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<blockquote data-quote="Fafnir_" data-source="post: 8400982" data-attributes="member: 7032287"><p>My detailed feedback of the Player's Guide, section by section:</p><p></p><p><strong>Introduction</strong></p><p>It sets the mood very well. I can just ask my players to read this and they'll get a good feel for the campaign. The quotes are a very nice touch too.</p><p></p><p>Some posters in this thread said that getting rid of alignment isn't necessary as it isn't tied to game mechanics the way it used to be in previous editions. I disagree because alignment still provides roleplaying cues that are foreign to the <em>conanesque </em>sword-&-sorcery vibe. S&S heroes are morally ambiguous. </p><p></p><p>Some of the other extra rules outlined I like, some I don't, but that's okay, as it's the purview of the DM to decide which to include in their campaign, so providing a bunch of optional rules is fine. </p><p></p><p>I do agree with some of the posters that <em>Deadly Criticals</em> isn't a very good fit for S&S - to my mind, it'd fit a gritty, low-fantasy, grimdark setting better, like Warhammer. And the DMG already includes options that achieve similar results, see <em>Cleaving through Creatures</em> and <em>Massive Damage</em> options (DMG, pp. 272-273). If I want to make combat deadlier, I'll include these.</p><p></p><p>One tiny bit of inconsistency is that <em>Deadly Criticals</em> says "optional" in brackets while <em>Full Hit Dice Recovery on Long Rest</em> does not, but the text does describe it as optional.</p><p></p><p>About Inspiration, I'd remove the Lucky feat as it's superseded by the extended Inspiration mechanic. Everyone is lucky!</p><p></p><p><strong>Summary of Character Creation</strong></p><p>One bit of clarification I'd include is that human characters do not gain the Human benefits described in the PHB. </p><p></p><p><strong>Cultures & Races</strong></p><p>Perfect. I'm in love with this.</p><p></p><p><strong>Classes</strong></p><p>Also very well done. I think Thulsa managed to meet his design principles, so this still feels like D&D but infused with a strong S&S vibe.</p><p></p><p><strong>Swords of Xoth</strong></p><p>Some good extra options and items. I especially like the <em>Alchemical and Herbal Items </em>section as it's really bringing the <em>conanesque </em>vibe.</p><p></p><p><strong>Sorcery of Xoth</strong></p><p>A well-though-out chapter and cool new spells. I don't find the Druid and Warlock spell lists too useful since they don't include the non-SRD spells, so my players will need to cross reference with the spell lists in the PHB to see all their options. I'll provide my players with a list of the barred and new spells instead, and refer them to the PHB for the spell lists.</p><p>[SPOILER="Barred and New Spells"]</p><h2>Warlock</h2><p><strong>Barred spells:</strong> 1st level – Comprehend languages; 2nd level – Invisibility; 3rd level – Fly; 4th level – Dimension Door; 7th level – Plane Shift; 9th level – True Polymorph</p><p></p><p><strong>New spells:</strong> 2nd level – Incantation of the Broken Limb; 4th level – Curse of Green Decay; 5th level – Curse of Double Death, Lifeleech, Lover's Curse; 7th level – Soul Vulture</p><p></p><h2>Druid</h2><p><strong>Barred Spells:</strong> 1st level - Create or Destroy Water, Cure Wounds, Detect Magic, Healing Word; 3rd level - Water Breathing, Water Walk; 4th level – Polymorph; 5th level – Mass Cure Wound, Reincarnate; 6th level – Heal, Wind Walk; 7th level – Plane Shift; 8th level – Animal Shapes; 9th level – Shapechange, True Resurrection</p><p></p><p><strong>New Spells:</strong> 4th level – Drums of Panic; 5th level – Snake Staff; 6th level – Stick to Serpents; 7th level – Raise the Ancient Lizard-Gods, Sorcery of the Skull;</p><p>[/SPOILER]</p><p></p><p><strong>Cults, Legends and Lands of Xoth</strong></p><p>Some more addictive lotus juice. Amazing stuff.</p><p></p><p>So overall this is amazing stuff. I'm looking forward to my Xoth campaign. I know it will provide countless hours of fun for our group.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fafnir_, post: 8400982, member: 7032287"] My detailed feedback of the Player's Guide, section by section: [B]Introduction[/B] It sets the mood very well. I can just ask my players to read this and they'll get a good feel for the campaign. The quotes are a very nice touch too. Some posters in this thread said that getting rid of alignment isn't necessary as it isn't tied to game mechanics the way it used to be in previous editions. I disagree because alignment still provides roleplaying cues that are foreign to the [I]conanesque [/I]sword-&-sorcery vibe. S&S heroes are morally ambiguous. Some of the other extra rules outlined I like, some I don't, but that's okay, as it's the purview of the DM to decide which to include in their campaign, so providing a bunch of optional rules is fine. I do agree with some of the posters that [I]Deadly Criticals[/I] isn't a very good fit for S&S - to my mind, it'd fit a gritty, low-fantasy, grimdark setting better, like Warhammer. And the DMG already includes options that achieve similar results, see [I]Cleaving through Creatures[/I] and [I]Massive Damage[/I] options (DMG, pp. 272-273). If I want to make combat deadlier, I'll include these. One tiny bit of inconsistency is that [I]Deadly Criticals[/I] says "optional" in brackets while [I]Full Hit Dice Recovery on Long Rest[/I] does not, but the text does describe it as optional. About Inspiration, I'd remove the Lucky feat as it's superseded by the extended Inspiration mechanic. Everyone is lucky! [B]Summary of Character Creation[/B] One bit of clarification I'd include is that human characters do not gain the Human benefits described in the PHB. [B]Cultures & Races[/B] Perfect. I'm in love with this. [B]Classes[/B] Also very well done. I think Thulsa managed to meet his design principles, so this still feels like D&D but infused with a strong S&S vibe. [B]Swords of Xoth[/B] Some good extra options and items. I especially like the [I]Alchemical and Herbal Items [/I]section as it's really bringing the [I]conanesque [/I]vibe. [B]Sorcery of Xoth[/B] A well-though-out chapter and cool new spells. I don't find the Druid and Warlock spell lists too useful since they don't include the non-SRD spells, so my players will need to cross reference with the spell lists in the PHB to see all their options. I'll provide my players with a list of the barred and new spells instead, and refer them to the PHB for the spell lists. [SPOILER="Barred and New Spells"] [HEADING=1]Warlock[/HEADING] [B]Barred spells:[/B] 1st level – Comprehend languages; 2nd level – Invisibility; 3rd level – Fly; 4th level – Dimension Door; 7th level – Plane Shift; 9th level – True Polymorph [B]New spells:[/B] 2nd level – Incantation of the Broken Limb; 4th level – Curse of Green Decay; 5th level – Curse of Double Death, Lifeleech, Lover's Curse; 7th level – Soul Vulture [HEADING=1]Druid[/HEADING] [B]Barred Spells:[/B] 1st level - Create or Destroy Water, Cure Wounds, Detect Magic, Healing Word; 3rd level - Water Breathing, Water Walk; 4th level – Polymorph; 5th level – Mass Cure Wound, Reincarnate; 6th level – Heal, Wind Walk; 7th level – Plane Shift; 8th level – Animal Shapes; 9th level – Shapechange, True Resurrection [B]New Spells:[/B] 4th level – Drums of Panic; 5th level – Snake Staff; 6th level – Stick to Serpents; 7th level – Raise the Ancient Lizard-Gods, Sorcery of the Skull; [/SPOILER] [B]Cults, Legends and Lands of Xoth[/B] Some more addictive lotus juice. Amazing stuff. So overall this is amazing stuff. I'm looking forward to my Xoth campaign. I know it will provide countless hours of fun for our group. [/QUOTE]
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