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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Selvarin" data-source="post: 2011165" data-attributes="member: 6102">The player's Guide to Faerun is a 192-page hardcover from WotC that just hit the shelves Friday (in the States anyway, apparently gamers in Germany recieved their copies earlier). Written by Rich baker, travis Stout, and James Wyatt, PGtF was written in order to update previous FR material (both 2.0 and 3.0) to 3.5 D&D as well as provide new bits for gamersto munch on. that's the intent, at least. Does it live up to expectations? We'll see.First, the look-over. PGtF looks a lot like previous FR hardcovers, such as Underdark and the Unapproachable East editions. Same layout, etc....Interestingly enough, I don't see Todd Lockwood's name among the artist credits. Not that he should be in every WotC product, mind you, still he's a bit of a mainstay. The overall art quality in this book is average,  not a lot sticks out although the Vhaeraun-Selvetarm battle is an exception. I can't tell who made it, alas, the artist's mark looks like a wizard's rune and I'm no wizard--they should've included artists' names on the page margins like they did with the Complete Warrior book. There are some nice renditions of certain planar destinations (e.g., Gates of the Moon on p. 154) and the redone images of various races aren't bad, either. If you don't care about artwork in your game books, naturally, this won't matter, but for blokes like me a picture paints a thousand words.The Player's Guide to Faerun starts off with the rehauled regional feat system. Here, it's been separated into the various human region listings followed by those for nonhumans. I'm not 100% sure why they did this, was the old FRCS version that confoozling? Regardless, I  suppose it does streamline things a little and the good part is that races that weren't paid as much attention to in this area (such as half-elves, planetouched, etc.) get the same treatment. Now there's a little more clarity on where that fire genasi is more likely to come from, and you won't have to thumb through the FRCS or Races of Faerun to read the race descriptions for  that little bit of info. Another improvement is that the vital statistics follow right after the region tables. Again, no more flipping through RoF just to check the height/weight/ starting age for a taer or volodni.Then there are the feats, which are a mix of new and old, the latter of which some were updated (or nerfed, in the case of Spellcasting Prodigy). Since some from the FRCS were adopted by the PHB, and since people don't like paying for the same thing twice, a few new ones were included (such as Otherworldly, which turns you into a 'native outsider'). The new regional feat system only allows you to take one regional feat, at 1st level. In return, there's a little more 'oomph' when you take one. This is fine and dandy but some of these 'regional feats' don't make sense being restricted in that manner. Daylight Adaptation, for example, is now a regional feat that can only be taken at 1st level if you're a Cormanthor Drow, kuo toa, dwarf, or orc. It doesn't feel right limiting the feat in this manner. It's as easy for me to imagine a drow who's lived all his life in the Underdark becoming accustomed to bright light (through certain means, mind you) as it is to imagine a drow on the surface who's done so since they were little whelps. I see no reason why it should be a regional/1st level only feat, perhaps it was a mistake. If not, it'll be Rule-zeroed in my campaign. Spellwise replaces Courteous Magocracy, other changes are mentioned in a sidebar on p. 42. New feats that I found to be worth taking included Dreadful Wrath (which is what happens when I'm denied my morning cups of cofee) and Swift and Silent--with this, you can move up to your normal speed will using Hide or Move Silently at no penalty. Also, a number of new non-region based feats are interspersed within: epic feats, flavor feats (like  Blessed of the Seven Sisters and Favored of the Zulkirs), the 'Initiate' feats which seek to add more flavor for clerics, and Exalted/Vile related feats.In the prestige class ection, the FrCs PrC's get a facelift (minor in most cases) and about21 or so new ones. The Divine Disciple PrC isn't as front-loaded as the 3.0 version, and the Harper Scout is replaced by the Harper Agent. The fear capability of the 3.0 Hathran has been replaced by 'Awe of the Wychlaran', which is more fitting. The Incantatrix (from Magic of Faerun) likewise gets a little touch-up. The rest get minor tucks and tweaks. As for the new ones, there are a few gems. Many of them spice up choices some of us would otherwise avoid.   There's the Justiciar of Tyr, and the Shaaryan Hunter(essentially a nomadic horseman), both well done. Some may be too regionally placed, such as the Evereskan Tomb Guardian and Spellguard of Silverymoon. One thing I'm glad for is the extensive use of 5-level PrC's--yes, some people hate 'em but does every prestige class need 10 levels to define them? Hardly. A complete list of prestige classes can be found on p. 47 but many are actually found in the Appendix: Expanded Play section, in the back of the book.Domains & Spells is just that. Here, you'll find the 'initiate' feats fleshed out, as well as a complete list of 3.5 FR spells from products up to/including Underdark. The domains themselves didn't see much tweaking, but looks can be decieving. 10 pages of spells, some taken from prior 3.0 FR sources and others entirely new, so it isn't exactly a rehash of what you bought a few years ago. Does anything here really jump out at me? Perhaps. Mystra's Miasma is pretty good, creating a fog with a'sinkhole' in the Weave that inhibits spellcasting. Since the designers did go through the old Pages from the Mages 2e accessory, expect some oldies but goodies in here like Caligarde's Claw and Presper's Moonbow. In fact, expect any number of 'new' spells to come from Faiths & Avatars,Pages from the Mages, and other 2e sources. I'm glad that they've been updated, although it does make it difficult to discern what's entirely new without going through every book or PDF in my collection.If there's one section which perked me up, it would have to be the one on magic items--only 8 pages, but I think they picked some really nice goodies for this. A lot ofmagic items found in Page from the Mages as well as the Hellgate Keep adventure (both 2e) found their way here. You'll also find Najjar's Cloak of Weaponry (from the Calimport accessory) updated and ready for use, but my favorites are definitely the Hellgate Keep-derived magic items such as the Shattering Swords of Coronal Ynloeth. In addition, several armor and weapon properties have been rewritten. Sure Striking, for example, has been changed so that it overcomes damage reduction as if it were aligned chaotic, evil, good, or lawful---whatever's appropriate against that foe, that's how it acts. Epic Levels in Faerun deal with...well, you know. I haven't been an epic gamer so I can't say how good this is. The Netherese arcanist did pique my interest, although the Spellfire Heirophant puzzles me more than anything. Just the idea of an epic spellfire wielder...Oh well, just a matter of taste. Past that, Toril's cosmology is discussed at length (27 pages worth), detailing what kinds of petitioners are found on a given plane, the traits of that plane, and so forth. Those seeking a more coherent view of the outer planes should be satisfied with what they find here. The good-aligned planes are seen as being connectedto the world Tree as different 'branches', while those of the lower planes are linked by the River of Blood. Nice, eh? There's more to it than that, of course. Each of the planes, from Arvandor to Warrior's Rest, are handled adequately, while minor planes and and foreign cosmologies are explained in lesser detail, such as  Zakhara (of al Qadim) and the Spirit World.The Campaign Journal, a short chapter in the back, brings the timeline found in the FRCS up to speed (Kythorn 1373 DR). For those who don't read a lot of FR novels or just like a recap of what's been going on, it's a quick and easy  chapter to breeze through that includes a few adventure hooks towards the end. Beyond that, there's the helpful Expanded Play appendix for those who want to add psionics to their campaign, or better integrate material from the  Books of Vile/Exalted Deeds. As mentioned before, some of the PrC's listed elsewhere are actually here. Of those,  the Black Blood Hunter and Yathrinshee will make PC's a little edgy once the DM gives them a little dose. The Celebrant of Sharess is a exalted PrC with a flirty twist, while the Harper Paragon is among the elite of the Harpers. The Maiden of Pain (Loviatar) and the Martyred Champion of Ilmater can also be found in this section. Personally, I think these PrCs will have a broader appeal than some of the region-centered PrC's.ConclusionsThe Player's Guide to Faerun tries to do a number of things. It provides a needed update to certain prestige classes, it overhauls the regional feat system, and it gives a needed 3.5 polish to older AD&D FR spells and magic. It satisfies the desire for 'new' by including a fair amount of new feats, PrC's, and advice on integrating psionics as well as material from the Exalted/Vile books. Last but not least, the PGtF tries very hard to make itself into a handy reference by consolidating other things, such as spell lists and height/weight tables. Does it do a good job? I think so. It does make a stumble or two, such as what happened with the Daylight adaptation feat, but that's minor. Is it a necessary must-have to get? Ehhhh. For FR gamers, yes. I'm not as excited about it as I was with Races of Faerun, but that may be for other reasons. Non-FR gamers can still get use from it (the aforementioned crunch factor, as it were), although paying $32.95 retail for a book you'll only want bits from isn't that economical. The PGtF won't entirely replace the FRCS, but it will take a load off just by having so much in a single reference. Now you can leave most of your books behind the next time you slog over to your DM's house for a friendly game of Smack the Goblin (or Phaerimm, however far your character's progressed).</blockquote>

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