

Aye, funny that, isn't it? Amazes me too.

I was the Managing Editor for this book for 90% of it's life. I can try to answer as many questions as I can. The book is already out in stores, so there's little that's a spoiler or company secret now!

Someone likened it to Unearthed Arcana. That might be a good anaology, but here we spend more time discussing how to integrate the rules into your individual campaign, options to use when using them, and background intro.

It does not have quite as much 'crunch' as UA, because more space is used for the intros and * campaign flavor *, making the book a very good read to get the creative juices flowing. Usually a book written by different authors feels that way, in this case it's true and deliberate! Let me explain...

Each chapter was written from a fantasy persona's point of view. Maybe these were (are) NPCs in your world. Who knows. But each of them , in their own words, fashion and viewpoint present what they have learned about a little known secret of the world. Since this is passed on info, it might not be accurate. This is where a DM can read it and say "I like this" or "I like this, but in my world this part isn't true" or even "Malarky, this is all wrong, but I'll let the players hear it this way to rayally screw with them!"

Some of this narrative could even be used right in game play either if the party meets these NPCs or reads an uncovered scroll from one of their logs.

When the rules come into play, they are not typical. There are no filler feats or obligatory spells, they are very different and written purposefully to bring out the wonder in a game. As the one who got to approve the Soldier of Truth class the writer mentioned earlier in this post, I personally can't wait to read what folks think of this! When we get to the crunch in other words, we made them really worth it.

There's the secret of mixing potions, lichdom, and how to play in a campaign (and maintain balance) where there are no real gods and the clerics are...gone!

It's $26.95 U.S. and comes in at 160 pages. Any other questions?

-DM Jeff

 

[Selganor]

Any other questions?

Yes...

Chapter 3 is missing. Why? (Yes, I read the text in the intro but can we get any more info?)

As soon as I'm through with it there will be a German review of it on a German RPG-Reviews-Site.

 

[DM_Jeff]

>>Chapter 3 is missing. Why? (Yes, I read the text in the intro but can we get any more info?)

It isn't actually 'missing' as misnumbered. As you can see, The TOC lists in order chapters 1, 2, 4, 7, 5, 6, 8. More than likely they were just misnumbered. The good news is I too can say wa-wa-whaaaa?? Because I wasn't part of the final layout so I don't know what the issue was there! Maybe it's a secret!

-DM Jeff

 

[DarkMerlin]

Yeah, I think that the SoT is about as "crunch" as you can get, because it introduces a mechanic that has never been used anywhere else in the d20 system that I know of--namely class abilities which are powered by a small number of points, which regenerate quickly. This is a major break from the standard "per day" mechanic used so often in d20. In essence, it means that a SoT can be at full capacity for for practically every battle and can be extremely effective for a few rounds and very successful in a few actions, but, if you are not careful with how you use your focus points, you will end up five rounds into melee without being able to use most of your class abilities (essentially turning you into a watered-down monk). Furthermore, most abilities have no inherent caps on how many points you can pump into them each time you use them, but, again, you must use your best judgement in balancing what you need *right now* and what you will need later in the battle. I am sorry that it does not offer much customization opportunities for the class abilities, but I was having enough trouble balancing the new mechanic without having to worry about class options. In the end, though, how a player uses this class can make a character as unique as could any aspect of character building. It is a class far more suited to in-battle tactics and ability combinations than character min/maxing and the like--something I think is often lost in much d20 material.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. I know this class like the back of my hand, so feel free to post any questions you might have.

 

[Psion]

I finally got it. (Had to purchase it... AEG hasn't sent me anything since Guilds and Agency.)

Someone likened it to UA. Some aspects of it, like variant classes and variant rules for clerical powers fit that mold. But more generally, it's a bit more like Touched by the Gods, with the exception that each chapter introduces multiple disparate concepts instead of just a few. I also like the "this might or might not be true" angle; it reminds me of Planescape.

Where new mechanics are introduced, the are mainly to support a concept in the text. Some of the classes feel more complete for this; I know with many classes in some d20 products, it feels like the background is an afterthought.

AEG is sure getting some mileage out of Green Ronin's Bloodline feat concept (they expanded on this in Feats, and there are more here). I like seeing that sort of OGL piggybacking.

Some of the ideas are pretty neat, so far.

There's also a neat little appendix with a laundry list of secrets you can use. I dig this. It reminds me of one of my most favorite and oft-used articles from Dragon, 101 Little Mysteries by Steve Berman.

Nitpick: Section 15 is wrong. Only cites the 3.0 SRD (it's obvious this one used the 3.5 SRD), and should also at least have Hammer & Helm for the bloodline feats. I have no idea what else it might have used, but it seems like they used a boilerplate OGL and forgot to update it.

Overall, I'm not big on variant classes. But most of the ideas are neat, and it's certainly fertile ground for a campaign, and I do like the feats and variant rules.

 

[Psion]

AEG hasn't sent me anything since Guilds and Agency.

Er, actually, I just found out that's not true. They sent me Secrets, but they just sent it to my old address. So, be expecting a review in the upcoming weeks.