NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Berandor" data-source="post: 2185087" data-attributes="member: 225">Sure. I'll post the examples from my review, if you don't mind.For example, the Bandit gains the special ability "Eye Strike". With a critical hit, she can blind his opponent. Sounds nifty, right? Until we get to the mechanics:The Bandit rolls a possible critical hit. Choosing to use eye strike, instead of a confirmation roll she makes another attack roll (or a confirmation roll for the ability). If this second attack roll fails, the bandit does no damage (0 points). If the roll succeeds, the target then makes a reflex save (DC 10+ class level/2). If the target's save is successful, the bandit deals minimum weapon damage (as if all rolls had come up with 1). If the target fails the save, the bandit does normal (not critical) damage and bilnds the target for 2d4 rounds.As if that wasn't enough, this ability does not work on targets immune to critical hits, with no discernable eyes or any form of concealment, or against targets who are too large for the bandit to reach its eyes (for a medium creature, a large (tall) creature is too large).This reminds me of AD&D in that you get a cool ability that is immediately countered with obtrusive mechanics.The gutter mage gets an ability that makes him go unnoticed in crowds. Any guards etc. have to succeed at a Spot check vs. his Disguise check. If the check succeeds, the guards can see the gutter mage but still don't see him as a threat or anything special. So the effect of the Spot check is largely for naught.The Fortune Hunter (a 15-level (!) prestige class) gets an ability called "lethal". She chooses a wepoan and gets +1 to the critical multiplier (a longsword doing x3 damage). This ability stacks with Improved Critical, but not with Keen enchantments. Why? To me it seems random. btw, the 15th-level ability means that the FH will always be lucky in a chase (there's a boat anchored at the quai, or a mattress beneath the window). While it's certainly a nifty ability, even with excessive chases (barsoomcore?), I wonder how often this ability sees play. And you go 15 levels for that? Anyway, this is about mechanics, so onwards.Aside from clunky mechanics, other passages seem to suggest a lack of basic rules knowledge:The spell "Roof Runner" allows a character to move on horizontal surfaces without penalty (?) and make large jumps (no mechanical benefit). The spell "Fortune's Armor" grants a +5 luck bonus to AC, and Baur explains that this bonus is also in effect when flat-footed, against touch attacks and that contrary to a normal armor bonus, it has no spell failure chance, no maximum speed and incorporeal creatures cannot bypass it. It's a luck bonus - duh!Another spell has a "coneshaped burst", when it's got a cone-shaped area of effect and is not, in fact, a burst. Or you get "the target can't take any actions for 1 round, but it defends itself normally" instead of "the target is dazed", or "the target is blinded, and he takes a -2 penalty to AC, loses his dex bonus to AC, moves at half speed, has a 50% miss chance and cannot make attacks of opportunity."Now, these things influence how you see other content. Is the feat Cool Under Pressure too good, giving you the ability to take 10 under stress on Climb, Decipher Script, Disable Device, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand, Search, Spot, Use Magic Device. (Prereq.: Wis 13)What about Cutting Remark, allowing you to make an opponent attack you in a peaceful situation with a succesful bluff check (no DC or opposed skill is given). Is A Step Ahead, allowing you to use luck points to repeat actions ad nauseum until they succeed, too good? With the feeling I get from other parts of the book, I'd rather err on the side of caution.Magic armor and magic wepoan enchantments get a fixed price. For example, Hidden is +1,500 GM (Silent as well), Fortune +8,000 and Midnight +1,000. Other magic items have "screw the player"-abilities put into them like having to make a Will save when in sight of an expensive item or having to do everything (including combat) to get it. It just reads like AD&D.Coupled with the fact that you already have good rules for gambling (Tournaments. Fairs & Taverns), chases (Hot Pursuit), guilds (either OGL Horror/13 conspiracies or Guildcraft), and that a fate point system seems to be in nearly every rulebook currently published (and I got my beefs with the luck system, too) - well, the few parts of the book that are worthwile and at least somewhat unique make up maybe 10-20 % of the book.</blockquote>

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