D&D RPG player's look at the Miniatures Handbook

[Pants]

Not so unusual - some of the Epic Feats weren't actually Epic.

Well there was Greater Weapon Focus... errrr... well there was also Improved Whirlwind Attack? Oh.

 

[Gez]

What is the Protectar? A new angel? A prestige class for celestials? A template? Something else?

What are the various feral-looking anthropomorphic animals (the four-armed cat, the crocodile, the elephant) ?

Likewise, is there any fluff on the catfolk (heh) ? Are they tabaxi (possible), rakshasa (unlikely), or new race, or undetermined?

About how many spells are there?

 

[Gez]

*bump!*

 

[Shazman]

I got the book yesterday, and I love it. The spells alone make it worth getting. Anyone that cast spells can make good use out of the "swift" spells (like a free action but useable only once a round and only last one round). There also a copuple of cool feats and prestige classes. However, I do think that two of the core classes, favored soul and warmage, may be a bit overpowered. Favored souls get monk saving throws, energy resistance, wings, and focus and specialization with their deities favored weapon in addition to being "divine" sorcerers. Warmages can eventually cast arcane spells in medium armor with no chance of failure and add their int bonus to damage with damage dealing spells. They also get lots of the "sudden" metamagic feats as bonus feats. Other than that, I feel that this book is better than any of the splat books.

 

[thalmin]

I also thought Favored Soul was overpowered, until it was pointed out to me that they don't get domain powers and spells. They also don't get the undead turning.

Warmages have a much slower spell progression. Have to check the book on that one a bit more.

All in all, the core classes seem much more balanced than most others I've seen.

 

[Olive]

So, what are the monsters like?

 

[S'mon]

Are the mass battle rules for 1:1 scale or a larger scale, like 1e Battlesystem's 10:1 scale? I've been developing mass battle rules for 100:1 scale to allow the fighting of battles similar to real-world medieval battles, with several thousand combatants to a side; would the Handbook rules be useful?

 

[Gez]

Real world medieval battles weren't so impressive. Thousands of people involved were a rare thing, kept for international sportive events like a crusade or a soccer championship.

 

[Aeolius]

In all of the write-ups for the Minis Handbook that I read before the book was released, three-dimensional combat was mentioned as being a component. Yet that element, quite honestly the most important element that I would have use for, seems to be missing from the book.

I don't run dungeon crawls. I don't use miniatures. However I am curious to see rules dealing with aerial/undersea/variable-gravity planar combat and movement.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

I also thought Favored Soul was overpowered, until it was pointed out to me that they don't get domain powers and spells. They also don't get the undead turning.

They still seem overpowered to me, personally. The domain powers they're losing really aren't all that impressive, in the long run. They get automatic proficiency and focus with the diety's favored weapon, which is equivalent to the war domain's power - plus weapon specialization at 12th, which is even more impressive. They "only" know 5 or 6 spells per spell level, but really, how many spells does a cleric end up casting on a routine basis? Unlike a warmage, a favored soul won't be limited in what scrolls or wands he can use. Plus, a favored soul has three (!) good saves, and a few other goodies. I really can't figure out what the drawback is supposed to be. I'd absolutely play one of these guys over a cleric, and clerics are already an overpowered class.

Warmages have a much slower spell progression. Have to check the book on that one a bit more.

The warmage has an identical spell progression to a sorceror, except he has one fewer 9th-level spell per day at 20th level. That's it. He knows more spells than a sorceror, too, but they're all pretty much damage-dealing spells. I think that might balance out the fact that he can cast in armor and such. Unlike a normal sorceror, a warmage won't be able to rely on mage armor and shield to protect him, won't be able to cast invisibility to run away, and can't cast any buff spells. Since those spells aren't on his spell list, he can't even use them off wands or scrolls, so I think he's probably balanced.