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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KDLadage" data-source="post: 2009734" data-attributes="member: 88">UPDATED 26-NOV-02Chapter 1: This chapter covers the expanded levels for character classes, skills and feats. I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did they expand the advancement of the core classes (fighter, cleric, and so on) but also expanded the core psionic classes, as well as the prestige classes of the DMG. The advancement follows a logical continued progression without too much to trip on. Interestingly, all of the less than 10 levels prestige classes are defined in here as having no additional advancement, while the 10 levels prestige classes are. I say this is odd, because this means (almost by definition) that the 10-level prestige class is actually unlimited in levels...The skills section is where the book has its one shining moment. Here we see that with a high enough skill roll, a character can swim up a waterfall, or walk with nothing but a cloud to support him -- here (it seems) is the one place where a character can truly be epic. Still, most of the things that they touch upon do not reach the sorts of things that one reads about in epic fantasy or legendary, mythological tales. I sincerely wished they had gone further in this section than they did. As it is, it seems almost half-hearted attempt to explain a great idea.The feats section is where the book hits one of its two darkest moments. here we see that the best that they could come up with were expanded versions of feats they had already published, or rather obvious things that, although not that impressive, are labeled as EPIC feats, and thus almost tell you that they must be special then, huh? For example, there is a feat that grants an additional domain. In and of itself, this seems a rather obvious thing for a cleric to be able to gain, so why is it something that must wait for level 21 before it can be had? Is it really something that suddenly separates the big boys from the really big boys? Not in this reviewers humble opinion.Chapter 2: Spells. Wow. I can now cast a spell that deals so much damage that one has to wonder why they did not just cast HARM. Where are the spells of truly epic power? Where are the spells that will curse an entire nation, causing all who would assume the title of king to go mad? Where are the spells that will bring about a Never-ending Winter, or plunge the world into eternal night? Where are the spells that cause trouble on a global, planar and extra-planar scale? Where are the spells we read about in truly epic stories? Where are the spells that one feels might only be possible if one is a truly epic individual? In its stead, we get the hell-ball. A super-duper-supped-up ball of fire + acid + who-knows-what-else. Boring, in my opinion; and even if it is not boring, it still is not (again, in my opinion) EPIC.The one redeeming feature of this chapter is how spells above 9th level are handled. It is an interesting and well thought out (mechanically) system. One that, if someone wanted to, could be molded into a system to eliminate spell levels all together. In fact, I have been working on such a system, since I read this.Chapter 3: An advice chapter on how to run an epic game. Unfortunately, all it really tells you is how to run a game that has really, really, really powerful people in it. And if there is anything I cannot stress enough, it is that really, really, really powerful does not (always) equate to epic. There is a feeling here, a soul if you will, that is missing from the mechanistic approach to define epic. In the end, the advice is decent to above average and serves the mechanics that they have drawn up well.Chapter 4: Magical Items. This is the other truly dark portion of the book. This is the most uninspired, uninteresting chapter of the book. As I stated in my original comments, above, if +5 is the limit, then +6 and higher must be epic! And this, it seems, is what they give you. Wow. I could not have thought of that one. I wanted items of power that were almost frightening to use, I wanted items that made me think -- things like the ring in Lord of the Rings. Go watch the movie (even if you have read the books a hundred times) and look at what it is to go invisible with that thing. Look at the hint of power that can only barely be fathomed. Look at the allure of that ring, and how it corrupts the soul. Look at how that ring is epic, and how a sword that shifts from +5 to +6 is not epic, and you will see what I mean.Chapter 5: Monsters. A fair, somewhat interesting chapter that details a few creatures I might use. Still, few of them are what I would constitute special. But, they are not bad -- they are entertaining to read, and so I recommend reading through it. There are a few gems in there that make this chapter worth while.Chapter 6: A bland campaign setting that I cannot see too many people oohing and ahhing about.And that about sums it up.Dave's ConclusionsFirst let me say how much I wanted to like this book. I wanted to see how the designers of D&D handled truly epic characters -- not just really powerful characters, but epic characters. The sorts of characters that leap off of the page and stare you down, face-to-face, and literally demand that you use them in your game! Characters that come alive when you look at them the way that Perseus or Gilgamesh do when you read about the.This was not, it would appear, what the writers of this book had in mind. Sure, they come close at times with things like the ability to do things that were defined as impossible by earlier books in the D&D line. This was good, but none of it was inspired.The Dungeon Master's Guide puts a limit at +5 on magical enhancements. So the Epic Level Handbook takes the same charts, with the obvious costing progression and continues it out to +10! <yawn> This was material that was obvious to anyone who has looked at the original charts. Did I need a thick, hardback tome to tell me how to do that?Look, I can come up with make it a +6 sword! That's Epic! all on my own -- but I wouldn't. That is not epic. Not even in the simplest definitions of that word. Epic is a sword that allows you to draw energy from yourself and your allies to greater effects. The sort of things that make you think once in a while -- the sorts of things that remind you of the old Spiderman (tm) adage: with great power comes great responsibility.Someone on the message boards described his frustration with this book in much the same way I was feeling when he said: I wanted thieves that could steal the moon fro the sky and the blue from a fair-maiden's eyes... -- and that was a good summation of what I was looking for (but did not get) in this volume.However, I have been criticized before for giving reviews that judge the book on what I wanted it to be, rather than what it is: so, instead I will rate the book a 3 -- it is an average d20 source book, with a lot of crunchy information. Unfortunately, I find that crunchy information to be old-hat, standard fare and without anything really unique to say. Thus, it cannot rate anything higher.Additional InformationOK... some called what I (originaly) wrote above a rant... I can see that, but it is a review, in the sense that it tells you a great deal about what is not in this book that, to garner the title EPIC, should be. However, I have no trouble expounding upon what I wrote, as you can see.(note: I also fixed the formatting tags).</blockquote>

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