Dr. Niles Crane
First Post
I purchased AU and had the opportunity to play in a demo at Gen Con over the weekend. I had some down time at the convention before the demo to give the book a quick read (fast reader) and thought it was a mix (some good, some bad). After playing and testing out a few things (particularly the magic), I liked some of what I saw, but not enough to incoprorate it into my existing campaign (which is pretty much standard D&D). The book was worth my $30 more for the ideas in it than actually using it or running a campaign, but your mileage will vary.
I played a 7th level Magistar (basically a sorcerer who can pick new "spells known" daily) who was a spryte (a pixie without the magical abilities basically). I also played a series of 3.0 and 3.5 wizards in other events for a sense of contrast (not intentionally; it just worked out that way). I found the magic system was very interesting: you can easily make spells "cost" a lower or higher spell slot by tweaking their effects (this is detailed under each spell description). It's very similiar to the standard feat system but much cleaner and smoother. The power level is definitely higher in some regards: for example, my 7th level character could use a 3rd level spell that was basically a lightning bolt + bull rush (with a 30 strength), but drop it to 2nd level by getting rid of the bull rush effect. Very cool, although definitely powerful.
The spell list is unifed, so there isn't a cleric/wizard/bard/whatever list. There are a few Eldricth Might spells incorporated into the AU book, but I don't think the spells (or D&D spells) would necessarily convert over 1:1. My gut feeling, having played both Wizards and one Magistar, is that the two magic systems (AU & D&D) aren't compatible, at least not easily. The AU casters have tremendous flexibiliy: it's like having a sorcerer with a "known spells" list that can change daily (with an hour prep time) to any spell in the book, whether wizard, cleric, druid, or bard (with a few limitations depending on class). The Magistar I played was probably equal to a well constructed D&D 3.5 wizard of around 9th or 10th level based on spell power--however, the spells also are very different (not the PHB list at all!), so it's a really tough call to make.
The races are very different and several have three levels you can take to improve them (like Savage Species) instead of a standard AU class. The races themselves are a matter of personal taste of course: I was a little disappointed as they felt to a bit cliche (lion men, dragon men, giants, pixies). I didn't feel like they were particularly inventive or interesting, particularly in comparison to the classes. However, one thing I did like is that they run the size categories from tiny to large with the appropriate size benefits/penalties. Again, that's just my first impression: other folks might really like them. I might have liked them more if there was more background or campaign stuff on the races, why they existed, and more "meat" in that section, but that's for the other AU books.
The Death's Door rule is really nifty for PCs (basically a person with higher con has a wider window of being staggered and then knocked out before dying, rather than a flat -10 for everyone). I suspect it would be a pain to keep track of for NPCs: perhaps using the new rule for "named" NPCs and the old -10 for fodder might work, but I haven't given it much thought--other folks might be better able to comment.
Hero Points are well done and purposefully also left open to the DM to determine how many characters get, how often they get more, and how they can use/not use them. Of everything in the book, I suspect that system is the easiest to port over to a standard D&D campaign and would add the most value if used in moderation. The DM who ran the demo stressed that: with a lot of hero points, the game gets a kind of superhero flavor--good if that's what you're going for, but it might bend or break a more serious game.
The book is black and white (color cover) and felt a little lightweight per page (in terms of content due to the spacing of sentences...lots of white space per page), especially compared to the PHB, but it is on par with most other hard cover suppliments and campaign settings. Some folks might find it easier to read, but it felt like a lot of possible content space was lost due to the sentence spacing.
The classes, while probably not fitting into a D&D campaign primarily due to balance and the magic system, were very inventive and creative. Monte's work here really impressed me and I can't stress that enough. Honestly, the rest of the book (with several exceptions) didn't really amaze me, but the classes definitely seemed very cool and in the demo were interesting to see in action. IMHO, if you're on the fence, take a look at the classes first and if you're impressed, it's probably worth price of admission.
Just my two cents.
I played a 7th level Magistar (basically a sorcerer who can pick new "spells known" daily) who was a spryte (a pixie without the magical abilities basically). I also played a series of 3.0 and 3.5 wizards in other events for a sense of contrast (not intentionally; it just worked out that way). I found the magic system was very interesting: you can easily make spells "cost" a lower or higher spell slot by tweaking their effects (this is detailed under each spell description). It's very similiar to the standard feat system but much cleaner and smoother. The power level is definitely higher in some regards: for example, my 7th level character could use a 3rd level spell that was basically a lightning bolt + bull rush (with a 30 strength), but drop it to 2nd level by getting rid of the bull rush effect. Very cool, although definitely powerful.
The spell list is unifed, so there isn't a cleric/wizard/bard/whatever list. There are a few Eldricth Might spells incorporated into the AU book, but I don't think the spells (or D&D spells) would necessarily convert over 1:1. My gut feeling, having played both Wizards and one Magistar, is that the two magic systems (AU & D&D) aren't compatible, at least not easily. The AU casters have tremendous flexibiliy: it's like having a sorcerer with a "known spells" list that can change daily (with an hour prep time) to any spell in the book, whether wizard, cleric, druid, or bard (with a few limitations depending on class). The Magistar I played was probably equal to a well constructed D&D 3.5 wizard of around 9th or 10th level based on spell power--however, the spells also are very different (not the PHB list at all!), so it's a really tough call to make.
The races are very different and several have three levels you can take to improve them (like Savage Species) instead of a standard AU class. The races themselves are a matter of personal taste of course: I was a little disappointed as they felt to a bit cliche (lion men, dragon men, giants, pixies). I didn't feel like they were particularly inventive or interesting, particularly in comparison to the classes. However, one thing I did like is that they run the size categories from tiny to large with the appropriate size benefits/penalties. Again, that's just my first impression: other folks might really like them. I might have liked them more if there was more background or campaign stuff on the races, why they existed, and more "meat" in that section, but that's for the other AU books.
The Death's Door rule is really nifty for PCs (basically a person with higher con has a wider window of being staggered and then knocked out before dying, rather than a flat -10 for everyone). I suspect it would be a pain to keep track of for NPCs: perhaps using the new rule for "named" NPCs and the old -10 for fodder might work, but I haven't given it much thought--other folks might be better able to comment.
Hero Points are well done and purposefully also left open to the DM to determine how many characters get, how often they get more, and how they can use/not use them. Of everything in the book, I suspect that system is the easiest to port over to a standard D&D campaign and would add the most value if used in moderation. The DM who ran the demo stressed that: with a lot of hero points, the game gets a kind of superhero flavor--good if that's what you're going for, but it might bend or break a more serious game.
The book is black and white (color cover) and felt a little lightweight per page (in terms of content due to the spacing of sentences...lots of white space per page), especially compared to the PHB, but it is on par with most other hard cover suppliments and campaign settings. Some folks might find it easier to read, but it felt like a lot of possible content space was lost due to the sentence spacing.
The classes, while probably not fitting into a D&D campaign primarily due to balance and the magic system, were very inventive and creative. Monte's work here really impressed me and I can't stress that enough. Honestly, the rest of the book (with several exceptions) didn't really amaze me, but the classes definitely seemed very cool and in the demo were interesting to see in action. IMHO, if you're on the fence, take a look at the classes first and if you're impressed, it's probably worth price of admission.
Just my two cents.
It's all a matter of personal preference.
