KDLadage
Explorer
updated on 22-NOV-02
Before we begin with my opinions, lets go through the statistics:
OK... now we move on to my opinions of this product. In a nutshell, it is a very good idea, poorly executed. My original complaints were in the presentation. The material is very loosely packed. In fact, if a good formatting had been used, I could see the material fitting in an area of about 40 pages -- perhaps less. As it is, it looks like a bound computer printed document at times.
The concept of the void -- and especially its interaction with the traditional 2D alignment grid -- is very interesting. Very different and easily absorbed after reading it a bit. I would like to have seen a lot more written on this in the book, as well as some better examples of how to use the loss of an axis (one of the consequences of delving too far into the knowledge of the Void) with some real roll playing -- such as how to play the Paladin that has become so wrapped up in the idea of Law that Good, Neutrality and Evil have become alien concepts... or that evil villain that has lost all concept of Law, Neutrality and Chaos, knowing only evil in it's purest form. These are things that the book barely touches on -- but could (and in my opinion) should spend more time looking into. Another problem is the creatures of Void. They are no where in the vicinity of balanced -- not in any way shape or form.
Of all of the products I have seen for d20 -- this one is by far the more original and unique. This includes my own beloved Jagged Edge Games material... and for that, my hat is off to Mr. and Mrs. Stanton -- they have a hell of an idea here. Run with it -- expand upon it.
For pure ideas, I would rate this product a 4 or 5 -- easily. However, format, price, information density, lack of thought in the creature balance and the plethora of unanswered questions rates (at most) a 3. Given that the book is, at best, a sub-par production job -- I rate it a 2.
Before we begin with my opinions, lets go through the statistics:
- Soft cover, 80 pages, b/w with very little artwork, loosely packed
- 1 page : dedication
- 1 page : table of contents
- 1 page : introduction (concept of the void itself)
- 1 page : background (look at the void as a story element)
- 2 pages: alignment (how does the void interact with alignment)
- 8 pages: Prestige Classes (Jangler, Knight of Stars, Speaker of Static, Whisperer)
- 2 pages: The skill Void Knowledge (how it effects a character)
- 3 pages: Feats (Asynchronicity, Dislocate, Empty Mind, Fold Space, Pivot)
- 17 pages: Spells
- 11 pages: Psionic Powers
- 2 pages: Points in the Void/Space
- 16 pages: Monsters and Templates
- 6 pages: Void NPCs
- 3 pages: Magic Items
- 2 pages: references
- 1 pages: future plans of Stanton Industries
- 3 pages: OGL/d20 license
OK... now we move on to my opinions of this product. In a nutshell, it is a very good idea, poorly executed. My original complaints were in the presentation. The material is very loosely packed. In fact, if a good formatting had been used, I could see the material fitting in an area of about 40 pages -- perhaps less. As it is, it looks like a bound computer printed document at times.
The concept of the void -- and especially its interaction with the traditional 2D alignment grid -- is very interesting. Very different and easily absorbed after reading it a bit. I would like to have seen a lot more written on this in the book, as well as some better examples of how to use the loss of an axis (one of the consequences of delving too far into the knowledge of the Void) with some real roll playing -- such as how to play the Paladin that has become so wrapped up in the idea of Law that Good, Neutrality and Evil have become alien concepts... or that evil villain that has lost all concept of Law, Neutrality and Chaos, knowing only evil in it's purest form. These are things that the book barely touches on -- but could (and in my opinion) should spend more time looking into. Another problem is the creatures of Void. They are no where in the vicinity of balanced -- not in any way shape or form.
Of all of the products I have seen for d20 -- this one is by far the more original and unique. This includes my own beloved Jagged Edge Games material... and for that, my hat is off to Mr. and Mrs. Stanton -- they have a hell of an idea here. Run with it -- expand upon it.
For pure ideas, I would rate this product a 4 or 5 -- easily. However, format, price, information density, lack of thought in the creature balance and the plethora of unanswered questions rates (at most) a 3. Given that the book is, at best, a sub-par production job -- I rate it a 2.
