JoeGKushner
Adventurer
Corwyl is a supplement not only for d20, but also for Green Ronin’s own Bow & Blade book. Clocking in at 96 pages for $19.95, Corwyl is standard in terms of price and page count.
Why do you need Corwyl? There are two camps who’ll get use out of the book but neither is going to be happy with the compromises that must’ve went into this tome.
Camp one is people who need a village of elves for their setting and want most of the work done for them. The book does a good job of including other Green Ronin products and even another third party product in the background giving the setting a richer feeling. It provides details on over forty NPC’s and not all of them are wood elves. It includes maps that cover not only the overall region, an up close map of the village and an even closer detail of the council’s tree.
Camp two are people looking for game mechanics. There are new core classes here, prestige classes, feats, spells, monsters and other goods. Some of them are new to this volume; others borrowed from 3rd party books like Goodman Games Complete Guide to Treants.
I tend to fall more in line with camp one. Bow & Blade did a great job of providing numerous options for wood elves. While the mechanics here are sound, I would’ve preferred more options for Corwyl. For example, more maps. The maps provided are a good touch, but when dealing with an elven village where everything is in the trees, how about more maps for different types of housing? How about more NPC’s that threaten the lands instead of the traditional orc bad guy?
For those who enjoy game mechanics though, they’ll probably be wondering why we needed game stats for so many NPCs instead of just some generic stat blocks. After all, one elf expert is much the same as another no?
In terms of game mechanics, I find myself wondering whose going to use all of these options for a wood elf. For example, the ancestral speaker is a class that handles dealing with the spirits of the dead. In some ways, it reminded me of the Shaman class but that’s not why I question its inclusion. I question its inclusion because despite the importance of the ancestral speaker, a person who communicates the wishes of the dead to the living and passes questions and advice between the living and the dead, there is only one character who has this class and it’s a huge deal for this NPC to have these abilities. If the players all of the sudden decide to start taking this class, what does that mean for the NPC? What does it mean for the community? Does it cheapen the value of the character?
Regardless, these individuals have hteir own spell list and are like sorcerers in that they have a spells per day and a spells known. They have good will save and poor fort and ref save. They gain numerous abilities for dealing with spirits, including the ability to detect and rebuke them, as well as ghost touch and see invisible. Overall a rather limited class if the campaign doesn’t support it.
Not quite so limited is the terellian knight. These warriors are specialized at using two weapons to defend their home in the woods. They have abilities that mix warrior and ranger powers like two-weapon fighting as a bonus first level feat and track as a bonus second level feat.
There are two new PrCs as follows:
Animal Master: Lords of the wild who control animals. This ten level PrC has its own spell list and its own spells known in addition to a listing of animal companions and the ability to wild shape.
Tree Maiden: Protectors of the forest and groves, these individuals take on the aspect of a tree growing skin like bark and being able to commune with nature.
For skills, we have the Fishing. Why this isn’t included in Survival as a subskill or specialized check is beyond me. More impressive are the new feats. These range from some feats that must be taken at first level like Darkvision, when your low-light vision is augment to darkvision 60 feet to Tree Linked. I like Tree-Linked because it reminds me of the old background option in Heroes of Legend where you could become bonded to a tree. Here your bond gives you different abilities depending on your age. The older you are, the better abilities you gain.
In terms of spells, we have several breakdowns. First up, Ancestral Speaker Spells. These include several new spells but most are drawn from the SRD. Next up, the Animal Master. Next, Tree Maiden. Next, new Cleric domains including ancestor, barbarian, bard, cleric, druid, fighter, hearth, paladin, ranger/terellian knight, rogue, sorcerer, spirit, and wizard domains. These domains are tied into the spirit guides that an ancestral speaker deals with but can also be used with an appropriate god with the GM’s permission. Each details granted power and spell lists from 1st to 9th level.
Some of the spells are very specialized like Cure Plants. These spells heal more than a standard healing spell but can only be used by Tree Maidens. Others like Hawk Eyes might be used by any adventuring ranger as it provides a +1 insight bonus (up to +20) per level to the caster’s Spot Checks for the duration of the spell.
In terms of characters, there are the standard selection of wood elves including dedicated experts and haughty aristocrats but my personal favorites are those of non-elf blood like Deflorin Cor, a gnome adopted by the wood elves who has taken up the terellian knight’s way making him one of the most militant gnomes I’ve ever seen. Others like Alwyne “The Grey”, a human married to an elf, bring some interesting adventure or “interaction” seeds with them. One of my problems with the characters is that in some instances, the game stats take up more room than the background and role-playing notes.
One thing that I don’t mind but others may is the tie in of other products to this one. Being a wood elf village, Bow & Blade is mentioned but so is the drow fortress of Dezzavold, which in turn is tied into Plot & Poison. Even the good old Village of Briaton is mentioned in the overview of the nearby areas. Heck, for some reason I notice Eden’s unpublished Waysides, a book of taverns mentioned in the Section 15 of the book. For me, as I’m something of a collector, I enjoy the different references. I don’t need nine versions of a greater treant and see no reason why Green Ronin shouldn’t use the elven cooshee. Reuse is supposed to be one of the strengths of the d20 system right?
The book uses a standard two-column layout. Non-essential information is often pulled to the side in grey background boxes. Art is superior as it uses the same staff that has made Green Ronin products easy to ready and look at. Some of these are classic artists like Liz Danforth while others are probably known in the d20 community for their works on various products like Andrew Baker, Jennifer Meyer, Jonathan Kirtz and Stephaine Pui-Mun Law. Maps are functional but nothing great. Then again, perhaps I’m spoiled by Ed’s work.
Overall the book tries to bring a good balance of d20 mechanics and role-playing opportunities to the table but I think it fumbles a little between the two. More effort on one side would’ve made the product something to note alongside the good old City Books and Lejentia series but as it stands, it’s a book that will easily fit in a campaign with a high spiritual niche or one that that GM feels could use such a niche as the party explores different options when dealing with treants and ancestor spirits.
Why do you need Corwyl? There are two camps who’ll get use out of the book but neither is going to be happy with the compromises that must’ve went into this tome.
Camp one is people who need a village of elves for their setting and want most of the work done for them. The book does a good job of including other Green Ronin products and even another third party product in the background giving the setting a richer feeling. It provides details on over forty NPC’s and not all of them are wood elves. It includes maps that cover not only the overall region, an up close map of the village and an even closer detail of the council’s tree.
Camp two are people looking for game mechanics. There are new core classes here, prestige classes, feats, spells, monsters and other goods. Some of them are new to this volume; others borrowed from 3rd party books like Goodman Games Complete Guide to Treants.
I tend to fall more in line with camp one. Bow & Blade did a great job of providing numerous options for wood elves. While the mechanics here are sound, I would’ve preferred more options for Corwyl. For example, more maps. The maps provided are a good touch, but when dealing with an elven village where everything is in the trees, how about more maps for different types of housing? How about more NPC’s that threaten the lands instead of the traditional orc bad guy?
For those who enjoy game mechanics though, they’ll probably be wondering why we needed game stats for so many NPCs instead of just some generic stat blocks. After all, one elf expert is much the same as another no?
In terms of game mechanics, I find myself wondering whose going to use all of these options for a wood elf. For example, the ancestral speaker is a class that handles dealing with the spirits of the dead. In some ways, it reminded me of the Shaman class but that’s not why I question its inclusion. I question its inclusion because despite the importance of the ancestral speaker, a person who communicates the wishes of the dead to the living and passes questions and advice between the living and the dead, there is only one character who has this class and it’s a huge deal for this NPC to have these abilities. If the players all of the sudden decide to start taking this class, what does that mean for the NPC? What does it mean for the community? Does it cheapen the value of the character?
Regardless, these individuals have hteir own spell list and are like sorcerers in that they have a spells per day and a spells known. They have good will save and poor fort and ref save. They gain numerous abilities for dealing with spirits, including the ability to detect and rebuke them, as well as ghost touch and see invisible. Overall a rather limited class if the campaign doesn’t support it.
Not quite so limited is the terellian knight. These warriors are specialized at using two weapons to defend their home in the woods. They have abilities that mix warrior and ranger powers like two-weapon fighting as a bonus first level feat and track as a bonus second level feat.
There are two new PrCs as follows:
Animal Master: Lords of the wild who control animals. This ten level PrC has its own spell list and its own spells known in addition to a listing of animal companions and the ability to wild shape.
Tree Maiden: Protectors of the forest and groves, these individuals take on the aspect of a tree growing skin like bark and being able to commune with nature.
For skills, we have the Fishing. Why this isn’t included in Survival as a subskill or specialized check is beyond me. More impressive are the new feats. These range from some feats that must be taken at first level like Darkvision, when your low-light vision is augment to darkvision 60 feet to Tree Linked. I like Tree-Linked because it reminds me of the old background option in Heroes of Legend where you could become bonded to a tree. Here your bond gives you different abilities depending on your age. The older you are, the better abilities you gain.
In terms of spells, we have several breakdowns. First up, Ancestral Speaker Spells. These include several new spells but most are drawn from the SRD. Next up, the Animal Master. Next, Tree Maiden. Next, new Cleric domains including ancestor, barbarian, bard, cleric, druid, fighter, hearth, paladin, ranger/terellian knight, rogue, sorcerer, spirit, and wizard domains. These domains are tied into the spirit guides that an ancestral speaker deals with but can also be used with an appropriate god with the GM’s permission. Each details granted power and spell lists from 1st to 9th level.
Some of the spells are very specialized like Cure Plants. These spells heal more than a standard healing spell but can only be used by Tree Maidens. Others like Hawk Eyes might be used by any adventuring ranger as it provides a +1 insight bonus (up to +20) per level to the caster’s Spot Checks for the duration of the spell.
In terms of characters, there are the standard selection of wood elves including dedicated experts and haughty aristocrats but my personal favorites are those of non-elf blood like Deflorin Cor, a gnome adopted by the wood elves who has taken up the terellian knight’s way making him one of the most militant gnomes I’ve ever seen. Others like Alwyne “The Grey”, a human married to an elf, bring some interesting adventure or “interaction” seeds with them. One of my problems with the characters is that in some instances, the game stats take up more room than the background and role-playing notes.
One thing that I don’t mind but others may is the tie in of other products to this one. Being a wood elf village, Bow & Blade is mentioned but so is the drow fortress of Dezzavold, which in turn is tied into Plot & Poison. Even the good old Village of Briaton is mentioned in the overview of the nearby areas. Heck, for some reason I notice Eden’s unpublished Waysides, a book of taverns mentioned in the Section 15 of the book. For me, as I’m something of a collector, I enjoy the different references. I don’t need nine versions of a greater treant and see no reason why Green Ronin shouldn’t use the elven cooshee. Reuse is supposed to be one of the strengths of the d20 system right?
The book uses a standard two-column layout. Non-essential information is often pulled to the side in grey background boxes. Art is superior as it uses the same staff that has made Green Ronin products easy to ready and look at. Some of these are classic artists like Liz Danforth while others are probably known in the d20 community for their works on various products like Andrew Baker, Jennifer Meyer, Jonathan Kirtz and Stephaine Pui-Mun Law. Maps are functional but nothing great. Then again, perhaps I’m spoiled by Ed’s work.
Overall the book tries to bring a good balance of d20 mechanics and role-playing opportunities to the table but I think it fumbles a little between the two. More effort on one side would’ve made the product something to note alongside the good old City Books and Lejentia series but as it stands, it’s a book that will easily fit in a campaign with a high spiritual niche or one that that GM feels could use such a niche as the party explores different options when dealing with treants and ancestor spirits.
