Crothian
First Post
Heroes of High Favor: Dwarves is Bad Axe Games first book, and is also the first in their line of race books. This book is rather small being only 62 pages and it is not a full size book. However the price is only about ten dollars American and it is packed inside. The cover is one of the coolest covers I’ve seen. It’s very simple, yet really says Dwarf. It has a symbol of an Anvil and Hammer on it. The tones are very earthy and title and author’s name are seamlessly part of the cover. The art inside is also very fitting. It adds to the text and is not overbearing.
There are two basic points that need to be said before getting into the specifics. The first is that this book is filled with rules and very little narrative. It has feats, new uses for old skills, prestige classes, but only a little on dwarven culture and other extra information. Some people prefer the “crunch” to the “fluff”. Second, this options presented in this book are very well in line with everything in the core rules. There are no odd new rules, different presentations of the dwarven people, or sub races.
The book starts with a two-page introduction. It’s very basic and reiterates what one expects of dwarves. From there we go directly to the feats. There are new fighter feats as well as feats recommended only for dwarves. There are many new combat feats like Giant Killer and Hammer Mastery. The first one negates reach of some creatures, the other grants a bonus to attack with all Hammer weapons. There are a few other types like Sturdy Back that reduces encumbrance. All the feats seem useful and balanced. Next we get into fighting styles. These are four styles: Single Weapon, Weapon and Shield, Two Handed Style, and Two Weapon Style. Each has certain feat requirements and if all the requirements are meet, one automatically gets and additional bonus when using this style. Then each style also has a specialization that can only be taken as a feat for characters with at least four levels in fighter. The bonuses received are nice, but not overpowering. Next the book goes into dwarven runes. These are simple additions that can be added to any weapon, armor, or item. The runes are a nice, simple way to add a bit of dwarven mystery to items.
Next the book covers some new uses for old skills, although it’s mostly new dwarven options for crafting. There are many new traits that can be built into weapons and armor. These new options are easily presented here and all the craft DCs and price included. I really like this section as it shows the superior quality that dwarven items can have.
The real meat of the book are the prestige classes. This is well over half the book. There are ten prestige classes, and each one is aimed towards a multi class fighter. A fighter with levels in any of the other ten core classes will find a prestige class in here that fits. Each prestige class shows their role in the dwarven society and their role in an adventuring party. I really liked that that information was added to all the classes. It makes them easy to use as NPCs to show the diversity of a Dwarven civilization. All of the prestige classes seem pretty well balanced and interesting.
The book ends with a couple of pages on Dwarven Society. Over all it’s a good little book. It really presents many options for the dwarven character, but I feel it centers too much on the fighter. As a first product it is well done and void of the usual mistakes in editing and organization one tends to see. And lastly, I have to comment on the clever name of the company: Bad Axe Games. I think it’s the coolest sounding company out there.
There are two basic points that need to be said before getting into the specifics. The first is that this book is filled with rules and very little narrative. It has feats, new uses for old skills, prestige classes, but only a little on dwarven culture and other extra information. Some people prefer the “crunch” to the “fluff”. Second, this options presented in this book are very well in line with everything in the core rules. There are no odd new rules, different presentations of the dwarven people, or sub races.
The book starts with a two-page introduction. It’s very basic and reiterates what one expects of dwarves. From there we go directly to the feats. There are new fighter feats as well as feats recommended only for dwarves. There are many new combat feats like Giant Killer and Hammer Mastery. The first one negates reach of some creatures, the other grants a bonus to attack with all Hammer weapons. There are a few other types like Sturdy Back that reduces encumbrance. All the feats seem useful and balanced. Next we get into fighting styles. These are four styles: Single Weapon, Weapon and Shield, Two Handed Style, and Two Weapon Style. Each has certain feat requirements and if all the requirements are meet, one automatically gets and additional bonus when using this style. Then each style also has a specialization that can only be taken as a feat for characters with at least four levels in fighter. The bonuses received are nice, but not overpowering. Next the book goes into dwarven runes. These are simple additions that can be added to any weapon, armor, or item. The runes are a nice, simple way to add a bit of dwarven mystery to items.
Next the book covers some new uses for old skills, although it’s mostly new dwarven options for crafting. There are many new traits that can be built into weapons and armor. These new options are easily presented here and all the craft DCs and price included. I really like this section as it shows the superior quality that dwarven items can have.
The real meat of the book are the prestige classes. This is well over half the book. There are ten prestige classes, and each one is aimed towards a multi class fighter. A fighter with levels in any of the other ten core classes will find a prestige class in here that fits. Each prestige class shows their role in the dwarven society and their role in an adventuring party. I really liked that that information was added to all the classes. It makes them easy to use as NPCs to show the diversity of a Dwarven civilization. All of the prestige classes seem pretty well balanced and interesting.
The book ends with a couple of pages on Dwarven Society. Over all it’s a good little book. It really presents many options for the dwarven character, but I feel it centers too much on the fighter. As a first product it is well done and void of the usual mistakes in editing and organization one tends to see. And lastly, I have to comment on the clever name of the company: Bad Axe Games. I think it’s the coolest sounding company out there.
