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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Krug" data-source="post: 2010024" data-attributes="member: 2141">Core Class books are a mixed bag. While I don't find the classes sufficient, there's been little out there I'm willing to add to any campaign, or feel strongly about to petition to my DM to add.Malladin's Gate has boldly put out not one, but two new core classes in their first supplement in the Unearthed Adventurers line; a 91-page PDF broken up into two parts each featuring one of the core classes. The Cultist is a divine spellcaster who draws power from a planar creature. They can cast their spells spontaneously, and have D4 HD and low BAB advancement. They gain special powers called 'virtues' as they advance, and can choose up to three domains for their spells.The other core class is the Swordsman, a "different sort of fighter". They have d8 HD and mid-level BAB advancement, gain 4 skill points per level and gain a series of fighting techniques that give them an edge in combat. The name 'swordsman' is quite a misnomer, as some of the fighting techniques revolve around weapons such as the polearm, the warhammer or even unarmed fighting techniques. Besides a chapter devoted to detailing the class, there are chapters for skill and feats, powers, prestige classes and a GM section. MG has certainly done a lot of work for the new classes they're introducing. These are not like Mongoose Publishings Power Classes; the detail is extensive and well thought-out. Besides the hard crunch, there's the cream, such as divine beings for the cultist to worship.The cultist fills in a necessary gap; the divine spellcaster who's more devoted to spells than fighting. It's a good implementation, though the learning curve for implementing them is trickier. Included in the cultist section are a bunch of new domains and handful of new spells. The Prestige Classes focus mainly on multiclassing the Cultist with other core classes, an approach similar to that taken by the Badaxe Heroes of High Favor series. This approach creates some odd mixes, and those here aren't particularly inspiring. The GM section introduces several creatures that cultists can worship for their powers. The Swordsman, however, has less of a persuasive case. With their bonus feats, the Fighter is the most flexible core class in the d20 rules. The Fighting Techniques, which the Swordsmen need to use skill ranks for, are more akin to feat chains, and might have worked better if done that way. Nevertheless, even if a GM has qualms about using the Swordsman, there are many useful rules herein. DCs are provided for a bunch of useful, showy fighting tasks. The Prestige Classes are more interesting here, and the GMs section includes more extensive rules for gunpowder weapons. There are some minor formatting errors. For example, the virtue of liberty continues midway through the second column and the font size changes suddenly between certain pages. There's more art than in their first release, the excellent Forgotten Heroes: Paladin, but nothing that'll win an award for.Overall, the two core classes here are fairly interesting. I've shown this to fellow players at the FLGS and they're interested in the Cultist; the Swordsman is more of a hard sell as it appears to be more of a variant of the fighter. However, there's certainly a lot here for those looking for new core classes to spice up the campaign. The level of detail is astounding, and Malladin's Gate continues to maintain the high level of their products. My advice to MG is to take the next leap and spend more on illustrations and artwork to convey the particular flavor of their products. The downside of the minimalistic approach is that it's hard to get people excited by them, and the sheer amount of text the player has to digest was a bit of a turn off. The cover is also a bit of a confused mess. Also, if they had the opportunity, please change the Swordsman core class to a name that is more suitable. It's odd to find that a character skilled in the bow or hammer is actually a 'swordsman'.</blockquote>

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