Since class books seem to be the flavor of the week...
- Thread starter buzz
- Start date
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Katerek
Iconic Gnoll
I have all of the WoTC books and for the most part they are okay. The bard/rogue book was a little on the worthless side, but hey, you can't win them all.
The FFG books are fan-fricking-tastic. The legendary classes bring a whole new element to the game. They are full of options as well, options that nobody else really thougth of. Lots of crunchy bits. Again the rogue book is my least favorite, but it is still good. FWIW my players turn to the FFG more than the WoTC splat books.
The Quint series met with poor reviews around our table. Each one had a few things that were mildly interesting, but there were so many things in each book that seemed so overpowered that we opted on a "blanket-ban" of Mongoose Books. That is not to say that they are bad. Just they didn't fit the power level of my game, which leans towards the gritty low magic feel at times.
The Green Ronin stuff that I have seen grows daily in it's use to me. They are doing some really good stuff over there. I have just about every Green Ronin product and have yet to regret a single purchase.
There a re few odds and ends out there, but their names are not immediately coming to mind, so there ya go.
>>edit<<
Oh yeah, Monte Cook's malhavoc line is good to, but then there are the rules changes to deal with. Not quite as seemless as the others.
The Monte Cook Ranger has completely replaced the Core ranger at our game, while we still use our own version of the Bard and Sorcerer.
The FFG books are fan-fricking-tastic. The legendary classes bring a whole new element to the game. They are full of options as well, options that nobody else really thougth of. Lots of crunchy bits. Again the rogue book is my least favorite, but it is still good. FWIW my players turn to the FFG more than the WoTC splat books.
The Quint series met with poor reviews around our table. Each one had a few things that were mildly interesting, but there were so many things in each book that seemed so overpowered that we opted on a "blanket-ban" of Mongoose Books. That is not to say that they are bad. Just they didn't fit the power level of my game, which leans towards the gritty low magic feel at times.
The Green Ronin stuff that I have seen grows daily in it's use to me. They are doing some really good stuff over there. I have just about every Green Ronin product and have yet to regret a single purchase.
There a re few odds and ends out there, but their names are not immediately coming to mind, so there ya go.
>>edit<<
Oh yeah, Monte Cook's malhavoc line is good to, but then there are the rules changes to deal with. Not quite as seemless as the others.
The Monte Cook Ranger has completely replaced the Core ranger at our game, while we still use our own version of the Bard and Sorcerer.
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haiiro
First Post
I have Green Ronin's Assassin's Handbook, which is surprisingly mediocre. The class is interesting, but its central ability (the death blow) is broken, which makes it somewhat less useful. There are a couple of ho-hum PrCs, some so-so feats, and pretty good write ups of two assassin organizations; I liked the artwork.
Beyond that and the WotC splatbooks (of which I prefer MotW), I haven't spent much time with any other class books. FWIW, the Quint books strike me as overpowered or of mixed utility (at least the early ones), and the Path books seem too focused on PrCs (which may not be accurate, but that's my impression). My FLGS sells out of the HoHF series too quickly for me to check them out.
Overall, I wish there were more class books that are as useful as some the class-related books -- things like WotC's Magic of Faerun, FFG's Spells & Spellcraft, GR's Hammer & Helm, AEG's Mercenaries and Malhavoc's BoEMs, for example.
Beyond that and the WotC splatbooks (of which I prefer MotW), I haven't spent much time with any other class books. FWIW, the Quint books strike me as overpowered or of mixed utility (at least the early ones), and the Path books seem too focused on PrCs (which may not be accurate, but that's my impression). My FLGS sells out of the HoHF series too quickly for me to check them out.
Overall, I wish there were more class books that are as useful as some the class-related books -- things like WotC's Magic of Faerun, FFG's Spells & Spellcraft, GR's Hammer & Helm, AEG's Mercenaries and Malhavoc's BoEMs, for example.
But that's just me.
eris404
Explorer
Does Book of the Righteous count? It's a great book nonetheless.
Also, I enjoy the Malhavoc books (Eldritch and Hallowed Might), though they might be too weird and too narrowly-focused for some. Malhavoc's psionic materials are pretty good, too, for those who like and use psionics.
Those are my votes.
Also, I enjoy the Malhavoc books (Eldritch and Hallowed Might), though they might be too weird and too narrowly-focused for some. Malhavoc's psionic materials are pretty good, too, for those who like and use psionics.
Those are my votes.
Nightfall
Sage of the Scarred Lands
buzz said:
Yep. To answer your question, the book is tied to the setting but no more than say R&R 2 or some of the other releases that have come out. Certainly it's easy to take parts of the stuff coming out, such as sorcerous blood lines, Cabalist schools or even Bardic Epics. (This of course refers to the first Player's Guide, Wizards, Bards and Sorcerers)
As for more info, there is the Quarterly that has some of the artwork as well as one of the Prestige classes from the first book, Adept of the Flame. Here's the link: S&SS/WW Quarterly
(Warning the PDF is VERY large and you have to skip to page 34 to get the S&SS stuff.)
Also I believe Kevin "Piratecat" Kulp can shed a little light on the first one since he did some work on the first book. Otherwise I don't know much else. I do know the Player's Guides have been pushed back to June or July due to 3.5's impending release.
Psion
Adventurer
I'll say it loud because nobody pays attention to this book:
Masters of Arms
This is THE book for warrior types AFIAC. It cuts the crap.
Other than that, I think with a few exceptions, I get more use out the WotC classbooks than any third party classbook.
Quintessential Books - to date, I think I like Wizard, Rogue, and Monk the best. Fighter is useful for the combat system and maybe some of the option rules, but not to hyped about the character rules.
Mindscapes by Malhavoc is THE classbook for psions.
Beyond Monks is a nice book for monks and has its own martial artist class (though to be honest, I rather like the updated version with the options to not use the martial artist class. As most supplements assume that the monk is the 3e martial artist, it seems to be the most productive way to approach it.)
Path Books - the actual prestige classes are pretty good, and I was especially happy with the prestige class selection for monks and barbarians in Path of the Sword... its WAY better than the corresponding WOTC books on those points. Also, Path of the Sword has some great supplemental material for fighters. However, I am not a fan of the XP-cost schools in any of the books, and the additional supplemental material in Path of Magic pales compared to similar material in the Quintessential Wizard.
Masters of Arms
This is THE book for warrior types AFIAC. It cuts the crap.
Other than that, I think with a few exceptions, I get more use out the WotC classbooks than any third party classbook.
Quintessential Books - to date, I think I like Wizard, Rogue, and Monk the best. Fighter is useful for the combat system and maybe some of the option rules, but not to hyped about the character rules.
Mindscapes by Malhavoc is THE classbook for psions.
Beyond Monks is a nice book for monks and has its own martial artist class (though to be honest, I rather like the updated version with the options to not use the martial artist class. As most supplements assume that the monk is the 3e martial artist, it seems to be the most productive way to approach it.)
Path Books - the actual prestige classes are pretty good, and I was especially happy with the prestige class selection for monks and barbarians in Path of the Sword... its WAY better than the corresponding WOTC books on those points. Also, Path of the Sword has some great supplemental material for fighters. However, I am not a fan of the XP-cost schools in any of the books, and the additional supplemental material in Path of Magic pales compared to similar material in the Quintessential Wizard.
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