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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 2010320" data-attributes="member: 6294">A large part of my day-job involves documentation: writing it, reading it, analysing it and comparing it to business and system models.  I have a fair appreciation of the difficulties of finding errors, omissions and contradictions.  In the past, I've generally been impressed with the editing on E.N. Publishing products.  Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of this product, which contains a regrettably large number of mistakes, both in terms of typographical errors and rules gaffes.  If E.N. later do a revised version, keep in mind that the rating here does not reflect any corrections in that version.The book itself can pretty much be broken into two sections.  The first section, comprising chapters 1-4, covers the society and nature of the three types of gnomes detailed in the book.  It is presented as much in an 'almanac' style as possible, without any game terms or mechanics to interrupt the text.  It is perhaps telling that this is the strongest section of the book, for that very reason.The three types of gnomes covered by the book are the Hill Gnomes (pretty much the PH type), Mountain Gnomes (more insular, and clan/caste based than the Hill Gnomes) and the Imperial Gnomes (modelled on imperial Chinese culture).  Each culture is covered in considerable detail, with information on everything from festivals and clothing to government and the military.  They are also all sufficiently different from each other as to feel distinctive and interesting.  The social frictions between egalitarian Hill and caste conscious Mountain Gnomes, for instance, could be fun to play in a campaign.Unfortunately, it is the Imperial Gnomes who get the most coverage in this section.  This is unfortunate not because they are uninteresting, but because they receive very little coverage in the mechanical sections of the book.  Given that they are the furthest from the classical D&D model, they are the race that really should have got the most support.After describing the three races, the book moves into its second section (chapters 5-8), which deal with new rules and mechanics-related information.Pretty much immediately, we run into trouble.First up are a collection of new Feats, and there are some obvious - and serious - problems to be seen.  Consider Arcane Eye, with has pre-requisites that mean you must be at least 7th level to get it.  With this feat, you can determine the properties of a magical item, with each attempt costing you materials worth "5 x the DC".  5 of what, it doesn't say.  XP?  GP?  CP?  If we assume GP, which seems most likely, we learn that this feat allows you to identify a potion at a cost of 100 gold.  Or, you know, you could get 1 rank in Alchemy and take 20 on the skill check, to do it for one fifth the cost.There's more: if you have INT 11+, you can get the Bookworm feat, which offers +2 to *all* Knowledge skills.  Yes, I said all of them.  Or there's Fey Friend, which requires you to have CHR 12+ (it's one of no less than eight feats to have an even ability value as a pre-requisite), and grants +2 Diplomacy with Feys only.  That's right: it's Skill Focus (Diplomacy), but not as good.  I doubt anyone will be stampeding to take it, somehow.I could go on and on, but I'll cite just two more examples, which are amongst the worst offenders for their lack of definition and clarity.  The Flee feat allows you to 'double the standard movement rate when fleeing from combat'.  It lists no duration and no definition of 'fleeing'.  How long can the doubled speed be maintained?  When are you no longer fleeing and just travelling again?  Do you have to run directly away from the enemy or can you choose your path?  What if there is a combat in the direction you want to head?  This feat is likely to bring play screeching to a halt every time it is used, while people argue about whether it applies or not.Equally dubious is Improvised Weapon, which specified that in your hands, a "Cobbled weapon has the same effect as a equivalent well made weapon."  There's no definition of what a 'cobbled' weapon is (perhaps it was cut from the book?) nor even a 'well made' one: does that mean normal, or possibly masterwork?  Say I have a character with proficiency in simple weapons, but not martial.  If I pick up a battleaxe and use the flat of it to hit people, can I claim this is an 'improvised heavy mace'?  The answer, of course, should be 'no', but this feat gives absolutely no guidance on such matters.Quite apart from the mechanical issues, I was also disappointed that such a large proportion of the feats had little 'gnomishness' about them (unless running away is a racial trait of which was not aware ...) and there are *no* feats that stem from the Imperial Gnome culture.Next up is a sample Gnome Pantheon.  I'm not sure why the Gods were put here: chapter 5 seems to be a mishmash of elements that didn't fit anywhere else.  Once again, the Imperial Gnomes may as well not exist, as there is nothing on their religion, but this is otherwise not a bad set of deities for those who want to establish or expand the Gnome pantheon in their campaign.We're then treated to three pages on the Gnomish view of the classes, which informs us, amongst other things, that commoners are quite helpless when danger arises.  Who would have thought?Immediately after this comes an all too short section on sub-races.  The Frightlocks (necromantic gnomes) and Toedirts (slum dwellers) are particularly intriguing.  It would have been nice to see a lot more material on them both.After a short section on Gnomish diseases, we move into chapter 6: New Equipment.  At least the Imperial Gnomes get some coverage here, though the equipment listed is largely just 'cultural items' such as soy sauce and tofu.  Fireworks and kites both get mentioned and have costs provided, but the opportunity to include interesting game effects has been completely ignored.  Where are the rules for using fireworks to blind or confuse an enemy, to startle horses, or as impromptu artillery?  Where is the listing for an observation kite, large enough to support a gnome in the air?There are also mundane items for the other gnome races, which again are good for flavour, but - as before - obvious opportunities have been missed to include game effects: what does an inventor's shop do for the owner, for instance?  For that matter, given all the alchemical compounds in the equipment lists, where are the creation DCs for making your own?  Few players could resist the chance to make their own fireworks, I am sure!Chapter 7 covers new spells & magic items.  There are lots of new illusions - which is appropriate, given the subject of this work.  Unfortunately, like the Feats, there are a lot of dubious mechanics: Alter Feature is a 0 level spell that can grant up a +25 bonus to Disguise (far better than either Change Self or Alter Self).  Death Dream can be cast on any living creature, with unlimited range: they must save or die, and even if they save, they still can't prepare arcane spells for 24 hours, due to stress.  This is a 6th level Clerical spell.  Every wizard in the world is a dead man (Sorcerers, on the other hand, are apparently fine).This kind of stuff continues: Gurgle Gargles is a 2nd level spell that lasts a day per level, and forces a DC 25 Will check (where'd that DC come from?) or the target must flee from any liquid, due to fear of the reflection they see within it.Also, I notice two spells with a listed level for a "Hatalyst" class.  The class is not in the book.  Is it a PrC that got omitted?The magical items are generally better developed (though often no more balanced) than the spells.  The Sonic Staff is a particularly nifty idea, from a 'character motif' point of view.  However, there are some obvious errors with the item statistics, at times: for instance there is a magical Buckle of Mirror Image.  This can apparently be activated at will (there is no mention of not being able to).  If this is correct, the listed cost is wrong (it is half what it should be).  It's also *very* powerful for an item that can be created by any 3rd level caster with Mirror Image and Craft Wondrous Item.The last chapter is the Prestige Classes.  They're almost all of dubious game balance, and some are much more than 'dubious'.  It doesn't help that there are unclear or non-standard rules being used for some classes.Here are some high (or low)-lights:Burrow Savage: this is an interesting idea, being a character that has turned against magic and thought, but it has badly flawed mechanics.  I can see the argument for its good saving throws (same as a Monk), due to the rejection of all forms of magic, but why does this fighter type class have a wizard's BAB?  Surely it would make more sense to lower one of the saves and give at least Cleric BAB?  For that matter, why is there no rule against them being magic-using characters themselves?  Also, what's the idea of giving them an 8 foot base move bonus at 6th level, when movement is measured in 5' blocks? Finally, I note that their principal class ability is to inflict extra damage on critical hits.  This extra damage is listed as being 'per dice' (sic).  What about sneak attack damage?  Or additional energy damage on enchanted weapons?  What about weapons that use multiple dice for their base damage, eg 2d4?Gnome Guardian: this class appears badly broken.  It has d10 hp, two good saves, and fighter BAB, as well as special ability or power *every* level.  This includes one ability that grants DR 3/-, +8 STR, and a net +3 AC.  The balancing item?  The character suffers big penalties if moving more than 50 miles from their "binding site".  In other words, they can't really remain adventurers.The problems continue: the Illusioneer and Master of Gnomonics both have non-standard save progressions listed in their class table, and are both substantially more powerful than the base arcane casting classes. The Stump Knight is a grossly overpowered Paladin PrC (fighter BAB and HP, Monk saves, additional bonuses to hit and damage on all Medium or larger creatures) while the Tiger Monk is not only the only PrC that can be linked to the Imperial Gnomes in any significant way, but has class abilities that are clearly out of scale with those of the core Monk class, while lacking any balancing drawbacks.Finally, so many great PrC possibilities (particularly for the Imperial Gnomes) have been overlooked: where is the high-flying Kite Warrior, or the fireworks-laden Barking Dog?  Where are PrCs that tie in with the intriguing sub-races from chapter 5?  What about something that takes advantage of the Gnomish affinity for burrowing animals?  None of these aspects have been given any attention at all.Gnomes: Masters of Illusion gets a 2 because there *are* some useful ideas and concepts to be mined out of this product.  Unfortunately, it cannot get any more because of its sloppy editing, negligible attention to game balance and failure to build on those ideas.</blockquote>

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