Power Classes V - Knight

[Simon Collins]

This is not a playtest review.

Power Classes: Knight is the fifth of Mongoose's power classes series, providing a single 20-level class in a short space.

Knight is a mono softcover product costing $2.95. It consists of 16 pages, which are the same height as A4 but only half the width (equivalent of 8 full pages). The inside covers are used for credits, contents and OGL. Unfortunately, information from the back cover is repeated on the first page but margins, font size and white space are all within reasonable limits. The artwork, including the front cover showing a knight with broken lance is average. Writing style is serviceable. Ediitng seems good.

The booklet provides rules for playing a 20-level Knight class, either as a knight errant (wandering knight) or as part of a feudal-based campaign where all the characters play knights or their retainers. I was disappointed to see that the product balked at the setting of an alignment restriction - despite the logical contention that chaotic characters are not suited to the strict behavioural codes and feudal setting of knights, characters of any alignment are allowed to become knights here.

The class uses a a fighter's HD, BAB, Save and skill progression, and gains bonus feats from a list similar to a fighter every five levels. The class features begin with a series of restrictions rather than benefits - expensive tastes, code of chivalry, and military service obligations. Some minor benefits such as bonuses to Ride, assessing the power of a horse, and the ability to wear extra-heavy armour (see below) are also included. Of greater power is a progressive ability to make the most of masterwork weapons when attacking, and better saves against fear effects from 8th level. A knight also begins the game with armour, weapons, and horses suitable to his role.

A new knightly feat is introduced - Armour Proficiency (Extra-Heavy), which relates to the seven types of extra-heavy armour detailed below such as siege plate and tilting plate. Two additional varieties of heavy armour are also included and a couple of extras - embossed and etched armour. The booklet ends with some rules for donning these types of armour.

Conclusion:
The Knight class may appeal to GMs and players wanting to run a knightly campaign where most of the characters are knights and their retainers. The class features, I felt, were a little weak for play as an errant knight in a group of standard adventurers - it would be more appealing to run a paladin, or twist a fighter to simulate the class features here. There are some interesting ideas here for those who want to make armour an important aspect of their campaign or get knightly armour for their character.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

New 20-level class

 

[GameWyrd]

Mongoose’s Power Classes are, I think, one of last year’s surprise hits. The books are tiny, too small really to be called books and I’m surprised they’re allowed to claim an ISBN. They’re booklets, 16 thin pages between a card stock cover and stapled together. They’re actually rather robust. The idea behind the power class is value for money. US$2.95 gets you a single new core class, a little crunch dressing in the form of new feats or equipment and nothing else. In other words, just what you need to use the class.

The Knight is the fifth book in the series and the first of the second batch. The Knight makes a good choice of player character class insofar as Knights really do go on adventures. In fact, Knights make excellent adventuring characters since they’ll have a home base, a boss, their lord, who will send them out on missions.

The Knight is a specialised fighter, specialised in fighting from horseback and sometimes in extra heavy armour. This power class’ bonus offering is the extra-heavy armour category which offers up ridiculous amounts of protection to the wearer but drains their fatigue at a frightful rate. Extra heavy armour is deigned so that it is only worn for a few minutes, during a joust at a tournament or a key phase in a siege. The Knight, of course, has the growing special character ability that allows him to wear the armour for a little longer than formal. The Knight’s other main shtick, his mastery of horses and mounted combat, manifests in another growing character ability. There are lots of character abilities for Knights, there are only a few levels where the player will not get to scribble something new on his character sheet and I think this will help to keep the class interesting even if the game starts to turn bland.

I think the Knight class is likely to be overshadowed by the Paladin. This will certainly be true in games that have been using the Paladin class as a knight ever since the core rules came out. Both classes have to follow a code of ethics and both are acutely associated to their mounts. The Knight doesn’t have any of the magic or supernatural abilities and perhaps that will keep the two distinct. The Knight does have the Pure Heart class ability though. Pure Heart grants a willpower save bonus against non-magical fear that kicks in at 8th level. It’s not a supernatural ability, at the 8th level the knight’s courage and strength of mind is such that he receives this bonus. Hmm. So 7th level knights are less brave than 8th level knights? I know will saves grow as character levels advance but I’ll always whine when something new comes along to poke another hole in that already weak suspension of disbelief.

The last pages in the booklet are filled with stats and descriptions for knightly armour and an extension of the donning armour table as to include the extra-heavy set.

The game mechanics here are balanced and I don’t think the class will present any problems to the player. GMs will have to watch though; the Knight is a fish out of water unless he is able to enjoy mounted combat and situations for heavy armour. If there are plenty of occasions for mounted combat and the need for extra heavy armour then there’s the risk the Knight in the party will have the game wrapped around him at the expense of the other characters. On the other hand, the Knight is a natural adventuring class. All this, I think, draws the pros and cons level.

* This Power Class: Knight review was first posted at GameWyrd.

 

[John Cooper]

Power Classes V: Knight
Edited by Daniel Bishop and Paul Tucker (no author listed)
Mongoose Publishing product number MGP 1105
16 half-sized pages, $2.95

The fifth offering in Mongoose's inexpensive booklet series providing new 20-level character classes, the Knight is basically a paladin without the divine powers, but it fits in pretty well with a standard adventuring party, filling the role that a fighter would normally fill.

The cover is once again by Nathan Webb and Scott Clark, and it's one of Nathan's better painted works, showing a knight in heavy armor holding a shield and what looks to be a broken lance. Nathan also provides the interior artwork: only 2 black-and-white pieces this time, no doubt due to space constraints, because Knights not only provides the normal character class stuff but there are also pages of new equipment (armor). The mounted knight on page 4 is well done (I never was a fan of the gauntlet on the tip of a lance deal, but I've seen it before and can't fault Nathan for employing it here), as is the armored knight on page 11, although you don't usually see such a raggedy-edged chain underskirt used with plate mail and the spurs on the back of the knight's feet seem of different sizes. All in all, though, this is some of Nathan's finest work to date on these "Power Class" books.

The knight itself is pretty well thought-out (I suppose it's probably easier creating a nonmagical character class when you have actual historical data to build upon). I do question the full freedom of alignment, though, considering that one of the knight's 1st-level abilities (restrictions, really) is "Code of Chivalry." I don't expect all knights to have to be lawful good (or lawful anything, either, as there could well be evil knights), but at the very least I would have thought "any non-chaotic" would be perhaps a bit more realistic. Rising through the levels, the knight gains bonus feats, additional riding skills and abilities, and the cool game mechanic of gaining additional "oomph" out of masterwork weapons, whether it be increased damage or the ability (at higher levels) to ignore damage reduction against specific armor types.

One thing that really impressed me was the addition of the "Knight Starting Packages," like in the Player's Handbook - this was the first "Power Class" book to do so. It's a great idea, too, as it makes it easier to whip up a knight PC (or NPC) on the fly. One slight problem I noted, however, was that the "Gear" listed includes a light warhorse, yet the "Accoutrements" section (on page 5) mentions that knights start out with (among other things) a heavy warhorse. Which is it? Given the knight's insistence on only using the best, I'd have to assume that the heavy warhorse was the correct choice.

At the end of the character class section there are seven new types of "extra-heavy" armor, which adds even more protection to the wearer but is so heavy it can only be worn for very short periods at a time (during a joust, traditionally). Very cool concept (again, based on historical knights), nice implementation, but one question remaining: what happens when the knight is knocked off his horse? I know in historical times many knights couldn't even get onto their horses by themselves (they were hoisted by a crane) and couldn't rise up off the ground if knocked over. Does this apply here (it seems like it should), and if so are there any special rules to handle such an occurrence? None are provided, but they would have made the book even better.

In any case, I like the new armor, especially the armor "enhancements," embossed armor and etched armor. I especially like the idea of having a holy symbol embossed or etched onto a suit of armor, although obviously that would be more useful to a cleric or paladin than it would be to a knight. Which all goes to show you, I suppose, that you can often pick up cool ideas for other character classes even in a book not written for them.

Proofreading and editing on Power Classes V: Knights was remarkably good. Kudos to Daniel Bishop and Paul Tucker (editors) and William James (proofreader). The biggest oversight I could see was that this book apparently didn't have an author - or at least none is credited anywhere in the book. (Even the product information on the Mongoose website says it was written by "various.") Weird.