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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silveras" data-source="post: 2011001" data-attributes="member: 6271">The Noble's HandbookI am disappointed in the Noble's Handbook. Having greatly enjoyed the Shaman's Handbook and the witch's Handbook, I was looking forward to a similarly adept handling of the Noble as a character class. The Good...I am not totally against the book. 1. I like most of the Noble House rules2. I like that they are designed not only to represent noble families but also other types of organizations (although I think that factor also undermines the argument that the Noble class is needed). The scale of the House Strength table needs some adjustment, I think, and it definitely needs not to be tied to the level gains of the leader. I would multiply the threshhold numbers by 100 and use the total levels of Members to determine the score for a given house (a la MMS:WE influence points). 3. The Inspire, Influence, and Contact class abilities of the Noble are interesting and workable mechanics for representing some of what Nobles are best at. 4. The production quality is up to Green Ronin's usual standards. Proofreading, editing, the binding, and so on are solid, although there are occasional errors. 5. The price (USD 14.95) and page count (64) are reasonable and in-line with the other books in the series. 6. The art is generally good. The internal sketches and drawings suit the mood and fit the text appropriately, while the cover painting is just a nice piece of art on its own merits. the Bad...1. The book tries to too hard to justify the Noble class. In discussing the Role of the Noble, for example, there are sections explaining why Nobles are not useless in the Dungeon and how helpful they can be in the City. Why do I feel like I am watching a 30 minute infomercial ? The sell comes across too hard, and leaves me feeling like the author was trying to convince himself that the class was not a bad idea. Similarly, suggesting that multi-classing the other classes with the Noble class is a way to model Barbarian princes or Court Vizier mages is iffy. No setup that requires a spellcaster to diminish his/her spellcasting ability in order to be part of the nobility makes sense to me; at least the other classes get some BAB, Skill Points, or other synergystic growth. 2. The Prestige Classes are more readily suited to ennoble the core character classes than to specialize the Noble. Most repeat one of the Noble class' abilities and stack with it, basically allowing non-Noble-class characters to get that ability. 3. Prestige Class mechanics are incompletely thought out. For example, the Lord Knight class requires that the character be a member of a Noble House led by a Knight. Well, that's fine for NPC institutions, but there is no "Member" feat for Noble Houses. All Noble-class PCs start their own, which means that NO Noble-class PC can be a Lord Knight. Nor can any of his/her Followers or Cohorts. 4. The Noble suffers from a lack of context. The Noble is a figure of authority and power, but that is very hard to depict properly without concrete rules for authority and power. The Noble House rules, and the Influence class ability, are Ok at representing the noble's authority against other noble houses (thus, in relative terms), but there is no overall framework to place that in. 5. The Noble House rules have some dubious elements. Coupling the rising power of the noble house to the rising personal ability of its leader (i.e., tying the growth of the Noble House's strength to the character's level gains) is a poor idea. Certainly, a strong and dynamic leader will help a Noble House grow faster, but no Noble should be granted the title of "Monarch" just for making it to 18th level. 6. The Dueling rules are ... misplaced. While the dueling system is meant to replicate the cinematic style of Zorro or the Scarlet Pimpernel, it has some flaws. First, it is designed for use with Renaissance-era weapons and little or no armor; this is not a universally available flavor in all campaigns. Second, although it tries to be different, it essentially duplicates a variant from the DMG: the Defense Roll. Third, having advanced a character to the point where s/he gets 2 attacks per round, or having taken Two-Weapon Fighting, I doubt many are willing to reduce themselves to 1 attack per round to use this system. Finally, many of the "Dueling Maneuvers" are actions you can take normally (Disarm, for example). I know I would find a duel between two combatants with Two-Weapon Fighting and BABs of +6 or greater much more intense than this system.7. As I mentioned, there is no way to just be a Member of a Noble House without being a Follower or Cohort. You either lead one, are an NPC, or you are not in one. This looks like an oversight. I would replace the "Noble House" feat with two others: "Noble House Member" and "Noble House Leader". The Noble House Leader should be a Bonus Feat for the Noble class at a higher level than 1st; Noble characters should start as Members of an existing House. 8. Alternatives are not presented. Other books in the Master Class series (notably, the Shaman's Handbook and the Witch's Handbook) discussed how to represent the archetype using the existing classes. This is even more necessary in the case of the Noble, whose viability in a campaign is very much dependent on what mechanics the DM chooses to represent power and authority. A discussion of "noble rank as an acquired trait" or the like would have been a good use of space. and the UglyActually, there isn't anything ugly, but I felt compelled to finish the title. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Rounding UpOverall, the Noble's Handbook is a decent, but uninspiring, entry in the Master Class series. The Noble class comes across as an NPC class that is trying too hard. For interesting NPC opponents, though, the class will prove far more useful; even if a DM does not want to use city- or political- based adventures, the Noble's abilities to send out followers and draw upon resources to make things happen is a useful tool.</blockquote>

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