Arcana Unearthed: Pro's and Con's

[Harlock]

Disclaimer: I don't own AU, so take my opinion as just that, opinion.

I tend to agree with iron Chef on this one. This book was at the top of my wish list for quite some time... until I was able to pick it up at the LGS and give it a flip-through/skim. Nothing jumped out at me. I agree that there were layout problems. Nothing leaps out at you, really. The cover was so-so. I liked the shiny circles on the matte finish background but there was so much wasted space... sort of like some styles of art I don't particularly care for. I concentrated much of my focus on the races and they just didn't impress me too much. Nothing really new there, but in fantasy what hasn't been done already? Also, the whole feel just wasn't D&D. Which is, I am certain, what Monte was going for but for this gamer that's not always a plus. Anyway, I was able to shorten my wishlist by taking off all the AU material.

Kudos to Iron Chef for taking what will probably turn into an unpopular position once the fanboys come out. Even if they get livid and indignant you backed your opinion up quite well without being too mean.

 

[HellHound]

Layout was a downer, but it is an extension of the Malhavoc layout which works VERY well in the smaller books they have released to date.

I expected the clean layout from these smaller books to come out looking as sharp and clean in the larger book, but I don't think anyone expected it to end up quite as... boring... as it looks.

On the other hand, I love Dave Hendee's art style, although I feel it fits better into a darker design motif than the sharp design format of Malhavoc books.

 

[netnomad]

I have to agree with most of the stuff chief brought up as well. The book is just visually bland. It looks like a printed out PDF. If I’m going to spend the $$$ on a hardback want it to have a nicer layout than a “for print” pdf. There just seemed to be so much white on the page it was just so distracting, maybe this it because 3.5 came out at the same time and it easy to compare the two but still.

As for the content the races just seem uninteresting. Now so are the normal D&D races but this product strive to be different and I think it fails in the race chapter. That being said the classes, feats and magic system is where this book really shines. Most of the Class are interesting and the magic system is really customizable yet simple.

If the book was $10 cheaper and soft cover I think I would have been less critical and more forgiving but I feel that the book is missing “pizzazz”. If you want the best parts of the book (the magic system) I would just by the PDFs (Way of the Staff and Grimore) at Monte’s site.

-NetNomad

 

[Mallus]

It had some good ideas, but ultimately the poor presentation killed it.

That's a bit like saying chess is a bad game because you played on a roll-up board w/cheap plastic pieces. If "poor presentation" of game material was enough to "kill" a ruleset, D&D would never have made it past the 1970's

In fact, I don't recall the 1st edition AD&D books even having indexes, though I could be wroung about that...

Anyway, the presentation isn't the most readable, and pales in comparion the 3.5E PHB. That said, its not about the art, or even the layout, its about the information. Nice artwork isn't going to help you run an interesting game, which takes place in the participants imagination, the last time I checked...

Now not liking the new system, that's another matter entirely. I wasn't impressed w/the races, but loved the idea of racial levels. And I think you need a little time with AU to see how Monte's design choices play out thorugh the entire system. Its not just a collection of new feats, classes and spells.

 

[Voadam]

I got the pdf value pack, not the hardcover.

My complaints are that it deliberately does not cover all the new material from the hardcover (weapons in particular).

If I had only gotten the grimoire or the magic book I would have been very angry that they were not stand alone but required material from the others to be fully used (spell templates are in the grimoire but the feats to apply them are in the class book, the classes in the magic class book do not have the spells for the classes or the spell templates that the feats allow you to use).

 

[Tsyr]

My complaints are that it deliberately does not cover all the new material from the hardcover (weapons in particular).

So, let me get this strait... Buying product A, which is not product B, but cheaper than product B, doesn't give you all the same information as product B?

Novel concept, that.

 

[Kestrel]

30 dollars for a B/W book with new content vs 90 dollars for colored regurgitated crap. Hmmm.

I'll take door number one Monte!

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

30 dollars for a B/W book with new content vs 90 dollars for colored regurgitated crap. Hmmm.

I'll take door number one Monte!

Well, there's plenty of regurgitated material in AU. Large sections of the SRD are in there, in the combat chapter for one example.

I like the classes in AU, but the races do very little for me. Some of the feats are nice, and I like the spell system, but the setting so far leaves me cold.

There's a fine line between originality and being different just to be different. I'm not sure where AU falls. All I can say for sure, is I'll use bits and pieces but not the whole thing.

 

[KenM]

I just picked up AU yestery, looked though it. My thoughts:
1. Is there a reason put in AU why Monte put in an alternate XP level chart?

2. I don't like the fact they have alot of stuff from the PH reprinted. I think some of the feats that are reprinted from there have different names. This makes it harder to keep track of.

3. I like some of the ideas with the magic system. Truenames, and you can have hightenghted and diminished power spells.

4. Some of the classes in AU seem like alternate Prestige classes.

 

[Tsyr]

I just picked up AU yestery, looked though it. My thoughts:
1. Is there a reason put in AU why Monte put in an alternate XP level chart?

2. I don't like the fact they have alot of stuff from the PH reprinted. I think some of the feats that are reprinted from there have different names. This makes it harder to keep track of.

1) I believe you can't reproduce the existing XP chart... It's not open material. So to have an XP chart in a book, you have to produce a slightly different one.

2) Hence why the book is called a Players Handbook...