[BadAxe] HoHF:Half-Orcs

[WizarDru]

Wulf,

Just wanted to say that I'd picked up HoHF:Half-Orcs, and loved it. I'll post a review to the ENWorld shortly, but I did have a question. (And for the record, I have the other two books on order at my FLGS...would have gotten them when they came out, but during the 'dark time' of unemployment, the kids win over gaming)


The one feat that grants 3 extra rages per day...don't you think this is too strong? It seems a pretty powerful feat.

For that matter, is there any errata for any of the books. Should I saunter on over to the badaxe website?

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

The one feat that grants 3 extra rages per day...don't you think this is too strong? It seems a pretty powerful feat.

The official WOTC Extra Rage offers 2 more rages/day, and you can take it multiple times.

I was in a giving mood: Half-Orcs may take Extra Orcish Rage to get 3 for one feat-- but can only take it once.

With the other "spend a rage to get X" feats in the book, I think half-orcs will burn through the extra rages pretty fast.

If you want to discourage half-orc barbarians in your campaign, drop the feat and use the official WOTC version. This will tip things in favor of human barbarians (because they have an extra feat to spend).

But, yes, it is powerful.

Wulf

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

P.S. Thanks in advance for the review, I love to read what fellow ENwordlers think of our stuff.


Wulf

 

[WizarDru]

Glad to. I've been meaning to post reviews for a lot of stuff for some time, and I'm about to get around to it.

I had forgotten about the MotW Extra Rage feat. Taken in comparison, it doesn't seem as bad. My general reaction whenever I see a powerful feat or spell, these days, is to sit back and compare it with other options. As often as not, I find that things that look unbalanced usually aren't, but are what I'd call 'strong'. This is such a feat.

I'm curious, after gnomes and halflings, are you planning a humans book, or do you feel that's redundant or not really feasible, given the focus so far?

 

[WizarDru]

And, as promised, my first review in quite a while (since Morrus changed the whole darn system, in fact):

WizarDru's Heroes of High Favor:Half-Orcs Review


Enjoy. I eagerly await my copies of the other books.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Good review, thanks.

I am especially encouraged that you "got" the premise and focus of the series. It's very odd (three books in) to still read the occasional review that wonders why only the favored class gets any attention...

Bad Axe plans to cover "Humans" by way of a larger hardback compilation-- though the book will not be titled HUMANS. It will contain all content from the previous books, plus additional content that was cut from those books, plus all new material for each race, plus all new material for Humans-- including 54 new prestige class combos.


Wulf

 

[Bamphalas]

Looks Promising

Nice review. I may have to take a look at that book.

What other races has BadAxe focused on, and what lies in the future?

 

[coyote6]

I think Ben recently mentioned that they're going to be doing gnomes & halfings next (each in their own book, but released simultaneously). And they've already done dwarves, half-orcs, and elves. I don't have the elf book yet, so I don't know if it also covers half-elves or not.

(That reminds me -- must call the FLGS . . . )

 

[Eridanis]

Half-elves aren't explored on their own. At character creation, a half-elf player can decide if they want to follow their elven heritage (and have access to the goodies in the HoHF:Elves book) or their human heritage (goodies yet to be released in book form).

Gnomes and Halflings are currently under development. Not to speak out of turn (or violate my NDA as a playtester), but expect some stronger characterizations for races that don't get as much attention as the big guys (pun somewhat intended).

 

[Leopold]

or violate my NDA as a playtester

speaking of that: My group uses ALL of Wulf's books religously. The elves is in the mail, the dwarves have gotten the most use and the half-orcs some. How does one get on to be a playtester as my group is slavering over more of this stuff..