FR: Players Guide to Faerun is out what do you think?

[Derulbaskul]

IMO, it is an adequate book without being inspiring. I read it and felt that I had just paid for a series of web enhancements. So, yes, the utility is there but the inspiration is not.

Oh well, back to Midnight and Dawnforge....

 

[Numion]

IMO the all martial weapons proficiency isn't a big deal because:

1) Players mostly stick to one weapon

2) Characters that don't have the proficiencies are lousy weapons users anyway, so there won't be any gamebreaking combos with the feat.

 

[Darkness]

IMO the all martial weapons proficiency isn't a big deal because:

*nods*

3) Feats are rather precious; you don't get that many. Unless you're a fighter - but they get all MWPs anyway.

 

[Swiftbrook]

See, as far as I can see, this is bad balance-fu. You have to pay the cost, but you get a greater benefit than someone else who pays the same cost....maybe not significantly....but it's kinda like in normal D&D, 1 first-level feat = 1 first-level feat. In FR, 1 first-level feat = 1 first-level feat +1. It's not game-breaking, but it is unbalancing....a smidge. You pay no extra cost for that +1.

Limiting the number and choices isn't a balance factor...

If they're better than a regular feat then clearly it's reasonable to suggest that they should have some accompanying extra cost. That there's only a one-level window to take the feat does not represent a cost, but is rather a limitation to keep players from taking more than one. That's not the same thing as it does not balance the regional feat against a non-regional taken at first level.

But there is a cost. I play an elf ranger. At 1st level I get one feat. One. If I could choose that powerfull 1st level regional feat at any level, I might wait and take it at 6th.
Like this:
1st: Point Blank Shot
3rd: Percise Shot
6th: Regional Feat

But limiting that regional feat to first level only means I now must put off Point Blank Shot & Percise Shot like this:
1st: Regional Feat
3rd: Point Blank Shot
6th: Percise Shot

That is a cost. You do "pay an extra cost for that +1". Two levels that I can't use PBS (1 & 2) and three levels I can't use Percise Shot (3, 4 & 5).

By limiting a feat to only being available at 1st level, it can be a slightly more powerful feat without upsetting the ballance.

-Swiftbrook

 

[Pseudonym]

Most of the material (I'd say 60-70% from eyeballing it) is reprinted from other FR books and updated to 3.5.

Which is exactly why I bought it.

As far as usability for other campaigns, most of the prestige classes are easily portable to other worlds. The Hammer of Moradin would be suitable for any world with standard D&D dwarves in it. The Shaaryan Hunter would be excellent for any mounted nomadic culture.

Another easily portable mechanic are the initiate feats for several deities. It would require determining equivalences between the Realms deities and the deities of the campaign you want to plug these into, but it shouldn't be that hard.

These feats require a specific class level and patron, and give thematically appropriate abilities and add deity specific spells to the available spell list. For example, the Initiate of Lathander allows you to spontaneously cast any spell with the light descriptor in addition to the normal spontaneous cure spells.

The magic items given are easily portable as well, there are some specific items with a bit of Realms history given for each one. The general ones are nice and not too overwhelming.

I've only given it a quick skim in most sections. The areas I paid particular attention to were the very Realms specific things like the changes to the cosmology and the advanced timeline.

If you are a Realms fanboy go out and get it now. If you want to mine it for bits, then I'm sure a Share the Love deal will get going soon.

 

[jsaving]

IMO the all martial weapons proficiency isn't a big deal because:
1) Players mostly stick to one weapon
2) Characters that don't have the proficiencies are lousy weapons users anyway, so there won't be any gamebreaking combos with the feat.

Agreed, *except* that prestige classes like the eldritch knight require the caster to level up once without any casting progression -- and implement that requirement through the verbal sleight-of-hand "proficiency with all martial weapons." The 3.5e team has said the eldritch knight is broken without this requirement, which presents a problem in a world where a feat can suddenly give you this proficiency.

 

[Urbannen]

So this Martial Weapon Proficiency feat doesn't have Simple Weapon Proficiency as a prerequisite?

That's pretty wacko if true. "Oh, I'm an Eldritch Knight. I can use a greatsword, but heck if I know how to wield a mace."

 

[reiella]

Not so. This got a sidebar for why they deliberately changed regional feats to make them better than normal feats. The design philosophy is that since regional feats require the character to be grounded in the campaign world (essentially being a strong encouragement for role-playing) that they should reward the character more.
mostly new material (some of it was taken from the WotC website though).

And that's a design philosophy I disagree with vehemently.
You shouldn't need to carrot the players in that fashion, in my opinion.
From a mechanical point of view, offering a mechanical reward for a roleplaying quirk (in this case, a feat that is more powerful than other 'non-regional' feats) is a crutch saying that whatever roleplaying that is necessitated by the feat, somehow makes the character weaker such that it requires additional mechanical benefit.

Time restriction should mostly be a flavor thing anyway, as for balance, it results in situations where players are more likly to take a regional feat for their first level, since it's something that they can NEVER make up. Further, the situations where you are 'effectively' forced to take the regional feat at first being considered a cost can only work if the feat in question reduces in viability/power as you level up (and in this situation you best let your players use the Reduce LA option in UA, because it's meant to address this exact problem).

 

[Mystery Man]

I like the book but I thinks I'm going to grandfather in any old feats my players have already chosen for their characters in case they want to keep them. Am I too nice of a guy?

 

[SSquirrel]

Didn't Monte's variant Player's Handbook have a feat that in essence gave you all exotic weapon profiencies (that were heavy) and their dire versions for one feat? Might want to rethink that statement.

Monte divided all exotic weapons into agile and heavy basically. I've always thought that having group weapon proficiences made much more sense. I don't see anything wrong with this one. His sense of balance seems fine by me.

Hagen