Ghostwind
First Post
Oathbound
There is a glass ceiling in gaming, level based gaming. It does not effect everyone and it did not effect me until a few years back. But I had heard about it. People would level their characters and then at some point, usually around 9th level or so, they would either loose focus or something would happen that makes the game change. So people would start over. High level gaming is different from the low levels. But it is rarely addressed. We have the epic level stuff for twentieth and higher games, but no on really addresses the mid level and the teen levels that well. Oathbound addresses them in a unique fashion. It does not give advice for running these levels; it is a setting for these levels. It is a setting that people can come from any other setting. It is a setting designed for characters of these levels and because of that it helps to break the glass ceiling.
Oathbound is a setting book put out by Bastion Press. Bastion Press has put out many great books like Arms and Armor, Spells and Magic, Pale Designs, and Fairies. Oathbound was originally put out in print format and it is good to see that they have released it as a pdf as well. The pdf comes in a zip file that is a over twenty two megs in size. That is pretty big but considering the size of the book it is reasonable. The book comes in two formats, one with borders and one with out. This is a great addition and not something that is seen in most print books that get converted to pdf. There is also a full color cover that is separate from the other two files. Unfortunately while one version of the book is border free they are both still in full color. While it looks great on the screen but a book this size in color can easily eat an ink cartage by it self. Both versions are very well book marked. Again this is not something that is seen that often. First, many books that go from print to pdf are normally not book marked and when pdfs are presented in two different ways it is rare that both are book marked.
Oathbound is more of a high powered epic based campaign setting. There are other high powered setting but Oathbound I feel is very well defined with the high power part built in from the beginning. In some high powered campaigns the design is not really as high powered as they make it out to be and it fails when being played. I have never had that problem with Oathbound.
The Oathbound setting is a lot like the old Ravenloft setting. Characters can and are encouraged to start from other areas, other realms. They are brought to Oathbound by forces beyond their control and from there they have plenty to adventure. Oathbound is designed for characters of seventh level or higher. The idea is that characters are brought to Oathbound for a reason. They have no idea what the reason is and I am not spoiling that tidbit. I imagine players could go years with out getting close to the reasons why or how. All I will say is that I found the whole back story very creative, fun, and filled with mystery and plot hooks.
The pdf is full color and that really helps the artwork. While I am not a big fan of the style, I have to admit that the art is stylist. The same style is in some of Bastions other non Oathbound books, but I really do not think it works well there. But in a setting book the art works. The border is also very stylish and cool. The colors are a good choice and not hard on the eyes. The layout is very good and consistent throughout the book. The sidebars are all obvious for what they are and also easy to read even with a darker background. The cartography is also well done and has a good style to it like the artwork. It all fits together nicely.
The detail on the setting is very well done. There is a calendar, moons, revolutions of the celestial bodies, descriptions of new races, and of course lots of detail on the setting itself and the places. There is a lot here and I’m just going to hit on a few of the things.
Oathbound is written for 3.0 D&D. The pdf has not been upgrade to 3.5 and while that would be a nice addition, it is not really that needed. I have not seen too many things that are difficult to convert. The adventure in the back would be the worst since it has stat blocks in it. There are twelve new races introduced in the setting. They are for the most part a little out there. There is a flying race called the Asherake. They are a large, bird like race and do have an ecl. The most unusual race is the Ceptu. They are a race of telekinesis powered jellyfish. There is also a dragon like race called the Chromithians, a dog like race called the Dovers, and a cat like race called the Frey. The races just did not appeal to me outside of the flying jellyfish, and that one only because it is so different then anything else. The races are well described but they just are not for the most part exciting. It is though a nice break from the usual new types of elves and dwarves many setting throw at people.
Next we come to a concept that is very controversial. Some people really like the idea, others really hate it. It is prestige races. The idea behind it is one spends XP to acquire abilities. The abilities are not cheap; many require a few thousand or more XP. They have requirements and a minimum level attached to them as well. I like the idea. I think XP needs more ways to use it and this is a creative and positive way. Spell casters can spend XP to make magical items; this is a bit more even ground since it is open to any and all classes. To be fair some people have a harder time with it. They feel that spending XP makes it a bit more challenging to determine the proper level of a character. For instance these abilities do not increase a characters level but with the added power they will certainly be more powerful then a character of the same class and levels without them. I feel the solution resides in the DM of each game and it would be up to him/her to figure out what works best for the group.
Oathbound is a fun setting. It works well for the higher level of power it promotes, and unlike other setting it has a built in way to be used with home brewers or people attached to a different setting.
There is a glass ceiling in gaming, level based gaming. It does not effect everyone and it did not effect me until a few years back. But I had heard about it. People would level their characters and then at some point, usually around 9th level or so, they would either loose focus or something would happen that makes the game change. So people would start over. High level gaming is different from the low levels. But it is rarely addressed. We have the epic level stuff for twentieth and higher games, but no on really addresses the mid level and the teen levels that well. Oathbound addresses them in a unique fashion. It does not give advice for running these levels; it is a setting for these levels. It is a setting that people can come from any other setting. It is a setting designed for characters of these levels and because of that it helps to break the glass ceiling.
Oathbound is a setting book put out by Bastion Press. Bastion Press has put out many great books like Arms and Armor, Spells and Magic, Pale Designs, and Fairies. Oathbound was originally put out in print format and it is good to see that they have released it as a pdf as well. The pdf comes in a zip file that is a over twenty two megs in size. That is pretty big but considering the size of the book it is reasonable. The book comes in two formats, one with borders and one with out. This is a great addition and not something that is seen in most print books that get converted to pdf. There is also a full color cover that is separate from the other two files. Unfortunately while one version of the book is border free they are both still in full color. While it looks great on the screen but a book this size in color can easily eat an ink cartage by it self. Both versions are very well book marked. Again this is not something that is seen that often. First, many books that go from print to pdf are normally not book marked and when pdfs are presented in two different ways it is rare that both are book marked.
Oathbound is more of a high powered epic based campaign setting. There are other high powered setting but Oathbound I feel is very well defined with the high power part built in from the beginning. In some high powered campaigns the design is not really as high powered as they make it out to be and it fails when being played. I have never had that problem with Oathbound.
The Oathbound setting is a lot like the old Ravenloft setting. Characters can and are encouraged to start from other areas, other realms. They are brought to Oathbound by forces beyond their control and from there they have plenty to adventure. Oathbound is designed for characters of seventh level or higher. The idea is that characters are brought to Oathbound for a reason. They have no idea what the reason is and I am not spoiling that tidbit. I imagine players could go years with out getting close to the reasons why or how. All I will say is that I found the whole back story very creative, fun, and filled with mystery and plot hooks.
The pdf is full color and that really helps the artwork. While I am not a big fan of the style, I have to admit that the art is stylist. The same style is in some of Bastions other non Oathbound books, but I really do not think it works well there. But in a setting book the art works. The border is also very stylish and cool. The colors are a good choice and not hard on the eyes. The layout is very good and consistent throughout the book. The sidebars are all obvious for what they are and also easy to read even with a darker background. The cartography is also well done and has a good style to it like the artwork. It all fits together nicely.
The detail on the setting is very well done. There is a calendar, moons, revolutions of the celestial bodies, descriptions of new races, and of course lots of detail on the setting itself and the places. There is a lot here and I’m just going to hit on a few of the things.
Oathbound is written for 3.0 D&D. The pdf has not been upgrade to 3.5 and while that would be a nice addition, it is not really that needed. I have not seen too many things that are difficult to convert. The adventure in the back would be the worst since it has stat blocks in it. There are twelve new races introduced in the setting. They are for the most part a little out there. There is a flying race called the Asherake. They are a large, bird like race and do have an ecl. The most unusual race is the Ceptu. They are a race of telekinesis powered jellyfish. There is also a dragon like race called the Chromithians, a dog like race called the Dovers, and a cat like race called the Frey. The races just did not appeal to me outside of the flying jellyfish, and that one only because it is so different then anything else. The races are well described but they just are not for the most part exciting. It is though a nice break from the usual new types of elves and dwarves many setting throw at people.
Next we come to a concept that is very controversial. Some people really like the idea, others really hate it. It is prestige races. The idea behind it is one spends XP to acquire abilities. The abilities are not cheap; many require a few thousand or more XP. They have requirements and a minimum level attached to them as well. I like the idea. I think XP needs more ways to use it and this is a creative and positive way. Spell casters can spend XP to make magical items; this is a bit more even ground since it is open to any and all classes. To be fair some people have a harder time with it. They feel that spending XP makes it a bit more challenging to determine the proper level of a character. For instance these abilities do not increase a characters level but with the added power they will certainly be more powerful then a character of the same class and levels without them. I feel the solution resides in the DM of each game and it would be up to him/her to figure out what works best for the group.
Oathbound is a fun setting. It works well for the higher level of power it promotes, and unlike other setting it has a built in way to be used with home brewers or people attached to a different setting.
