Complete Adventurer - sounds good

[MDSnowman]

I think there's a very simple reason that The Complete Adventurer isn't being billed as a Rogue-ish book... baggage.

Look back as far as AD&D and you'll see that Rogue/Thief Classbooks have been some of the weakest offerings in their respective series. I don't know what it is about rogues but people always seem to drop the ball when trying to give players more options on how to play them. Song and Silence was, for lack of a better term, bland. The only rogue classbook I've gotten much use out of is The Quint. Rogue...and even then I have to shuffle through the usual multitude of Mongoose editing brain farts.

 

[Dark Jezter]

I don't mind Merric's optimistic outlook towards WotC products. It's refreshing to see someone who focuses on the positive rather than the negative. I can think of several ENWorlders who never seem to be happy about anything; nearly everything they write is a rant or negative comment about something or another. Merric's "focus on the good rather than the bad" attitude is a breath of fresh air, and I always like reading his posts.

 

[Ranger REG]

I don't mind Merric's optimistic outlook towards WotC products. It's refreshing to see someone who focuses on the positive rather than the negative. I can think of several ENWorlders who never seem to be happy about anything; nearly everything they write is a rant or negative comment about something or another. Merric's "focus on the good rather than the bad" attitude is a breath of fresh air, and I always like reading his posts.

I don't mind him either. But it freaks me out sometimes, that I have to wear shades around his sunny outlook.

He's like a ... Stepford Gamer.

 

[MerricB]

This thread should be renamed the 'What MerricB likes about WotC and D&D'

I seem to remember a thread somewhere where a certain Aussie gamer expressed strong dissatisfaction with many of WotC's maps.

These threads?
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=92164
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=93854

Cheers!

 

[MerricB]

I think there's a very simple reason that The Complete Adventurer isn't being billed as a Rogue-ish book... baggage.

Look back as far as AD&D and you'll see that Rogue/Thief Classbooks have been some of the weakest offerings in their respective series. I don't know what it is about rogues but people always seem to drop the ball when trying to give players more options on how to play them. Song and Silence was, for lack of a better term, bland.

Song and Silence did threaten to put me to sleep almost as much as Masters of the Wild, though I loved the Fang of Lolth, and the trap design rules were really great to have. (Of course, they were later reprinted in the Stronghold Builder's Guide and then the 3.5E DMG...)

It's interesting: there are a lot of ideas out there that apply to roguish books, but getting them into a form that is applies to a game (especially a party-based game) can be extremely difficult.

Cheers!

 

[Reynard]

I don't have the Draconomicon, though I may eventually get it.

If you have even the slightest feeling that Dragons really should be the "It" enemeis of D&D, yet aren't too inspired by the entries in the MM, then buy this book without hesitation. I picked it up when it and Complete Warrior were 60% off at Amazon a while back (just because of the price) and have never regretted the purchase. i defy anyone to read any theee conituous pages of the Draconomicon and not have an idea for an adventure, if not an entire compaign, centered around dragons. And that, my friends, is what a game book should do -- it should grab you by the short hairs and demand that you use the stuff you just read, in some manner, in the very next game you run or play in. nay. it should demand you call off your current campaign and start playing "it" right then and there.

Whew. I feel better.

 

[MerricB]

If you have even the slightest feeling that Dragons really should be the "It" enemeis of D&D

Heh. In truth, I don't feel that way.

As ultimate enemies, I really like using Devils and Demons.

Cheers!

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Hehe. You need someone to counterbalance all the naysayers around here.

Absolutely. Don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning your optimism, or trying to be derogatory in any way. Aside from general curiosity, another reason I asked is because--as another D&D player/DM--it allows me to place your comments into context. The title of this thread is "Complete Adventurer--sounds good"...but if the person saying "sounds good" always says "sounds good"...then it doesn't really tell me much about the quality of the book.

Honestly, there haven't been many Wizards products that I've bought that I'm really unhappy with. The Hero Builder's Guide, Defenders of the Faith and Masters of the Wild are three that I don't really like that much - and MotW is just because I find the book deadly dull.

Fair enough. I like to think I'm not as critical as some of the posters around. But for me the point where I lost faith that every WoTC product was going to be good was Song and Silence.

In other words... possibly one of the most optimistic and enthusiastic D&Der on the web

Absolutely. Thanks for taking the time to respond. Sorry to have hijacked the thread.

 

[dargoth3]

"as well as exciting new character classes such as ninja and scout"

Hopefully Complete Adventurer will have an Assassin class or PRC (One that doesnt cast spells)

 

[reanjr]

Did somebody say ninja?
[edit] Removed picture

If all goes well, they'll take it from the recent (April) Dragon issue on Ninjas, Pirates, and Dinosaurs. The Ninja in that issue was superbly done.