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Message: <blockquote data-quote="woodelf" data-source="post: 1089000" data-attributes="member: 10201">Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: From his wife...It's not so much Greyhawk, per se, as it is the default assumptions of D&D, which are shared (mostly) by Greyhawk and FR: paladins, druids, rogues-as-sneaky-fighters, militant clerics, which spells are available and at what levels--that sort of stuff. Yes, there's a lot of setting implied in the AU rules.  But, no more than is implied in the D&D3E rules--it's just a matter of to what degree those assumptions mesh with your own.Well, not a fan of Diamond Throne (what little i've seen of it so far leaves me cold), and the only thing about Midnight that excites me is the spellcasting system. However, i disagree that humans have to be at the forefront--the protagonists have to be at the forefront, and the PCs have to be the protagonists (or, at least, a member of the group of protagonists).  So, i agree that playing 2nd fiddle to NPCs, and thus having no power to alter the outcome, is frustrating and rarely, if ever, worthwhile, but i don't think humanity's place has much bearing on that, one way or the other. Personally, one of my disappointments with AU was in leaving the humans in--though i suppose verrik and mojh wouldn't have worked without humans in the setting.  Damn! Wish i'd known there'd be people buying it and getting sick of it this quickly--i'd have waited and bought a used copy (tight budget, and all).  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />  Anyway, what *do* you consider a "shining example of good game design, setting design, or presentation"--individually, or collectively?Interesting... this is the book that has cemented Monte's credibility as a game designer in my mind.  When i first heard about him, it was as a designer of D&D3E and the author of the D&D3E DMG--which put him at about a 2 on the 1-10 scale.  Then i saw his alternate bard rules (friend bought the PDF), and he jumped up to about a 7.  Then i started reading his design diary, and he said a whole bunch of stuff about D&D3E that i consider the gospel truth, and it's about time someone else noticed.  AU is only the 2nd D20 book i've ever purchased (Dynasties & Demagogues being the 1st), and it's good enough that i'll be at least giving a look at everything else Monte Cook does for a while.  Probably won't buy most of it, because he mostly turns his talents towards crunch-heavy D&D3[.5]E-compatible stuff, but i'll give it a chance.</blockquote>

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