Breakdaddy
First Post
Nice! From what I've read in here so far, I'll be picking up a copy pronto.
Book of Hallowed Might II, who has it?
- Thread starter Nightfall
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johnsemlak
First Post
The third location is The Fallen City of Enderfel. It's a partly sunken city that was much grander in it's past. It has many ruins that remind of it's ancient past, and a scum quarter that is home to modern villainy.
It is now a center of worship of Mallock: The Deceiver, Prince of Lies, Father of Serpents--a new diety presented in the book.
Two feats are presented: Master of Words: which allows you to make an opposed bluff check to effectively put someone under effects of the charm person spell. The second feat is Worm Tongued, which allows you gradually convince people of your lies, it's a feat that can take weeks of work to fully apply to another character.
Spells, domains, etc. are also presented. The Domain is Temptation, which makes the caster a master of tempting others.
Finally, three monsters that serve Mallack, all Devils, are presented.
It is now a center of worship of Mallock: The Deceiver, Prince of Lies, Father of Serpents--a new diety presented in the book.
Two feats are presented: Master of Words: which allows you to make an opposed bluff check to effectively put someone under effects of the charm person spell. The second feat is Worm Tongued, which allows you gradually convince people of your lies, it's a feat that can take weeks of work to fully apply to another character.
Spells, domains, etc. are also presented. The Domain is Temptation, which makes the caster a master of tempting others.
Finally, three monsters that serve Mallack, all Devils, are presented.
Old Fezziwig
this is a low-flying panic attack
I'm about to continue my commentary, but johnsemlak gave a nice overview of the third chapter, so I'll restrict myself to comments here so people don't read the same stuff twice...
Chapter III: The Fallen City of Enderfel
I'm not sure that Enderfel is as usable in a campaign as the sites in the first two chapters. I'd be hard-pressed to drop it into an existing campaign, as I suspect the characters may have heard about it and maybe some of the circumstances. Maybe word travels too fast in my games, I don't know. That said, I like it well enough and could see using it (with or without Mallock) in my homebrew (which has barely been played in, spending most of its time in development).
As for Mallock himself, if your campaign's looking for a Mephistophelean deity or sect of priests, his church should serve nicely. Hell, his symbol's even a serpent. I like the idea of highly organized, insidious evil (possibly because I've been tending towards more chaotic, unorganized cults in my RL game, and possibly because the NE/CE gods in the FR, where the game is set, are far more interesting to me than the LE gods). Kelldra, the chapter's sample character, feels a bit flatter than the characters in either of the first two chapters.
After this section, the book details new uses of the Bluff skill, two new feats, a new cleric domain (Temptation), some new spells, some new magic items, and three new monsters. I'll throw my thoughts in a list again...
Well, that's Chapter III. I'll try to post IV tonight, but I may not be able to do so. I have a whole mess of reading to do for my class tomorrow.
Best,
Nick
Chapter III: The Fallen City of Enderfel
I'm not sure that Enderfel is as usable in a campaign as the sites in the first two chapters. I'd be hard-pressed to drop it into an existing campaign, as I suspect the characters may have heard about it and maybe some of the circumstances. Maybe word travels too fast in my games, I don't know. That said, I like it well enough and could see using it (with or without Mallock) in my homebrew (which has barely been played in, spending most of its time in development).
As for Mallock himself, if your campaign's looking for a Mephistophelean deity or sect of priests, his church should serve nicely. Hell, his symbol's even a serpent. I like the idea of highly organized, insidious evil (possibly because I've been tending towards more chaotic, unorganized cults in my RL game, and possibly because the NE/CE gods in the FR, where the game is set, are far more interesting to me than the LE gods). Kelldra, the chapter's sample character, feels a bit flatter than the characters in either of the first two chapters.
After this section, the book details new uses of the Bluff skill, two new feats, a new cleric domain (Temptation), some new spells, some new magic items, and three new monsters. I'll throw my thoughts in a list again...
- The new uses of the Bluff skill are Cloud the Mind's Eye and Play Dead. I really like the second; the first is okay. It's nice to have mechanics for these applications, but somehow I feel like they'd be fine just using the Bluff skill as written.
- The two new feats are clever, but not necessarily appropriate for heroes. Particularly not the second one. I can see them being used by PCs, but not as frequently as they'd be used by villains, given their emphasis on lying.
- The Temptation domain again seems to have a narrow focus, but the main ability of the domain is coupled with Spell Focus (enchantment) as a bonus feat. I really like the delayed payoff for the main ability, too.
- Of all the spells, Honeyed Words interests me the most, as I feel it provides a neat benefit with some great flavor. One of the other things that I've noticed as I've read the book is its constant return to limiting powers with the DM's discretion, which feels like it could be the influence of Arcana Unearthed sneaking in here. The items were fine.
- The three monsters are also okay. The Avrolar (Hell's Lawyer) is a more subtle devil than most D&D books present, so that's a welcome addition. The others (the Malgron and the Whispering Corrupter) didn't come across as anything I would be super interested in using.
Well, that's Chapter III. I'll try to post IV tonight, but I may not be able to do so. I have a whole mess of reading to do for my class tomorrow.
Best,
Nick
johnsemlak
First Post
details...?mearls said:
johnsemlak said:
It's going through editing right now, so I can't say with 100% accuracy that it's not going to be changed, but I created a template to reflect someone who has been corrupted by Mallock but might still be redeemed. Think Darth Vader - if you persist in trying to aid him, the the big bad evil guy might throw off his evil ways and return to the light.
Old Fezziwig
this is a low-flying panic attack
Chapter IV: The World Forge
This chapter details the World Forge (surprise!), the subterranean smith of Urgan, the god of smiths and such in the Celestial River pantheon. That description of him is probably a bit vague/basic, but it's probably the simplest I could go while still being factually correct. The main difference between the previous three areas and this one is that this is, in fact, Urgan's home. He lives here, and the faithful that can reach the Forge live here with him. The idea of a smith god living deep inside the earth has a really nice, mythic feel to me. I could see some nice quests and plot hooks coming out of that. Another thing I liked was the way Urgan himself was handled. We don't get stats for him, which is good. The text points out that he's "immune to all attacks and magic" and "if pressed into a physical confrontation, he attacks once per round...at a [BAB] of +40" doing "8d20+40 damage," which seems viciously high, but (1) he's a god, and (2) I don't think I'd ever need that info, so it's pretty easy to ignore.
As a god, he seems very well suited towards most good warriors, and is probably (given his NG alignment) more suitable for most paladins than Dorana, even if she has aspects concerned with justice. Then again, I'd probably be using the CG and NG paladin variants in the first BoHM with this pantheon anyhow, which'd help me avoid a lot of work. The character presented, Gothri, is Urgan's spokesperson. He's basically a (hairless) dwarven paladin that got the hell beat out of him in a battle with a red dragon, got depressed, and wandered deep into the earth, ending up in the World Forge. I'm being flip, but I do like Gothri well enough, and could see using him as a plot device, certainly.
After this comes the usual array of mechanical stuff--feats, weapon and armor masterpieces, a domain, some spells, two items, and a prestige class:
About ten or so pages left; I imagine I'll get to them later this afternoon. Still enjoying the book very much. It's definitely a winner, IMO.
Best,
Nick
This chapter details the World Forge (surprise!), the subterranean smith of Urgan, the god of smiths and such in the Celestial River pantheon. That description of him is probably a bit vague/basic, but it's probably the simplest I could go while still being factually correct. The main difference between the previous three areas and this one is that this is, in fact, Urgan's home. He lives here, and the faithful that can reach the Forge live here with him. The idea of a smith god living deep inside the earth has a really nice, mythic feel to me. I could see some nice quests and plot hooks coming out of that. Another thing I liked was the way Urgan himself was handled. We don't get stats for him, which is good. The text points out that he's "immune to all attacks and magic" and "if pressed into a physical confrontation, he attacks once per round...at a [BAB] of +40" doing "8d20+40 damage," which seems viciously high, but (1) he's a god, and (2) I don't think I'd ever need that info, so it's pretty easy to ignore.
As a god, he seems very well suited towards most good warriors, and is probably (given his NG alignment) more suitable for most paladins than Dorana, even if she has aspects concerned with justice. Then again, I'd probably be using the CG and NG paladin variants in the first BoHM with this pantheon anyhow, which'd help me avoid a lot of work. The character presented, Gothri, is Urgan's spokesperson. He's basically a (hairless) dwarven paladin that got the hell beat out of him in a battle with a red dragon, got depressed, and wandered deep into the earth, ending up in the World Forge. I'm being flip, but I do like Gothri well enough, and could see using him as a plot device, certainly.
After this comes the usual array of mechanical stuff--feats, weapon and armor masterpieces, a domain, some spells, two items, and a prestige class:
- The feats include two creation feats (Master Armorsmith, Master Weaponsmith) and three feats that convey mechanical bonuses onto smith characters in various situations, including the rather neat Druid of Earth and Metal. This last one allows druids to wield metal weapons and armor that they've crafted themselves, although it does not grant proficiency.
- Weapon and armor masterpieces basically are masterwork weapons only slightly better in that they allow bonuses that exceed +1 on items created by master smiths. This could be really handy for a low magic game looking for something better than masterwork weapons without using magical weapons.
- The Forge domain is, in my opinion, the least exciting of the new domains. The idea of gaining additional weapon proficiencies (hammer and light hammer, along with Weapon Focus for one of them) for picking it up doesn't quite sit right with me. Maybe something more in line with forging would have worked better with me (bonuses to craft skills? free item creation feats?). The spell list, however, is cool.
- The spells look fine; nothing jumps out at me mechanically, although, from a flavor standpoint, Earthen Claw is interesting. Of the two items, true clay seems more interesting.
- The PrC, Hammer of Urgan, is well-designed as far as I can tell and would port very easily into other worlds, where it could be used with good effect for dwarven gods of the forge's followers.
About ten or so pages left; I imagine I'll get to them later this afternoon. Still enjoying the book very much. It's definitely a winner, IMO.
Best,
Nick
Just picked up the pdf, my first impressions are very positive. I was a pretty big fan of the other hallowed and eldritch books, and there is no reason to disappoint. Plus, it comes out right when I am planning a "seer/prophet" type character, so I hope to use some of the dream interpetation feats right away.
Old Fezziwig
this is a low-flying panic attack
Chapter V: Mountain of the Voice
The last chapter details a monastery of Kulaj located in a remote desert mountain range. Instead of getting a in-depth description of the rooms/areas of the complex as we get for the other locations, the book describes Grand Master Reddine Par and the tests she administers to pilgrims looking to enter the monastery (although it should be noted that there is a map). This is a nice touch and could be a better use of space than the brief descriptions of things such as the Arboretum in Underwave.
Kulaj herself is an interesting god, not very maternal necessarily for the mother of the gods. Her worshippers "are prone to fanaticism," which is a neat touch, especially for a generally benevolent LN deity. A sidebar on page 51 offers advice to DMs that plan to use Kulaj as a creator deity, which is a possibility for her that I personally like a lot.
After this, there's the usual assortment of feats, spells, and so on...
Appendix: Conversions
This is something I really like in Malhavoc Press's books, as it really amplifies the number of spells available to characters in Arcana Unearthed books. Good stuff.
That's it. I really liked it. If it isn't a straight 5/5, it's damn close.
Best,
Nick
The last chapter details a monastery of Kulaj located in a remote desert mountain range. Instead of getting a in-depth description of the rooms/areas of the complex as we get for the other locations, the book describes Grand Master Reddine Par and the tests she administers to pilgrims looking to enter the monastery (although it should be noted that there is a map). This is a nice touch and could be a better use of space than the brief descriptions of things such as the Arboretum in Underwave.
Kulaj herself is an interesting god, not very maternal necessarily for the mother of the gods. Her worshippers "are prone to fanaticism," which is a neat touch, especially for a generally benevolent LN deity. A sidebar on page 51 offers advice to DMs that plan to use Kulaj as a creator deity, which is a possibility for her that I personally like a lot.
After this, there's the usual assortment of feats, spells, and so on...
- The new feat, Manipulate Magical Charge, allows characters to spend multiple charges of charged items to amplify the item's effects, such as using metamagic feats or increasing save DC. It's a nice feat and makes wands and staves more interesting in my opinion.
- The new spells are all offensive in nature and would be good additions to a Druid's spell list, in particular. Geyser, in particular, looked fun.
- Admixtures are basically potions with more than one effect, such as (to use the book's first example), a potion of cure moderate wounds and bull's strength. Creating admixtures requires the Brew Potion feat and some ranks in Craft (Alchemy). I like it; it'd make potions far more interesting and would make characters more judicious when using them. Again, I think this could be added to a lower magic game to really good effect. I also liked the keyed spell items, which basically allow spellcasters to spontaneous cast specific spells. For example, a wizard with a keyed magic missle bracelet could cast magic missile in place of any other 1st level spell that was prepared. These items can be enhanced and altered as well. The staff of retribution did nothing to me.
- Finally, there's the Speaker of the Divine PrC, which is rather powerful. As the text notes, though, it's not available until at least 10th level and spellcasters have to sacrifice any spell progression. In short, characters achieving this PrC gain the ability to speak the language of the gods and can do some pretty neat stuff with it. I'd have to playtest it to see how it worked, but it definitely looks neat.
Appendix: Conversions
This is something I really like in Malhavoc Press's books, as it really amplifies the number of spells available to characters in Arcana Unearthed books. Good stuff.
That's it. I really liked it. If it isn't a straight 5/5, it's damn close.
Best,
Nick
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