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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DarkWhite" data-source="post: 1868825" data-attributes="member: 9027">Constructive FeedbackOathbound contains an odd assortment of player races.  Actually, I think Oathbound's races are original and thought provoking.  The Ceptu certainly brings a new approach to a player race, and each of the others has their own niche in the world of Oathbound.  I think Oathbound's races are one thing that set it apart from other campaign settings, which helps to emphasise that these beings are pulled from alien worlds, and aren't your standard Tolkein races, which is a good thing for players looking for something different.Prestige Races were also new at the time of it's release, although other campaigns have since adopted a similar mechanic.  I very much like the concept of Prestige Races, although I dislike having to pay for them with experience points.  There area two options for Prestige Races as I see it:1)  They should simply be Racial Feats; or2)  They should be Racial Levels (complete with Hit-dice, BAB, etc)Both of these methods are built from rule mechanics which already exist in the game (Feats or Class Levels), thus lending internal consistancy and balance, instead of tacking on a new system.Taken as Feats or Levels, you won't need to worry whether Prestige Races affect CR, or give an unfair advantage to a character played outside of Oathbound, because Feats and Levels are already factored into the game.  Giving characters additional advantages outside of their regular Feats and Levels is simply "Power Creep" and should be avoided.  If you want your characters to be more powerful, then do it the standard way .. level up!If there were ever a 3.5 revision of the Oathbound hardcover, Prestige Races is something I would like to see reworked as Feats or Levels.Oathbound attempts to be all things to all people .. port your characacters in from any other campaign setting.  However, I am someone who prefers low level adventures, start with 1st level characters and work your way up.  I found Oathboud deliberately written with higher level play in mind.  Of course, if you want to play 1st level characters in an Oathbound setting, there is nothing stopping you.  However, the rules actually state "in a typical Oathbound campaign, characters normally start at 7th level".Although it is increasingly common, particularly in WotC's own products, for player races to have level adjustments, I find it particularly frustrating to have character races that I can't take at 1st level.  You expect level adjustments for higher level creatures found in a monster manual, but it is frustrating for races standard to a campaign setting.  There are already a variety of ways to make creatures more powerful .. give them character classes, prestige races, advance them as monsters, etc.  It would be nice to have more +0 level adjustment races for players to choose from, and advance them as adversaries as needed.For some of the powerful creatures listed in Minions (eg Asherake), another option might be to have "young" versions of them playable as player races, and use Racial Levels to build them up to the standard creature after a level or two.  Each Racial Level would in effect replace a +1 level adjustment.I realise new player races, prestige classes, and other player options appear in each sourcebook.  But maybe a "Players Guide to Oathbound" would do well, gathering all the character options under one cover and updating and expanding on them.  Something I noticed in the Oathbound hardcover was that the descriptions for each race weren't consistent.  Some had headings for Personality, Religion, etc, while others didn't.I'd also like to see a hardcover 3.5 revision of Minions: Fearsome Foes, with new creatures (and races), better layout and refreshing artwork.Either of these books should be good stand-alone purchases for players in non-Oathbound campaigns looking for new options, just as Arms and Armour is.  However, they also present an opportunity to draw new players into the Oathbound setting.I guess all I am trying to do is answer the original post of this thread, from my own experience .. why, given it's apparent strengths, does Oathbound seem less popular than other settings?  Well, a seeming lack of low level options discouraged me.  And while some of the creature artwork was quite good, others appeared more as grotesque drawings which I really couldn't identify with, much less feel inspired to play as a character of my own.  A roleplaying product needs to breathe life into a player's imagination.  Artwork is as essential as content in this regard.  While Bastian Press' artwork may have changed in recent products, Oathbound still refers to Minions for it's creature selection.</blockquote>

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