Librum Equitis Voume Two
Written by M Jason Parent
Published by Ambient
55 b & w pages
$5.95/$5
So you bought Librum Equitis Voume One and you’re sick little mind isnt’ satisfied? Well step right up, Mr. Parent has brought forth a horde, well, not quite a horde, but twenty, new PrCs. Like the previous volume, this one also makes use of existing OGC to augment the feel and unique traits of many of these new classes.
Librum is designed with a mock cover, title page with the legal goods, and another page with the table of contents. The book is broken up into three chapters, Prestige Classes, Spells, and Psionic Devices of the Duan’Khat. Yes, something outside of PrCs actually dares take up space here!
The layout is fairly simple two columns with illustrations and tables breaking up the tyranny of the text. Margins are good and there aren’t a lot of symbols or placeholders to devour your ink when printing. PrCs are separate and don’t run together. This is great for those who just want to print out a PrC or two, but because not every class ends on an even page, you may still wind up with a blank page when printing. In addition, this causes a bit of white space towards the end of some of the PrCs. Still, this is an electronic book and this is definitely a benefit. Another benefit is that there are numerous bookmarks for easy maneuvering about the file.
Chapter One, Prestige Classes, starts off with some advice on converting these PrCs to your own campaign. Change the names, adjust the skills, make it work. More important though, are the notes about unusual level progression PrCs. These are similar to the five level PrCs originally introduced in the FRCS, but include three, seven, and twelve level PrCs. The PrCs are laid out in alphabetical order starting with the name, usually a piece of fiction, background information, and stat block which includes hit dice, requirements, class skills, and class features. Some of the PrCs have their own spell lists as well which receive coverage at the end of the class description. Not all of the PrCs are illustrated, but the ones that are, like the Bone Archer, Mad Tailor, Sacred Paladin, and Tribal Berserker, are all top notch.
There are a few archetypes covered in this book. You’ve got the Bokor, a voodoo spellcaster whose spells upon a doll effects the victim. The more powerful the Bokor, the more variety of spells he can cast. Sure, it starts off small with some enchantments, but eventually the caster can use Necromantic and Evocation spells on said target.
Another old staple of fantasy, Elite Cavalry, get another PrC here. This is a small five level PrC and provides the character with bonuses and extra abilities for fighting on horseback. Some are minor abilities like Man of the Horse where the rider gets a bonus to his ride checks equal to class level while others, like Mounted Cleave, allow the Elite to make extra melee attacks while using the movement of his mount, a dangerous ability.
Those who’ve seen the cover for the product may recognize another old fantasy favorite, the Tribal Berserker. This berserker, a member of a lycanthrope cult, has a variant of the rage ability that continues to advance as the berserker does. Like old Viking berserkers were rumored to do, this one also has some shape changing power, able to assume the forms of werecreatures starting off with the lowly rat, but eventually gaining the mighty bear.
Still, you may want something different than the standard. You’re taken care of. The Bone Archer, a necromantic archer who uses bones to craft his arrows and gains a limited spell selection through ‘Fletchings’ is one route to go. Still a little too familiar? Like the Arcane Archer? How about the Mad Tailor? This PrC is simply put, sick. These twisted individuals mold flesh into new creations called Mad Constructs. If this isn’t a perfect example of a twisted PrC that’s perfect for the gothic world of Ravenloft, I give up.
Of course, not every class is so narrowly focused. The Order of Cordun is a group of worshippers who believe that Cordun is the true way! They use the Tirric, a specially breed monster whose insect hide is used as armor. This fighter style PrC is on the side of chaos and is meant for a divine spellcaster as it gains limited access to new spells. More importantly though, are all the ‘Unholy’ abilities they gain like Unholy Smith and Unholy Strikes. Players who’ve been getting a little too arrogant can easily be taken down a notch or two with Living Armor and the ability to fight ‘Unto Death’ where the worshipper can continue to fight on as long as his fortitude holds out.
Those who want to play a paladin style character but not be a full fledge lawful good paladin may want to explore the potential of the Sacred Paladin. This is a 12 level PrC that gains numerous diving abilities like Divine Grace, a bonus to saves based on Charisma, and the ability to channel divine energy like a priest. Of course, most will be interested in the ability to specialize in a weapon. Oh yeah, they also gain a limited selection of divine spells.
One of my favorites is the Siege Mage. I’ve always been fascinated by how castles are usually just depicted as being there and not having anything to fear from most spellcasters. Well no more. These mages have a little ability called Spell Striker which ignore the hardness of the building. Their Siegecraft ability allows the spells to be cast on constructions. This reminded me a little of the Oceanic Sentinels from Broadsides that defended ships instead of individuals.
Perhaps the most interesting class in terms of it’s potential, was the Society of Heavenly Movements. These astrologers gain spells according to what Heavenly Bodies they worship. Included are the twelve signs of the Zodiac. I would love to see Sword & Sorcery Studio, Fiery Dragon and others take the challenge of this PrC and develop unique spell lists based on individual campaigns.
One of the PrCs here seems like a translation or homage to a favorite Warhammer FRPG career. Have you ever read about Gortex? A dwarf who has his own series of novels in the Warhammer setting? Well if so and you’ve hungered for the chance to play a Trollslayer, too bad. You’ll have to settle for the Troll Hunter. While they lack the death wish that the Warhammer version is renown for, they do have a hearty endurance and are able to hack apart just about anything that they get their weapons into.
One of the things I didn’t like about the first book was the limited amount of psionic coverage. While this book isn’t overflowing with psionic based PrCs, there are a few here. You’ve got the Children of the Snake, a human or half-elf that’s initiated by the yuan-ti into their culture and gain reptilian based powers. This would include poison resistance, venom, and even spell resistance. That’s in addition to the extra power points they gain. One of the interesting choices made by the designer is that he assigns specific powers to the class. This is an excellent way to add some minor psionics to the campaign without overburdening.
The Mind Thief is another psionic based PrC. These characters remind me a little of the Soulknives in that they gain some sneak attack abilities, as well as other rouge abilities. Their psionic version of a sneak attack is the Mind Strike, an ability that inhibits a targets ability to cast spells or use spell like abilities.
Chapter Two, Spells & Magic, includes some new spells for bards, druids, and the arcane duo of sorcerer/wizards. There are domains for Clouds, Forge, Horses, Negative Energy, Positive Energy, Stone, Traps, and Weaponry. Not a big section, but one that augments the spellcasters found in this book.
Chapter Three, Psionic Devices of the Duan’Khat, introduces Meta Fragments and Dawn Spheres. The Fragments are stones imbued with energy that hold psionic feats. Once used, the stone is burned out. The Spheres are a bit more interesting to me. When I read about the Armed Sphere, a 1-inch diameter metallic sphere etched with runes that sprouts blades of steel, all I could think of was the movie Phantasm. “It’s just a dream man!” Other spheres, like the QuickSilver Sphere, offer minor bonuses or ability boosts like +2 speed bonus to initiative.
Were there any serious issues with the book? No game halting ones. One type has a reference to describing five, seven, and twelve level PrCs, and is missing the three level PrC. Speaking of which, there are no three level PrCs. A few of the others, but no three. The spellcasting notes for the Siege Mage are also missing, but since it’s the same spell progression as a few other PrCs, it’s not a big deal. There are also several PrCs with no fiction. Doesn’t effect the value or game play at all, but it does provide a nice sense of consistency when fiction is used for all of the PrCs.
My own Force Powers almost want to whisper to me that this book is in part to prepare for the module, Jungles of the Mind. And I say that because the Children of the Snake are Yuan-Ti, the Mind Thief is a psionic based PrC, the Venomous are Yuan-Ti based, and there’s a whole bunch of stuff on the Duan’Khat, a psionic society, which will be described more in, yes, that’s right, Jungles of the Mind. This isn’t a bad thing mind you, but it does feel like a teaser.
Are there any failings in this book? Not really failings so much as not taking advantage of some of the innovations out there. For example, the Black Guard is one of the few PrCs I’ve seen where he can trade levels of his old class for his new class. In addition, Spells & Magic by Bastion Press, offers some guidelines on how to change some of the PrCs into Core Classes. Theses are some very different ideas and not for everyone. I do feel that the new, different leveled PrCs here are a step in the right direction.
If you’re looking for a sound source of PrCs that strays a bit more from the standard archetypes than Librum Equitis One, then you’ve found the perfect book.
