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Has anyone posted a review of Tome of Secrets?
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<blockquote data-quote="ProfessorCirno" data-source="post: 4893357" data-attributes="member: 65637"><p>I suppose I can give a sort of mini review. Nothing in depth, no deep looks at mechanics unless something appears quite out of whack. Just the big view.</p><p></p><p>Races:</p><p>Ratkin and Saurian seem well enough. Ratkin make for a good sneaky-folk race, with a more stealth-oriented emphasis then elves or halflings both fluff wise and mechanically - good rogues and swashbucklers. Saurian fit the "dying ancient people" trope fairly well, and I can see them appearing in games.</p><p></p><p>Half ogre are way, way too much, mechanically speaking. There's simply no reason to be a martial class of any other race. I'm not all BALANCE IS ALL or anything, but they went a bit too far there.</p><p></p><p>Classes:</p><p>With the new crafting, the old artificer wasn't that neccesary, so we've got a new one, and I like it. The Mad Science ability looks like it'll be fun - and possibly hilarious! - to use, and the Jack of Trades line makes the Artificer a good factotum-lite in some ways. I can see Mad Science possibly being stupifyingly powerful later on, however, so take care there.</p><p></p><p>Knight is...well, a knight, with some new stuff. Not much to say here. I like the inclusion of some fluff-based mechanics, such as allowing you to call on the hospitality of other houses due to your reputation as a knight. Really though, I never saw a knight in game in 3.5 (the class, that is) so I don't have much to reference it too.</p><p></p><p>Priest is Cloistered Cleric. Again, not much to say.</p><p></p><p>Shaman is, well, spirit shaman. It has two major new bits - from a sidebar that states that spirits are any elemental, fey, outsider, or incorperal subtype, which gives it a nice boost, and the ability to choose one domain to take per day. Shaman also has one of those mechanical fluff bits that I love, giving it a spirit guide for the DM to use to interact with the Shaman.</p><p></p><p>Spellblade is Duskblade with a few changes. Int based spontanious casting, weapon augmentation x times a day. However, he lacks some of the things that made the duskblade so good. Overall, I'd pass on this class.</p><p></p><p>Swashbuckler has some really good changes, and is possibly my favorite of the new old classes. Increasing dodge bonus to AC that counts as the dodge feat, int to damage was replaced by a sneak attack that only works with specific weapons, bonus feats, and a bunch of other stuff. The dodge bonus, evasion/uncanny dodge trees, and other stuff help give the swashbuckler a much more fluid and movement-based feel, so you're more of a swashbuckler now then "Guy who does int to damage."</p><p></p><p>Warlock is <strong>completely</strong> different. It now utilizes school bonuses (and gets a much bigger list of school bonuses to choose from) instead of invocations and eldritch blast. I can't say it's better or worse, it's just really <strong>different</strong>. Not much I can say about it without seeing it in game, really.</p><p></p><p>Warlord is an odd one. He just doesn't seem to have enough to give him oomph. Like knight, I never saw a marshal in game, so I can't really give a reference to it, but the Warlord just doesn't seem to be able to do enough. A couple abilities that just statically raise as he goes up in level. In a way, you could say Warlord is almost a variant fighter.</p><p></p><p>Other stuff:</p><p>Drawbacks are basically the flaws of UA, only instead of feats, they give skills. Right above the "uncomly" drawback is a picture of a somewhat adorable looking halfling girl. I don't get it ;p</p><p></p><p>Occupation is "What you did before adventuring." Bonus gold, bonus class skill, maybe even a bonus feat. Personally I'd TOTALLY allow this, <strong>but</strong> would disallow occupations that give a combat-related feat, or make them change it to a skill-oriented feat. Overall designed to let your fighter have that blacksmithing skill.</p><p></p><p>I didn't give moral a big in depth look, so I can't comment there.</p><p></p><p>Stunts are basically "OH MAN CAN I USE x SKILL TO DO THIS AWESOME THING?" It's pretty simple and easy to use, and it gives players a better reason to describe their more awesome attacks. The gist is, they roll stuff, if they succeed, they get a certain type of bonus, be it an increase to attack/damage or lowering an enemy's saves by one.</p><p></p><p>Temporary enchantment is to make up for the new artificer not having infusions.</p><p></p><p>Chase rules are freaking awesome. Seriously. No details, but I can't wait to run or play through these in a game.</p><p></p><p>The "Million Magic Items" is good for designing magic items that your players will find in a dungeon, and for giving them far better names then +5 mace. I love tables with an unhealthy passion, so I loved this.</p><p></p><p>New alchemy items are <strong>always</strong> loved by me. I made it a house rule long ago that you didn't need to be a caster to make alchemical items, and Pathfinder made that rule no longer "house," so giving crafty characters more options is right up my alley.</p><p></p><p>Like moral, I didn't give monster modifier a big check.</p><p></p><p>Random adventure making...thingie, seemed interesting, but gain, didn't really look deeply at it.</p><p></p><p>The section on guns makes the same mistake many D&D games do - they're just crossbows that do more damage. Unfortunately, unless it uses 100 gold per 5 ammunition or a +2 weapon enchant, CONGRATULATIONS! Your weapon cannot attack more then once per round! <em>Sigh.</em></p><p></p><p>Overall, for a $10 pdf, I'd recommend it. I don't buy many - if any - physical books these days, so I can't say how awesome that would be. Some of the art seemed damn familiar to the point where I'd swear I've seen it elsewhere on these har internets, and the styles were somewhat anachronistic at times, but I still think it's an overall good purchase.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ProfessorCirno, post: 4893357, member: 65637"] I suppose I can give a sort of mini review. Nothing in depth, no deep looks at mechanics unless something appears quite out of whack. Just the big view. Races: Ratkin and Saurian seem well enough. Ratkin make for a good sneaky-folk race, with a more stealth-oriented emphasis then elves or halflings both fluff wise and mechanically - good rogues and swashbucklers. Saurian fit the "dying ancient people" trope fairly well, and I can see them appearing in games. Half ogre are way, way too much, mechanically speaking. There's simply no reason to be a martial class of any other race. I'm not all BALANCE IS ALL or anything, but they went a bit too far there. Classes: With the new crafting, the old artificer wasn't that neccesary, so we've got a new one, and I like it. The Mad Science ability looks like it'll be fun - and possibly hilarious! - to use, and the Jack of Trades line makes the Artificer a good factotum-lite in some ways. I can see Mad Science possibly being stupifyingly powerful later on, however, so take care there. Knight is...well, a knight, with some new stuff. Not much to say here. I like the inclusion of some fluff-based mechanics, such as allowing you to call on the hospitality of other houses due to your reputation as a knight. Really though, I never saw a knight in game in 3.5 (the class, that is) so I don't have much to reference it too. Priest is Cloistered Cleric. Again, not much to say. Shaman is, well, spirit shaman. It has two major new bits - from a sidebar that states that spirits are any elemental, fey, outsider, or incorperal subtype, which gives it a nice boost, and the ability to choose one domain to take per day. Shaman also has one of those mechanical fluff bits that I love, giving it a spirit guide for the DM to use to interact with the Shaman. Spellblade is Duskblade with a few changes. Int based spontanious casting, weapon augmentation x times a day. However, he lacks some of the things that made the duskblade so good. Overall, I'd pass on this class. Swashbuckler has some really good changes, and is possibly my favorite of the new old classes. Increasing dodge bonus to AC that counts as the dodge feat, int to damage was replaced by a sneak attack that only works with specific weapons, bonus feats, and a bunch of other stuff. The dodge bonus, evasion/uncanny dodge trees, and other stuff help give the swashbuckler a much more fluid and movement-based feel, so you're more of a swashbuckler now then "Guy who does int to damage." Warlock is [B]completely[/B] different. It now utilizes school bonuses (and gets a much bigger list of school bonuses to choose from) instead of invocations and eldritch blast. I can't say it's better or worse, it's just really [B]different[/B]. Not much I can say about it without seeing it in game, really. Warlord is an odd one. He just doesn't seem to have enough to give him oomph. Like knight, I never saw a marshal in game, so I can't really give a reference to it, but the Warlord just doesn't seem to be able to do enough. A couple abilities that just statically raise as he goes up in level. In a way, you could say Warlord is almost a variant fighter. Other stuff: Drawbacks are basically the flaws of UA, only instead of feats, they give skills. Right above the "uncomly" drawback is a picture of a somewhat adorable looking halfling girl. I don't get it ;p Occupation is "What you did before adventuring." Bonus gold, bonus class skill, maybe even a bonus feat. Personally I'd TOTALLY allow this, [B]but[/B] would disallow occupations that give a combat-related feat, or make them change it to a skill-oriented feat. Overall designed to let your fighter have that blacksmithing skill. I didn't give moral a big in depth look, so I can't comment there. Stunts are basically "OH MAN CAN I USE x SKILL TO DO THIS AWESOME THING?" It's pretty simple and easy to use, and it gives players a better reason to describe their more awesome attacks. The gist is, they roll stuff, if they succeed, they get a certain type of bonus, be it an increase to attack/damage or lowering an enemy's saves by one. Temporary enchantment is to make up for the new artificer not having infusions. Chase rules are freaking awesome. Seriously. No details, but I can't wait to run or play through these in a game. The "Million Magic Items" is good for designing magic items that your players will find in a dungeon, and for giving them far better names then +5 mace. I love tables with an unhealthy passion, so I loved this. New alchemy items are [B]always[/B] loved by me. I made it a house rule long ago that you didn't need to be a caster to make alchemical items, and Pathfinder made that rule no longer "house," so giving crafty characters more options is right up my alley. Like moral, I didn't give monster modifier a big check. Random adventure making...thingie, seemed interesting, but gain, didn't really look deeply at it. The section on guns makes the same mistake many D&D games do - they're just crossbows that do more damage. Unfortunately, unless it uses 100 gold per 5 ammunition or a +2 weapon enchant, CONGRATULATIONS! Your weapon cannot attack more then once per round! [I]Sigh.[/I] Overall, for a $10 pdf, I'd recommend it. I don't buy many - if any - physical books these days, so I can't say how awesome that would be. Some of the art seemed damn familiar to the point where I'd swear I've seen it elsewhere on these har internets, and the styles were somewhat anachronistic at times, but I still think it's an overall good purchase. [/QUOTE]
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