Arcana Evolved

[Khairn]

Ashanderai, your oriental conversion looks really interesting. Good luck with it.

Regarding the general trend of this thread, I too can definately see how AU/AE might not work for some players. The setting and flavor is a significant departure from the standard D&D / Medieval world, and there is certainly a greater availability of magical abilities in both classes and races. If you are not able to or comfortable with shifting your internal gaming paradigm to accept animal themed races, sprytes, vulcans and giants, then you wont really enjoy the game.

When my group played the game we found that after 1st lv the majister became a powerhouse and definately dominated almost every encounter. But aside from that issue we found the magic system to be much more exciting and enjoyable than core D&D.

 

[Blastin]

Well...I managed to get my group to try it out. It helps that we are in a Star Wars game right now, and everyone is now in the mood to go back to Fantasy. I really hyped up the classes and such, and I think they will at least give it a go. The GM is gonna run the Ebenring Keep module, as he doesn't have a lot of time to make up his own modules. We start the game in about 2-3 weeks, as soon as Start Wars wraps up.
I'm really looking forward to this, I hope it goes well as I would hate to start playing and then have the game fall apart (keeps fingers crossed)

 

[Dougal DeKree]

Tried it again, took the suggestions using fireburst and what not. Nope didn't work I rolled crappy damage and had no fun. I am finished with AE.

You mean because you had no luck rolling your dice makes AE bad? If i understood that correctly, this is the worst reason to judge a gaming system I have ever read. Maybe you should have decided which role it is exactly you want to fill in your group before choosing a class?

 

[Fenlock]

Dagger75

As a mojh you can use simple weapons, so buy a light crossbow as soon a possible.

Use diminished 'veil of darkness' to create a 10' hemisphere of darkness around you when fighting against opponents without darkvision. when diminished it becomes a 0th level spell, which dont block darkvision.

Use distraction instead of damaging spells. you cant expect to cause any serious damage until you get sorcerous blast.

Use animate weapon to aid the melee fighters. you wont deal any damage, so use it diminished, but you can use it to flank or give +2 damage or +2 armor class.

Playing a magister you /need/ to know all the spells. if you dont have a copy of ae you are at a serious disadvantage. The custom spellbook generator: http://www.thewehners.net/joshua/spellbook/ will help.

The mohj/magister combo is not bad, but it is sub-optimized choise at the first couple of levels.

//F

 

[Ashanderai]

Ashanderai, your oriental conversion looks really interesting. Good luck with it.

Thanks!

Dagger75, Why blame the system for a sub-optimal build? Would you be this upset with core AD&D if you didn't own the books and made a Half-Orc Bard 2/Wizard 1 and then had trouble getting a decent to hit and damage roll? It sounds like you went with a character concept that seemed intriguing to you at the time of creation and then decided during play that you wanted a master spellslinger even though the initial concept doesn't match it. I have made a great many sub-optimal builds when playing a new game for the first time and I have never blamed the game system right away. Every time it was because my understanding of the new game system was still developing, not necessarily because it was a bad system.

 

[Aldarc]

Re:

Arcana Evolved is just a different type of fantasy. D&D 3.X in it's standard is more of a LotR variation, although it can obviously be used for different world concepts. However AE/AU is more heavily inspired by Donaldson's world of The Land or LeGuin's Earthsea novels. Eberron assumes that the heroes are more powerful and more unique than the general populace, so too does AE assume that the characters are greater than most and have something unique and supernatural that separates them from the rest of the populace.

And just that Eberron assumes a level of magic has influenced and become integrated into the lives of people of the world, AE's system assumes the importance of truenames, rites and rituals, ceremonies, and runes have become an integral part of the lives of people.

And while the races of AE may not appeal to some, the whole point of AE was to show an "alternative" players' handbook. The races exist to show that worlds do not have to be limited to elves, dwarves, and orcs. It is a book that allows giant characters and through ceremony and racial levels may become size large. Or to go in reverse direction, a small race such as the faen may take a sacrifice a feat and go through the process of being a tiny spryte. And I don't see how the verrik being "humans with a different mindset" is any different from elves being skinny humans with point ears and "a different mindset." Monte introduced the concept of racial levels, that become used in Unearthed Arcana for the standard races.

I'm not going to bother with the spell system, since I think enough people have talked about its beauty and elegance.

 

[Odhanan]

Just posted my review of Arcana Evolved on the site. Hope this helps some people around here.

Cheers,
Odh.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

And some of the classes are overpowered which to some makes them kewl, IMO. The warmain is better off than a fighter with better HD, better will save and just as many feats IIRC. Sure, his limited in his choices, but if you're going for the tank fighter, no big deal.

When you're not playing D&D, what does it matter? Arcana Evolved is its own game - complaining that a warmain is tougher than a fighter is like complaining that an Iron Heroes armiger is tougher than a fighter (even without getting into the argument that the core D&D fighter is underpowered).

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

When you're not playing D&D, what does it matter? Arcana Evolved is its own game - complaining that a warmain is tougher than a fighter is like complaining that an Iron Heroes armiger is tougher than a fighter (even without getting into the argument that the core D&D fighter is underpowered).

I think my point was that it opens up the possibility that some players will say "wauw, he's so much cooler than in D&D! AE is so much kewler!"

But then again, the point is to have fun and if that is it for some, the more power to them.
Guess I've just become a little tired of those sayin that AE is 'better' than D&D, based on this (no one in this thread, I hasten to say )

 

[Odhanan]

Is AE better than D&D ? Not particularly. It's comparing two sets of rules that have (small but) important differences. The main difference being that D&D is much more generic than AE with classes/archetypes anyone can instantly identify (like fighter, rogue/thief, wizard). Plus D&D is a game tailoring, framing what you do from beginning to end. The same cannot be said of AE. What is a Totem Warrior? Explanation. What is an Oathsworn. Explanation. It is also an open-ended system. It is a game one has to get used to, like has been said previously.

Could AE learn from D&D? It did, since Monte was part of the original design. The difference I was talking about coming mainly from the status of "personal take on D&D" AE has.

Could D&D learn from AE? No doubt in my mind. Mainly on the flexibility and versatility of the system. That is, allowing options to the players, the racial levels, the ability levels of transcendence, and more importantly, clear guidelines to create your own options and make the game yours. And D&D did learn from it, I think.

Do I think AE and D&D complete each other? Hell, yeah! That's how I play it, by the way. I think both PH complete each other nicely. AE is one of those rare OGL games that are playable alone but thought of as to allow crossovers easily, without having to modify the system heavily. Just keep one apart of each other (like said above) within the same campaign and it's all fine.