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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2009884" data-attributes="member: 18387">By Steve Creech, Exec. Chairman d20 Magazine RackSizing Up the TargetThis review is for Mercenaries by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG). Part of their “one word” title series, this 256-page book (which retails for $29.95) is one of the best yet. Don’t be mislead by the title, this book is about more than mercenaries; it’s a book filled with great core classes and prestige classes. There are nine new races, ten core classes, new skills, feats, equipment, spells, 23 new prestige classes, two new monsters and magic items along with two chapters devoted to mercenaries and mercenary companies. This is a loaded book.First BloodMany of the new races are far from your “run-of-the-mill slightly altered humanoid with fey characteristics.” The Aradan are a race of ratmen who thrive on chaos. The ashemi despise evil and are perhaps even older than the elves. The Bael are charismatic merchants that tend to be opportunistic. Dralloks are subterranean humanoids that detest sunlight and make ideal rogues and assassins. Lahryk are a bipedal reptilian race that are quite civilized and highly devoted to family. Magirn are magically gifted humanoids whose ancestors were familiars that survived the death of their masters. The Makall is also a reptilian race but with strong saurial features. The rare Taranuhl are bloodthirsty, bred for the sole purpose of hunting and killing another. (This is my personal favorite and will make a great minion for a master villain.) Finally, the Uldrath are a fearsome lot, resembling a cross between an ogre and grizzly bear. They are certainly intimidating and would frighten anyone in a dark night. The core classes presented show a definite diversity. The Alchemist has both similarities and differences when compared to versions done by other companies. One of the differences is that this version learns a secret alchemical language known only to alchemists once reaching 3rd level. Guardians tend to become bodyguards with weak spellcasting abilities that often serve wizards. They gain bonus feats and even a familiar. The Guerilla combines some of the best elements of fighter, ranger, and rogue abilities. (This is a stacked class with lots of potential.) The Hunter, using his fighter and ranger abilities, attacks from ambush and is capable of ending any combat with a single, decisive strike. (This is also a cool class to play with.) Legionnaires are your stereotypical Roman soldier, trained to stay in formation and fight in heavy armor. The mercenary ranger gains favored terrain and favored enemy bonuses. A Myrmidon is a formidable combination of fighter and mage. The nomad is the ultimate adventurer, always on the road to a new destination. The scout is essentially a sniper with a different name. His ranged sniper shot bonuses are quite high. Tack on the numerous bonus feats and you’ve got one tough character. Tattoo magic has been a recurring theme throughout various d20 supplements and this book adds its two cents to the pot. Interestingly enough, the tattoo mage is only a 19-level class according to the table, but yet the descriptions talk about 20th level abilities. This is obviously an error in layout and editing (something AEG is improving upon with each release). This is a cool class, but one that could easily become abused or overpowered if a GM isn’t on constant guard. After all, what mage wouldn’t leap at the chance to cast fireball at will? Like all other AEG d20 supplements, Mercenaries comes with a chapter devoted to new skills and new uses for existing skills. The new uses show imagination and fit well within the rules. For example, when reading over a contract, why not use Appraise to determine whether it is fair or not? The chapter on feats is extensive and includes those from previous AEG works such as Dungeons. Most of the feats are better suited for combat oriented classes, but there are a few for magic users and other more generalized class functions. Personally, I like Power Throw (for dwarf throwing) and Strength of Blood. The feats are very well balanced and offer some excellent options for nearly any campaign. Chapter five gives a fairly strong characterization of what it takes to be a mercenary and what you can expect. A good section on the perception of a mercenary in the different alignments actually provides some excellent role-playing ideas to the inventive individual. This chapter is filled with all manner of adventure-generating seeds for any GM. Chapters on equipment and spells follow. New weapons are included among the equipment. I like the rules on laminated steel and serrated weapons. The spells consist of an indexed list by character class followed by a more detailed description. Besides, the Player’s Handbook, spells from AEG’s other books (Evil, War, Undead, etc.) are reprinted. Chapter eight is all about the process of hiring mercenaries and shows why this is no easy task. Not only is the size of the town where your players are located a factor, but also varying rates of payment and negotiating those terms. This chapter is filled with many new optional rules that can really enhance a campaign if a GM elects to use them. My preferred choices are the use of character flaws in NPCs and fear triggers. Mercenary companies are the subjects of chapter nine. The line between adventuring company and mercenary company is quite thin and this section shows how easy it is to make the transition to mercenary. Thirteen different types of mercenary are outlined complete with tactics and sample NPC write-up. These represent the kind of mercenary follower an adventurer might attract. The archer and bounty hunter is a couple of my favorites. Complete NPC mercenary legends follow this section with some really intriguing characters. Certainly no run-of-the-mill stereotypes here. New prestige classes are a typical addition to any sourcebook but good prestige classes are rare. Mercenaries delivers 23 new classes with the majority falling into the “that’s really cool” category. There are some classes on the strong side of being too powerful and overbalanced so GMs should consider them carefully before agreeing to allow them. I like the bone warrior, dune warrior, grey walker, and legacy. However, my absolute favorite is the slayer. It’s truly a formidable and fearsome class for a fighter or barbarian. The remaining chapters on magic items and monsters close out the book. There are 10 new weapon qualities and 22 specific named armors or weapons. Many of these are quite original and interesting. The wondrous items display an ecletic range of choices. Bane rings are certainly original and present a nice twist to the typical player’s notions regarding rings. Many of the items here will see use in my campaign. The chapter on monsters covers several beasts of burden that can be used as mounts (usually for larger creatures) and many “standardized” monsters such as a banshee troll, desert orc, guardian hound and mist giant. All of them look to be balanced with no immediately obvious problems with game mechanics. Critical HitsThe new core classes offer some good options for something that does not come straight from the PH. Both the core classes and the prestige classes have great flavor and should work in many different campaign settings without much modification. There are several new races that make ideal character races and add an element of mystique to the game when players encounter them for the first time.Critical MissesThere are some editing errors that do slightly affect the quality of the book, but as I indicated, it is a vast improvement over previous titles. Game balance issues do come into play with some core and prestige classes and will require a vigilant GM, else powergamers may run amok with them. Personally, I felt that the chapters on the actual subject of mercenaries could have been placed concurrently and towards the front of the book with the crunchy flavor of races, classes, etc. coming afterwards. But that is just my opinion.Coup de GraceOverall, Mercenaries is a surprisingly good book. The title is a bit misleading because this book is about so much more than simple mercenaries. It gives solid core and prestige class options. It does have some minor issues with editing, but those may easily be overlooked. The $29.95 price tag is a little high but justified in this case. The originality and usefulness of the book earns it a strongly recommended buy. This is an AEG product every GM should own.To see the graded evaluation of this product, go to The Critic's Corner at <a href="http://www.d20zines.com" target="_blank">www.d20zines.com.</a></blockquote>

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