JoeGKushner
Adventurer
COMPLETE SCOUNDREL
By Mike McArtor and F. Wesley Schneider
Wizards of the Coast product number 957257200
160 pages, $29.95
I wanted to like the Complete Scoundrel. It has a lot of the benefits that WoTC products have in terms of it being a hardcover, having great full color art, having sound layout and design, etc…
I just couldn’t get behind it though. It was all over the place. Right at the start of the book, the authors define a scoundrel, “scoundrels represent a style of play rather than a class. They're the sneaks, the cheats, the bluffers, and the opportunists. They use improvisation and imagination to gain an advantage, exploiting a weakness or a hidden benefit in even the worst situation. Anyone can play a scoundrel.”
Okay, that’s not bad. However, it then provides a list of different types of scoundrels from books, movies, and television and uses such a huge net, that the very definition becomes worthless. When everyone and everything is a scoundrel, no one is a scoundrel.
What’s worse, is after giving the reader all these examples and definitions of what a scoundrel is, hey, what do we get in Chapter One but more definitions of what a scoundrel is and what he does. So the previous five or so pages I just read were for what purpose exactly? Still, it’s good for those new to the game to see how the ideas are presented with the game mechanics of the system including the dreaded alignment system.
Some of the other things that annoyed me about the book were random snippets of fiction. While this book isn’t at the top of the food chain in terms of price for what you get in page and prestige, it’s ain’t at the low end of the totem pole either and I’ll thank the authors and WoTC to keep what amounts to fan fiction out of my crunch unless it’s for a specific setting book.
In terms of game mechanics, we get some of the usual suspects. Prestige classes even get their own chapter. Several of them are little side trips you make to gain specialized skills like the battle trickster whose style is just as important as his abilities. Others are more committed like the gray guard, a paladin whose abilities allow him to walk a little beyond the standard paladin ethos. I’d love to see a well run game where such a player walks the fine line between acceptable and unacceptable actions but based on internet wars now, I can only see this PrC leading into more arguments.
One of the things I don’t like about the expanded descriptions for the PrCs is that even for the short ones, they have too much background information. For example, the spellwarp sniper is a 5 level PrC. Do we need pages of how to play the PrC, how it works in the world, how to adapt it and an example character? I’d say no. If it’s not a full ten level PrC, some brief discussion on the writer’s methods of madness in how they came up with the game mechanics and how the class might fit with other materials and move on.
Feats get some time up, along with skill tricks. There are a lot of feats here and they seem to build up on some of the ideas from the Complete Adventurer in that they allow you to take class abilities from separate classes and combine them. Playing a fighter swashbuckler? Take the Daring Warrior feat and your fighter and swashbuckler levels stack for grace, dodge bonus, and feats. Playing a ranger scout? Take swift hunter and your levels stack for skirmish bonuses and favored enemies.
Skill tricks on the other hand, are stupid. One of the key things I keep hearing about why D&D, as a level based game, is better than a point based game, is that because certain elements automatically advance and this provides a somewhat level playing ground for players and for game designers. One of those things are skill points and the amount of skill points you can have based on your level.
Skill tricks allow you to give up a few skill points and gain special abilities. Because you know, there just isn’t enough to keep track of in the campaign. These tricks are broken down on page 83 and are grouped into different types such as mental, movement, or manipulation. It includes the prerequisites and benefit in summary.
For those who can’t customize their characters enough and whose GMs are wide open for anything, tricks are a great addition to the game. If you’re like me and already have enough to keep track of and enough books that provide some unintended consequences already without hacking the system, then keep away from tricks.
For spells, we get the usual assortment broken down by class and level, and for wizards and sorcerers, by school. Some of the spells are useful in slowing down the enemy, such as the spell Armor Lock, which slows down the enemy’s movement to ten feet. Others make for some interesting mechanics like Healer’s Vision where you can see organs and other important bits with your new sight. Great for healers who get a +5 bonus on Heal Checks but probably better for assassins who gain a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls on sneak attacks.
One thing that surprised me here was the inclusion of the Hexblade. While only three spells are present, they make a nice touch. For example, Mage Burr doubles arcane spell failure for the target. Useful when fighting those mages who think that they’re warriors.
In terms of toys, we have a few options like hidden weapons and additions to standard weapons like bayonets. Those looking for more esoteric fare will enjoy the new poisons and the new magic items.
The book ends with a chapter on adventuring. This provides the GM with some idea on what to do with players who are trying to follow the paths outlined in this book. This includes new organizations like the Free League and the Seven Raven’s Clan, as well as legendary sites, first introduced in the DMG II.
The book isn’t bad and if it could’ve made up it’s mid early on what it wanted to focus on, and didn’t have method of breaking the automatic advancement caps in exchange for more nifty powers, I’d rate this four stars. As it is, the tricks were outlawed in my campaign and the feats to combo class abilities have seen some use along with some of the nifty equipment.
By Mike McArtor and F. Wesley Schneider
Wizards of the Coast product number 957257200
160 pages, $29.95
I wanted to like the Complete Scoundrel. It has a lot of the benefits that WoTC products have in terms of it being a hardcover, having great full color art, having sound layout and design, etc…
I just couldn’t get behind it though. It was all over the place. Right at the start of the book, the authors define a scoundrel, “scoundrels represent a style of play rather than a class. They're the sneaks, the cheats, the bluffers, and the opportunists. They use improvisation and imagination to gain an advantage, exploiting a weakness or a hidden benefit in even the worst situation. Anyone can play a scoundrel.”
Okay, that’s not bad. However, it then provides a list of different types of scoundrels from books, movies, and television and uses such a huge net, that the very definition becomes worthless. When everyone and everything is a scoundrel, no one is a scoundrel.
What’s worse, is after giving the reader all these examples and definitions of what a scoundrel is, hey, what do we get in Chapter One but more definitions of what a scoundrel is and what he does. So the previous five or so pages I just read were for what purpose exactly? Still, it’s good for those new to the game to see how the ideas are presented with the game mechanics of the system including the dreaded alignment system.
Some of the other things that annoyed me about the book were random snippets of fiction. While this book isn’t at the top of the food chain in terms of price for what you get in page and prestige, it’s ain’t at the low end of the totem pole either and I’ll thank the authors and WoTC to keep what amounts to fan fiction out of my crunch unless it’s for a specific setting book.
In terms of game mechanics, we get some of the usual suspects. Prestige classes even get their own chapter. Several of them are little side trips you make to gain specialized skills like the battle trickster whose style is just as important as his abilities. Others are more committed like the gray guard, a paladin whose abilities allow him to walk a little beyond the standard paladin ethos. I’d love to see a well run game where such a player walks the fine line between acceptable and unacceptable actions but based on internet wars now, I can only see this PrC leading into more arguments.
One of the things I don’t like about the expanded descriptions for the PrCs is that even for the short ones, they have too much background information. For example, the spellwarp sniper is a 5 level PrC. Do we need pages of how to play the PrC, how it works in the world, how to adapt it and an example character? I’d say no. If it’s not a full ten level PrC, some brief discussion on the writer’s methods of madness in how they came up with the game mechanics and how the class might fit with other materials and move on.
Feats get some time up, along with skill tricks. There are a lot of feats here and they seem to build up on some of the ideas from the Complete Adventurer in that they allow you to take class abilities from separate classes and combine them. Playing a fighter swashbuckler? Take the Daring Warrior feat and your fighter and swashbuckler levels stack for grace, dodge bonus, and feats. Playing a ranger scout? Take swift hunter and your levels stack for skirmish bonuses and favored enemies.
Skill tricks on the other hand, are stupid. One of the key things I keep hearing about why D&D, as a level based game, is better than a point based game, is that because certain elements automatically advance and this provides a somewhat level playing ground for players and for game designers. One of those things are skill points and the amount of skill points you can have based on your level.
Skill tricks allow you to give up a few skill points and gain special abilities. Because you know, there just isn’t enough to keep track of in the campaign. These tricks are broken down on page 83 and are grouped into different types such as mental, movement, or manipulation. It includes the prerequisites and benefit in summary.
For those who can’t customize their characters enough and whose GMs are wide open for anything, tricks are a great addition to the game. If you’re like me and already have enough to keep track of and enough books that provide some unintended consequences already without hacking the system, then keep away from tricks.
For spells, we get the usual assortment broken down by class and level, and for wizards and sorcerers, by school. Some of the spells are useful in slowing down the enemy, such as the spell Armor Lock, which slows down the enemy’s movement to ten feet. Others make for some interesting mechanics like Healer’s Vision where you can see organs and other important bits with your new sight. Great for healers who get a +5 bonus on Heal Checks but probably better for assassins who gain a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls on sneak attacks.
One thing that surprised me here was the inclusion of the Hexblade. While only three spells are present, they make a nice touch. For example, Mage Burr doubles arcane spell failure for the target. Useful when fighting those mages who think that they’re warriors.
In terms of toys, we have a few options like hidden weapons and additions to standard weapons like bayonets. Those looking for more esoteric fare will enjoy the new poisons and the new magic items.
The book ends with a chapter on adventuring. This provides the GM with some idea on what to do with players who are trying to follow the paths outlined in this book. This includes new organizations like the Free League and the Seven Raven’s Clan, as well as legendary sites, first introduced in the DMG II.
The book isn’t bad and if it could’ve made up it’s mid early on what it wanted to focus on, and didn’t have method of breaking the automatic advancement caps in exchange for more nifty powers, I’d rate this four stars. As it is, the tricks were outlawed in my campaign and the feats to combo class abilities have seen some use along with some of the nifty equipment.
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