What's your favourite Arcana/Unearthed

[Li Shenron]

Obviously it's only a poll about UA vs AU.

I don't own either, I have read a lot about both on these boards, I will get UA in a matter of days, I won't get AU.

I had the idea that AU is more an alternative setting with ideas already given flavor, while UA is really a book of rules, variants and tools. Since there are very many settings available, and very few books of alternative rules, I was much more attracted by UA of course.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I had the idea that AU is more an alternative setting with ideas already given flavor, while UA is really a book of rules, variants and tools. Since there are very many settings available, and very few books of alternative rules, I was much more attracted by UA of course.

There is not much more setting information in Arcana Unearthed than in the Player's Handbook. I can assure you that it would not confuse you all that much.

 

[Arnwyn]

I guess if I had to choose one, it'd be WotC's Unearthed Arcana, I suppose.

Of course, the real answer for me (and missing from the poll) is "none of them".

 

[BiggusGeekus]

AU, though it looks like a well put-together and balanced game, quite convinced me that Monty and I have little in common in terms of taste for a campaign setting. After spending almost four hours paging through it in Barnes and Noble, I could not find even a single rule or idea in it that I'd use, even for free. (Okay, I like splitting the Fighter into a heavy and light variation, but not the specific Warmain and Unfettered.)

AU has a bunch of neat tidbits in it. Dire weapons are a pretty cool template for a mid-to-high fantasy game, and there's other stuff like that scattered troughout the book.

I liked AU and I can see your point about it just not being your taste. It's a combination of Asian-Indian and Euro ideas and that's not going to ring true for everyone. But it's worth paging through again if you get the chance (FOUR HOURS!!??!? WOW!!!! Cool store manager.)

 

[Apok]

Well, both WotC's Unearthed Arcana and Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed (presumably the two you were referring to) serve very different functions. UA is basically just a Big Book O' Houserules for D&D, while AU is a fully-fledged player's guide for a specific world setting. Yes, you can cherry-pick from AU for your standard D&D game, but that's not its primary purpose.

Each one fulfills its functions well enough, but I really can't compare them. If all you want is some alternate rule ideas for your campaign, buy UA. If you want a campaign world unto itself with new core classes, feats, and spells that fit the setting, buy AU.

 

[Mercule]

(FOUR HOURS!!??!? WOW!!!! Cool store manager.)

It was between a couple of sittings. Barnes & Noble is actually a pretty cool place to look for books, IME. The one here is Cedar Rapids is better than most I've seen, even. We have a reasonable sitting area with comfy(ish) armchairs and some study tables. It really feels more like a library than a book store.

The also do some "community" programs like a comic book night once a month, children's story time, etc. One or two of the Democratic candidates (I want to say Kerry and Dean -- not being a Democrat, I didn't pay much attension) came in to town and did a Q&A or some such and B&N.

I quite often go in to look at books, both gaming and computer related, since it's about a block and a half from where I work. For that reason, when I do buy, I often choose to buy from B&N, even if I could get things cheaper on Amazon (amazingly, B&N doesn't mark things above list price and is often cheaper than other brick-and-mortar outlets). We don't have a FLGS in town, so I don't have any guilt there. I figure B&N is providing me a service by allowing me to browse under those circumstances, so it's worth a few bucks more every now and again.

 

[Li Shenron]

There is not much more setting information in Arcana Unearthed than in the Player's Handbook. I can assure you that it would not confuse you all that much.

Mah... I read your reply and then Apok's one, and now I am confused

To make an example, I think that the AU classes and races are additions that if you use them, you ARE in fact somehow personalizing your setting, and also those sets of races or classes are designed to stay together well (so that you can just take ALL the races instead of the PHB races, and same for classes). I even think that when it was advertised, Monte wrote that it was about "playing D&D in a different world, with no elves or dwarves, no wizards or rogues..." but I may be wrong.

Instead, UA is more about mechanical variants which have only a side effect to the setting. For example, if you use spontaneous divine spellcasters, does it really change the flavor? No, it only change the mechanics and related strategies. Therefore you can use them in ANY settings. Using prestige Paladins and Rangers have the side effects that there won't be low-levels Pals and Rans, but that's not a major change IMHO.

On the overall, I like more UA because it seems to be still ten times more generic, and therefore more usable that AU. But as I said, I don't know the latter very much so I may be very off...

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

To make an example, I think that the AU classes and races are additions that if you use them, you ARE in fact somehow personalizing your setting, and also those sets of races or classes are designed to stay together well (so that you can just take ALL the races instead of the PHB races, and same for classes). I even think that when it was advertised, Monte wrote that it was about "playing D&D in a different world, with no elves or dwarves, no wizards or rogues..." but I may be wrong.

No, you're right. If you're playing Arcana Unearthed, you've got no Dwarves, Elves or Wizards, but instead you've got new races and classes such as Verriks, Giants and Magisters. So yes, you are personalizing your setting, but not more than you would be if you were using the Player's Handbook. Don't be mistaken: Gnomes, Half-Orcs and Monks are not flavorless: they color the way you play, and they influence your perspective. It's the same with Arcana Unearthed: Litorians, Faens and Runethanes bring a certain flavor to the game, but they're not setting elements per se.

You could of course mix vanilla D&D and Arcana Unearthed, by using the classes but not the races, or only a selection of races and classes. The possibilities are endless.

 

[Gez]

What do I prefer between AU, UA, UA, and UA? I don't know. I have even never heard of UA. However, you've forgotten UA. Yeah, it's not d20, but who cares?

AU would get the prise for originality, since all the UA are UA, not AU. That said, maybe there's another AU, that would mean, maybe, AU. Or AU. I don't know. The possibilities are endless.

Since, I must say, without ambiguities, that my fav is Mystère Deterré. Ahahah!

 

[hong]

Since, I must say, without ambiguities, that my fav is Mystère Derrieré. Ahahah!