Okay, I am thinking of getting it: Sell me On Monte's UA book, please.

[Tyler Do'Urden]

Ditto to most of the positive comments here.

I, myself, love the artwork and the "feel" of the book. For some reason, it makes me feel like I've picked up the Earthdawn or Shadowrun or 1E Core Books again for the first time... ... it brings back memories of when everthing is new, without having to jump through the conceptual hoops of learning a whole different system. Monte took what was "under the hood" and gave it a new body, interior, and paintjob, not to mention smoother handling, leather seats and a great stereo.

Really, what's most significant about it to me is that it has forced players who were comfortable with D&D 3e and 3.5 to think outside the box and come up with new ideas again, rather than the same old methods they had figured out for tweaking up overpowered characters. AU actually makes the Feats system seem really exciting again- rather than taking Improved Initiative and Combat Reflexes (which don't add much flavor to a character, especially after they've been used for the 10th time in a row), my players have made characters that are actually defined, to an extend, by their choices- for instance, a Verrik Runethane with the Sensitive and Healing Focus feats, or a Loresong Faen Magister with the Wild Mage and Spell Artist feats... you can instantly picture what sort of characters these are. Feats are, for once, being used the way they should, rather than just being a chain of power-ups leading to a Prestige Class.

At the same time, it's also a great opportunity to forget EVERYTHING you know about DMing, especially DMing 3e. Alignments are gone. A feudal base isn't really assumed- feel free to make a magical society unlike any the world has ever known. Although Monte didn't cover it anywhere, it's probably not a bad idea to throw the current system of distributing XP out the window- award for accomplishments and roleplaying, rather than hack and slash. Arcana Unearthed enthrones the DM, not the rules- you're in charge.

At this point, you're probably saying "I can do that with D&D, I don't need a new rulebook!" Forget it. Whenever I've tried to make serious modifications to the "implied setting" in D&D, the entrenched assumptions held by my players in their umpteen years of gaming instantly launch up to smite my attempts at breaking the implied rules. Pulling out a new rulebook is the perfect way of telling said players that everything that they know is wrong. And Arcana Unearthed fits the bill perfectly, because if you've been playing 3e, your group already knows how to play.

Of course, there are some issues. If you decide to use the book with 3e or 3.5, you're going to have to do a little work to make them compatible. On the other hand, if you decide only to go with AU, you're going to have to make a different decision- whether to homebrew a world, or use Diamond Throne. Even if you decide to homebrew, I'd recommend downloading the Diamond Throne PDF- it contains lots of valuable info on monsters, magic items, and prestige classes (you're probably sick of them, but trust me, these are worthwhile), and ideas for places, people, and plots to slip into your own campaign, and how to flesh out an Arcana Unearthed world.

So, in short, if you're running 3e, skip it. On the other hand, if you want to try a different RPG but enjoy the d20 system too much to break away, go with this- it's very worthwhile.

 

[JeffB]

I have to say I'm not really a fan of Monte's latest works. I didn't care for his BoEM series or the RttToEE , etc. I do like some of his older pre-3e work (TSR & ICE). I respect the man greatly, just not usually my cup of tea.

That said, AU is an AWESOME book. Really most folks have said pretty much what I would say..but here goes my short list

1) Definitely puts the power back in the DM's hands. In a subtle way overall, but it does.

2) I like the D&D magic system, but the AU system is a very nice change of pace.

3) Racial levels are cool

4) But I hate the races..dog people, cat people, lizard thingy-people..blech

5) Classes are WAY cool!

6) Book is full of fluff..but again in a subtle way...it's hidden in all the crunch..but I was getting adventure and campaign ideas left and right reading through it...

7) definitely has a less polished or "raw" feel which I much prefer over the sanitized & sterile 3.X books. It's actually fun to read. 3.X gives me a headache.

8) Binding is not so hot

9) art even less so, IMO.

10) Well worth the price tag

I'm currently mixing and matching it with 3.5...I wish Monte would have used a few more things from 3.5 ..some of the improved skill descriptions/mechanics for example..I'm working up an entire new homebrew using it (haven't seen Diamond Throne..I hate PDFs, plus the whole AU races thing....)

I'd buy a AU DMG and AU MM in a heartbeat

 

[gariig]

AU MM in a heartbeat

There's one for next year.

Gariig

 

[Tonguez]

Though you still have to think about Paladins "Detect EVil" at will (and some spells in this direction), and in 3.5 even about alignment based Damage Reduction.
Mustrum Ridcully

Good and Evil are Creature Subtypes Detect Evil detects that NOT the alignment...

 

[DMScott]

Good and Evil are Creature Subtypes Detect Evil detects that NOT the alignment...

You can run that as a house rule if you like, but the spell in SRD just says you can "sense the presence of evil", and it works on more than just creatures. It also specifically detects evil clerics, who usually don't have the creature subtype "Evil", that being an outsider subtype. It's clear that the spell detects the presence of a particular alignment.

As for the thread topic, the only real complaint I have with AU is the inclusion of all the usual d20 combat and action rules. I can understand why it was included, but I would rather have seen the pages devoted to some of the crunchy bits from Diamond Throne. Prestige classes, appropriate monsters, new magic items, etc.

 

[Mystic Eye]

You can run that as a house rule if you like, but the spell in SRD just says you can "sense the presence of evil", and it works on more than just creatures. It also specifically detects evil clerics, who usually don't have the creature subtype "Evil", that being an outsider subtype. It's clear that the spell detects the presence of a particular alignment.

As for the thread topic, the only real complaint I have with AU is the inclusion of all the usual d20 combat and action rules. I can understand why it was included, but I would rather have seen the pages devoted to some of the crunchy bits from Diamond Throne. Prestige classes, appropriate monsters, new magic items, etc.

The combat rules were included becuase AU is a stand alone game and not d20. That way, you need no other book to play or understand the rules. Being an OGL product and not d20, Monte was able to include the character generation rules so why not complete it and add in combat rules so there is no need to buy the Player's Handbook or other 3e books.

You will note the same in the Everquest RPG and any other stand alone, 3e based OGL games that are produced. They will have all the rules included.

 

[Chasmodai]

Cliched races? Maybe. But they're new, and they're different, which is what attracts me.

The problem with D&D is that you were too constricted. It wasn't really viable to play a half-orc wizard/sorceror, the same way it wasn't really smart to play a halfling barbarian. People did it either way, but in the end, the disadvantages of the race would cripple you. (It's either that, or my group powerplays way too much .) Plus, there's that little thing called favored class, which meant you would stand to lose a bit of xp, if you did something... out of the norm.

What I like about AU is that there's no longer any such thing. Litorians (my favorite race, right below half-orc and human) are described as nomadic hunters, a warriorlike people. Yet the Litorian on the cover is a Magister.

AU promotes going out of the norm and customizing your character the way you see fit. It also allows you to do it and gain from it, mechanically (the Energy/Elemental Resistance Talents, for example, not only gave you a benefit, but allowed you to play a convincing desert nomad, or arctic hunter).

The artwork may not be as clean and heavily Photoshopped as D&D, but the raw, sketchy feel of it gives me a thrill. This was no ironbound rulebook. This was a barebones guideline as to what you could do with your game to make it more appealing to you, and your players. Monte didn't give us a finished product. He gave us a draft, and let us twiddle with it the way we wanted, till we got the publisher's approval.

(The publisher being ourselves, of course.)

 

[Tonguez]

You can run that as a house rule if you like, but the spell in SRD just says you can "sense the presence of evil", and it works on more than just creatures. It also specifically detects evil clerics, who usually don't have the creature subtype "Evil", that being an outsider subtype. It's clear that the spell detects the presence of a particular alignment.

.

Except that a Neutral Cleric of an Evil god is also detected - so its not the Clerics alignment being detected at all! (End Hijack)

(On topic) AU is a great setting and a good change from standard DnD.
It isn't all that new and innovative if taken over the whole RPG industry...

 

[Magius del Cotto]

The things I like about it:
1) Class concepts that fit different characters. While D&D does have fairly good classes, there are some concepts that it simply does not support. While the AU classes are slightly weaker, they also fit a good range of concepts.
2) Spells. Not only is the spell system more flexible than in core D&D, it also allows for things that make more sense than in core. If you burn a higher-level slot for some lower level spells, you get more than one, and you can use multiple lower-level slots to get a higher level spell. Also, most of the spell-caster classes can prepare more spells than they cast, allowing them to be ready for an array of events through the day.
3) Talents that help define different character concepts. Some characters won't need them, some will. Ceremonial feats are also fun, allowing for some interesting twists with the characters.

That's what I like. The others have covered pretty much everything by now.
Magius out.

 

[DMScott]

Except that a Neutral Cleric of an Evil god is also detected - so its not the Clerics alignment being detected at all! (End Hijack)

Nope. What's detected is evil - first line of the spell description tells us that. Say it happens that you detect an evil cleric, you then consult the chart to see how strong the aura is. If that evil cleric you detected happens to worship a neutral deity, he's detected the same as any other evil creature, line one of the chart. If that evil cleric you detected happens to worship an evil deity, aura strength is determined by line 4 of the chart. The neutral cleric of an evil deity is not detected in the first place, so his line on the chart doesn't matter.

Your house rule means that line 1 of the chart is basically meaningless; the Evil creature subtype (as opposed to the evil alignment) is an outsider subtype, and the footnote indicates that line 1 only applies to creatures that are neither undead nor outsiders (of course, even extraplanar undead usually don't have the Evil subtype, so I guess most of them wouldn't be detected with your house rule, either). The neutral cleric of an evil deity still probably wouldn't be detected because he's unlikely to have the Evil subtype, so that would be a separate house rule if you wanted him to show up.