The Book of the Righteous

[baseballfury]

Pretty much everything Green Ronin has released has been of good to great quality. Hard to go wrong with the ol' Ronin.

Totally agree. The very worst book by Green Ronin is merely good. In my opinion, no d20 company has put such out consistently excellent books as GR. Freeport, BoTR, Hammer & Helm, Plot & Poison, Mutants & Masterminds, Ultramodern Firearms, Shaman's Handbook, Legions of Hell, Armies of the Abyss--the list goes on. If you like supers at all, I highly recommend the new Freedom City book for MnM. Great stuff.

 

[fba827]

(even prior to this thread) i've heard so many good things about the BotR, i've been saving up for it (that in itself says a lot if you knew my saving/spending habits)...

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

BotR is, without a doubt, the best d20/D&D book published (that I am aware of) and may overtake Transhuman Space if I read it again...

But, after reading that typo, I am wondering what else GR has that is really worth giving a second look. What else would you all recommend?

Yeah, BotR rocks. If it doesn't win an ENnie, I'll be VERY surprised.

Everyone creating their own homebrew would find this an invaluable addition to their RPG library.

As you have no doubt noticed, the book is heavily focused on typical PC religions ( meaning Good & Nuetral alignments ).

Green Ronin's earlier releases, Armies of the Abyss and Legions of Hell really help fill out the other end of the spectrum (evil/NPC alignments). Legions of Hell is especially relevant, as the book gives more details on what happened to Kadum his cohorts after he was banished.

I just got GR's new Avatar book too. It is good ( & features many new celestial creatures making it much more than a new class/PrC book ) but I have a few complaints with it - I'm planning on writing a full review of it soon...

 

[Psion]

Anyway, I do not have the Assassin's Handbook -- is it any good?

Not especially, no.

 

[Enceladus]

I purchased this book (I think...) two weeks ago on e-Bay (from Crazy Eddies.... good online store); I received it a little over a week ago, and as of today I have read this thing cover to cover ... twice.

I've had great luck with Crazy Eddies too.

The more I read the BoTR the more I like it. At first I was all for adopting little things into my campaign, but now I'm starting to consider adopting the whole dang pantheon. The book may not be for everyone but it suits me to a tee.

Other GR stuff:

The character record booklet is really nice. I like the Assassins book but would have a hard time finding a use for it. The Book of Fiends are very well done.

 

[Psion]

But, after reading that typo, I am wondering what else GR has that is really worth giving a second look. What else would you all recommend?

Obviously, the ones I gave 5's are the ones I think are the best. AFAIAC, Legions of Hell is my fave among their books (it's more than a monster book -- it's a potpourri of plot ideas), though BotR is right up there. My campaign is pretty well established, so I don't find BotR as useful as I might otherwise. But if your religions are in the stage of development, I consider it very worthwhile. It SOOOO outclasses D&DG on what a deities book should be.

Other Green Ronin Books I Really Like:

• Plot & Poison Drow, de-FR-ized! Also has some great additions to the magic item creation rules if you don't like the existing crafting rules, and some nice power component rules.
• Shaman's Handbook
• Hammer & Helm

Green Ronin books I that are pretty good/ I get some use out of:

• Armies of the Abyss: Not as good as legions of hell, but still pretty good. There are not as many plot ideas embedded in the creatures, and the thaumaturge is a waste of space, but the demon lords are a nice/inspirational touch.
• Witch's Handbook: You might like this if you want to get away from blast-mages or otherwise have an appeal for witches, but otherwise I don't see a strong role for the witch in a campaign. However, I do like the flavor of this witch much better than the Mongoose one.
• Mutants & Masterminds: Pretty book, and lots of people love it, but it's still not on the top of the list of games I would use for supers. Skills are too expensive, and there are a few other balance weaknesses.
• Wrath & Rage: About par on the mechanical stuff; not as inspiring as Plot & Poison or Hammer & Helm. I did think the "monter gods" thing had a lot of possibilities though, and give orcs a fresh spin.
• Avatar's Handbook: Good book, but much like the witch, I just don't see using the Avatar class in the campaign. However, much like Legions of Hell, the angelic creatures have a lot of plot ideas, which is something to be commended for a book of good creatures. Also, if you like Meyer's work in BotR, you should like the art in this book.
• Jade Dragons & Hungry Ghosts: Worth it if you are running an OA game, otherwise probably not. It draws from a variety of authors, so the quality is a little uneven.
• Arcana: Societies of Magic: I liked this book much better than the overpriced Touched by the Gods that everyone was raving about. If you need a few unusual villain (or not so villainous) groups in your game, with a few mechanical tidbits, this is a good book.
• Freeport: Don't have the adventures/never played them. The hardback is pretty good, with a very nice map and a lot of hidden corruption in the city. That said, I personally prefer Bluffside, albeit that it's presentation is not as good.
• Ultramodern Firearms Pretty book, but it seems like a lot of space is wasted. I'd probably like it more if I played d20 modern. If you don't, you can probably skip it (if you play spycraft, MAG is much better for your purposes.)
• Pocket Grimoires: Very nice reference to have at the table.
• Pocket Magica: Nice, but not as useful as the Grimoires.

Books that might have some use, but that I was not all that impressed with:

• Assassin's Handbook: The organizations are decent if you need assassins guilds, and you can extract some feats and spells for use with standard assassins. But the assassin base class and prestige classes are poorly written.
• Secret College of Necromancy: By the same authors as the Assassin's Handbook, SCON has some outstanding flavor and background text. But again, the mechanics are weak... or rather, strong. The classes and spells are WAY too powerful for the indicated levels. Some spells are pretty cool, but deserve toned down or limited.
• Bastards & Bloodlines: Just got this; review pending. I normally like Owen KC Stephen's work. But so far, I just find this book conceptually weak. About 60% of this book is individual halfbreed races written up PHB-race style. That's nice if you happen to play one, but chances are you will only use a few of these if any. Some of the concepts are wacky and bizarre (like half-unicorns and half-mind flayer [yes I know that the FF has one too... ]). Worse, for a book so dedicated to the topic of crossbreeds, you would think that it might discuss ways half breeds arise without the classic "anything can breed" handwave. Give me some magic, folks!

In short, I wouldn't say you can't go wrong with Green Ronin... but I find that since they got their product schedule on track, they have a better track record for turning out quality and creativity than most of their competitors.

 

[haiiro]

But, after reading that typo, I am wondering what else GR has that is really worth giving a second look. What else would you all recommend?

Armies of the Abyss and Legions of Hell are both great books (with tons of cool baddies and twisted ideas), and Hammer & Helm is phenomenal (best dwarf book I've ever read). I also have (and like) Jade Dragons & Hungry Ghosts, which you mentioned not being all that interested in. And BotR, of course.

I've heard good things about the Freeport adventures and Mutants & Masterminds, but don't have either of them.

In the "dislike" category, I have both Wrath & Rage and the Assassin's Handbook, and found both to be mediocre. The assassin class has fundamental problems (it's very easy to break), and W&R is just bland (despite having great artwork). The Freeport Adventures hardback has always turned me off -- like W&R, it just seems bland, despite how entertaining the setting looks to be.

GR is definitely one of my favorite d20 companies -- even though their stuff is a mixed bag, it's a very good mixed bag overall, and they've put out some of my favorite d20 books (BotR, H&H, etc.). Their production values are excellent, they pick good topics, their rules are (mostly) quite solid, and their books generally have good artwork.

 

[Assenpfeffer]

I will never use BotR, but it's very well-done, and very suitable for those looking for a well-developed d20 pantheon to drop into their campaign world. It's a fabulous, fabulous book.

I was unhappy with the Assassin book - mostly because I see a need for an Assassin who isn't a spell user, and the book didn't provide one.

I think the Witch and Shaman books are both excellent.

I also have the three Freeport adventues, which are very good.

Mutants & Masterminds is very well-done, and suffers as a supers game only in that it's not Hero System.

I also have Armies of the Abyss and Legions of Hell. Both are top-notch, but I like AotA better - because of the Qlippoth.

I buy very little d20 material at the moment. GR is one company I make an exception for.

 

[KDLadage]

Thanks to all!

I now have a nice list of GR stuff I think I will be ordering... you guys ar the greatest!

 

[Crothian]

Yeah, BotR rocks. If it doesn't win an ENnie, I'll be VERY surprised.

I won't be. ENnies are voted on by the people and I'm not sure enough people have seen this book for it to win. Of course it will depend highly on what it is going up against and what category or categories it is in.