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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 2009205" data-attributes="member: 172">The Quintessential ElfMongoose Publishing's Collector Series is a series of books containing character-oriented rules and advice targeted at specific character types, very much in the vein of the second edition "Complete" books. To date, all of the collector series books have been targeted at characters of a given core character class. The Quintessential Elf is the first book in this series to address a player character race: elves.A First LookThe Quintessential Elf has the same format that all Collector Series books have: the book is priced at $19.95 US and has 128 pages. This format makes the Collector Series some of the most competitively priced books on the market.The cover of the Quinstessential Elf is a mock-leather pattern with gold lettering, in line with the rest of the Collector Series.The interior art features many frequent Mongoose contributors, including personal favorites like Danilo Moretti. The list of artist is especially long in this one and features some names and styles I am not familiar with. The quality of art varies. Some is very good and hits the right feel. There are some drawings new the beginning of the book that are very crisp, but they depict square-jawed elves that look entirely too human to my eye.The typesetting is typical for Mongoose: a fairly dense font in paragraphs that are spaced, with some rather large header fonts.A Deeper LookThe Quintessential Elf follows a format similar to the previous class-based books in the quintessential series: the book begins with character concepts, followed by prestige classes, equipment, and then more specific topics unique to the nature of the book.The character concepts, for those not familiar with them, are packages of "character adjustments" that hope to provide benefits and drawbacks to more precisely fit the character to a concept in a balanced fashion. This is something of an implementation of the idea of customizing character classes as described in the D&D 3e PHB. In past books, the success of this approach has varied. Books like the Quintessential Wizard are good in that they implement drawbacks primarily by trading out assets of the character class. Other books are less successful in that they try to engage in "deficit spending" by penalizing abilities that the character is already not good at, which is a poor balancing mechanism and is inherently more abusive. Alas, it seems as if the Quintessential Elf clefts closer to the latter approach. Some examples of the included character concepts are:- Envoy - Envoys are elves appointed to keep an eye on the activities of the the quickly changing younger races. Owing to their exposure to the outside world, envoys gain an addition skill point every level. However, at first level, they are not allowed to have any class skills above three ranks or any cross class skills above one rank. To me, this seemed like meager compensation for a fairly strong benefit.- Feyborn - Feyborn are elves with a close affiliation with the fey. Feyborn receive a +1 to Charisma based checks when dealing with fey creatures, and a +2 to saves versus the spell-like abilities of fey creatures, but they have a distinctive wild appearance that gives them a -1 to charisma based checks dealing with non-elf humanoids and register as magic to a detect magic spell.- Trueblood - Elven trueblood come from the line of a legendary ancestor. They gain a +1 bonus to Dexterity or Charisma, and also gain class skills in Spellcraft and Use Magic Device. However, they do not get the benefit of only needing 4 hours of sleep and their close connection to the flow of magic means that whenever a spell is cast within 60 feet, they must make a saving throw or be stunned for a round. I consider this concept almost too weak to be worth playing.The second section, The Prestige Elf, unveils a number of new prestige classes unique to elves. The classes are mostly short (5 level) classes except for the primordial spirit, green sentinel, and Order of the Silver Heart. The presented prestige classes are:- Beastrider - Beastriders are elves that master a special mount such as a dire animal. The character is bonded to the mount in a fashion similar to a wizard's familiar. The beast rider gains abilities that let her work in unison with her mount, call the mount from a distance, and even call a pack of creatures of the same species.- Windlord - Very similar to the beastrider, the windlord has a bond with a special mount. The windlord's class abilities are somewhat similar to the beastrider's, but they have some abilities relating to aerial combat in place of some of the beastrider abilities.- Speaker of the Stars - The speaker of the stars are spellcasters with a penchant for astrology and divination. The powerful divinations of the speaker of the stars allow the character to provide insight bonuses to characters for a limited number of actions if the speaker of the stars takes the time to study the stars. The speaker of the stars also continues to advance as a spellcaster at the full rate.- Voice of the Forest - This class represents a character unusually close to nature. The character grows closer to the forest as he advances, gaining abilities to invoke the aid of animals and plants as spell like abilities. The class abilities of this class didn't seem far enough from the spell selection of the druid to justify the existence of the class.- Master of the Hunt - The master of a hunt is a superlative hunter, an honored and respected position in an elven community. The master of the hunt has a pack of trained hunting dogs, can track and still move swiftly, and gains other abilities pertaining to hunting and tracking.- Keeper of the Song - Keepers of the song are keepers of an elven oral tradition of history by way of song. The keeper of the song receives continued spellcasting advancement, the ability to weave the words of a spell into a song (making it harder to resist), and a number of other song related abilities somewhat similar to a bard in nature, though not the same. For example, the ancient music ability summons ghostly warriors to attack enemies.- Green Sentinel - Green sentinels are elves specialized in dealing with supernatural evils. They receive an ability similar to the ranger's species enemy ability, along with abilities that let them surpass DR and SR of creatures. The green sentinel struck me as being a little on the weak side.- Arcane Delver - The basic concept of the arcane delver is an arcane spellcaster who has enhanced control over their spells. The class continues to advance in spellcasting at a slow rate, but receives a variety of abilities as the advance that let them better shape and control the magic that they cast.- Darksoul - A class targeted at drow elves, the darksould is a spellcaster with an affinited for negative energy and shadow. The darksoul continues normal spellcasting advancement, and have a number of class abilities related to darkness and shadow. For example, the character can lace his spells with shadow energy to make them harder to resist (at the cost of taking subdual damage) or taint spells with unholy energy that causes additional damage.- Primordial spirit - This class is targeted at elven monks, and has a number "martial arts move" type class abilities named for elemental or nature themes. For example, earth form defense allows the character to voluntarily accept a -5 penalty to dexterity modifier in exchange for a like number of DR.- Order of the Silver Heart - The order of the silver heart is a classic one: unicorn cavalry. Of course, members of the Order of the Silver Heart are exclusively female. In addition to the unicorn mount (which gains HD and AC as the character advances), members of the Order of the Silver Heart gain abilities that let them work better with their mount, and they have a paladin-like spell list.Overall, the prestige classes cater to the existing elven feel. A few seem a little weak (green sentinel), others seem a little powerful (darksoul, Order of the Silver Heart).The section entitled Tricks of the Elves provides some rules enhancements aimed at emulating several commonly accepted competencies of elves in the game without invoking such mechanics  as feats and prestige classes.The section introduces rules on alchemy and herbalism. The rules on alchemy suggests that the lifespan of elves might allow them access to alchemical items that are aged to improved their qualities. Suggestions are provided on how to "power up" existing alchemical items, with an attendant increase in price.The herbalism section provides some benefits for characters with sufficient search or wilderness lore skills to allow them to find beneficial herbs. With successful skill checks, a character can defray the cost of alchemical components, find healing herbs that aid in natural healing, find nourishing berries, poison or spell components. The scope of these herbs is rather limited, but could be of use in a low magic campaign.In keeping with the elves' legendary skill for archery, a section is devoted to archery trick shots. The shots are tricks that the character they can attempt if they have the proper prerequisites. Each usually requires a specific feat (such as precise shot), and requires the character to make a skill check such as spot or craft. Possible tricks include pin shot (pins a part of the targets clothing against a wall) or fast aim (by spending a move equivalent action aiming, the character can get +2 to a shot.) These seem a bit like freebies to me, but they are mostly pretty reasonable.This section also includes additional tricks that characters with animal handling can teach, and some additional combat tactics such as pack tactics.The next section introduces a number of new feats for elves. As with prior books in this series, many of the feats are unique to the character type being covered, in this case elves. Examples of the feats introduced are:- Arcane Birth Gift - The elf can use a 0-level druid spell once per day. This feat is someone unfortunately titled, as the spell is not arcane by the d20 system definition.- Forage - The character receives a +3 to wilderness lore check when searching for food. This is a bit weak, as a +4 bonus is the typical bonus for a feat that only applies to a single task.- Nature Sense - By concentrating for a round, the character receives a +4 bonus to wilderness lore, intuit direction, or search checks (choose one) one hour a day. This feat, on the other hand, probably is a bit generous. It's duration is limited, but it seems too flexible to grant a full +4.- Trick Shot - The character receives a +2 to skill checks when attempting trick shots (described above.)Tools of the ElvesThis section provides a number of mundane and magical items produced by or for the elves. This includes a superior version of masterwork weapons called elven masterworks, which cost more than masterwork weapons but provide a +2 bonus vice +1."Mundane" arms and armor includes crystal weapons (weapons that behave as normal weapons, except that they inflict extra subdual damage when dealing subdual damage), skirt blades, arcane chainmail (fashioned to reduce chance of arcane spell failure), and elven half-plate. Magic items and enchantments include the detecting quality (detects a kind of creature) and entangling arrows.Elven SubracesThis section includes details on various elven subraces. It begins with the subraces outlined in the core rulebooks, covering all of the subraces in the same detail as was provided for the high elves in the Player's Handbook. In addition, it introduces three new subraces: mist elves, sky elves, and wanderer elves.Elven MagicThis section introduces some new techniques of magic. Similar to the fighting styles in Mongoose's Quintessential Fighter, learning these techniques requires tuition time and the expenditure of money, as well as having prerequisites in terms of skills, feats, and/or spellcasting abilities. These techniques include charms (an ability to temporarily endow items or animals with a spell-like ability), art of shaping (creating construction by shaping plants), and high magic (achieve a variety of magic effects by taking ability damage).The Elven PantheonThis brief section outlines a number of deity archetypes with generic names such as "the Elven Allfather" and "the Lord of Mysteries." Each has a brief description of their nature and portfolio, as well as the clerical domains that they grant. These can be used as a basis for your own elven pantheon.In addition to the deities, there are five new domains: dream, forest, love, music, and sea.Secrets of the ElvesThis section tackles a variety of subjects, all nominally hidden or sheltered knowledge regarding elves. This includes things like the subtleties of elven language, the nature of the elven soul, elven fighting styles (written up in a similar fashion), the elven afterlife, and the ascended template for those few elves that do not enter the elven afterlife. Parts of this section add some additional capabilities to elves. For example, some elves with the right requirements can contact the collective elven soul to obtain information or bonuses. While these are flavorful tidbits, some GMs may see these as free benefits for the character.Aerial CombatMany images of elves in fantasy include riders of giant eagles, griffons, and pegasi. To accommodate these images, this section provides a means to bring those images to life.The aerial combat system builds on the underpinnings of the d20 system rules regarding flight. The system assigns flying creature a flight bonus dependant upon their flying speed and maneuverability rating. This roll is used by aerial combatants to position themselves and perform a number of maneuvers. You can do things like try to knock your opponent of a mount, perform evasive maneuvers, and do a passing attack.Elven StrongholdsThe elven stronghold section doesn't provide piecemeal construction rules like many other Collector Series books. It provides details for parts of an elven community and various types of elven communities for various subraces. The only mechanics in this part of the book is regarding what is called the stronghold heart. The heart of an elven stronghold is a magic item that can store magical effects.Other MaterialsThe book has a brief section of designers notes, a reference section with compiled tables, and a character sheet original.ConclusionI have somewhat mixed feelings about The Quintessential Elf. On one hand, of all the character concepts in the various collector series books, I found these the more troublesome than most. A lot of the new rules material seems to provide new capabilities at little or no cost. Finally, I felt that the book didn't push out too far from the Tolkienesque baseline, with a few exceptions.That said, I did find a lot of useful and interesting material here. The prestige classes were possibly the most interesting and playable of any in the Collector Series books, the aerial combat system is interesting, the new magic techniques seem to be flavorful variants in keeping with the elven nature, the new deities seem a solid baseline for an elven pantheon, and the new subraces seem like interesting potential additions to a campaign.-Alan D. Kohler</blockquote>

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