Would you buy a Book of Exalted Deeds?

[Enkhidu]

With all the fervor around the recent inclusion of "vile" material in the latest Dragon (and before you ask, no I don't want to talk about that topic here - there are 2 threads much better suited to that task, with loads of good comments on both sides of the discussion), I got to thinking, why did Wizards decide that the Book of Vile Darkness would be a good seller?

So my question is this: would you be interested in a Book of Exalted Deeds to the same degree as you would be interested in the Book of Vile Darkness?

 

[Dave Blewer]

Probably not.

But then I am the DM who likes to throw his (heroic and good) players against dastardly and vile evil...

 

[drnuncheon]

So my question is this: would you be interested in a Book of Exalted Deeds to the same degree as you would be interested in the Book of Vile Darkness?

What would be in it?

See, the reason that a BoED would not sell as well as a BoVD is not because gamers are more interested in evil than they are in good. It's because you don't need anything beyond what's in the core books to run a "good" game.

That said, if it had things like:

"Good"-themed feats and prestige classes; rules for saints, miracles and divine intervention; discussions of how to encourage your players to be heroic and good; stats for the celestial choirs, archangels, etc...

...then yeah, I'd buy it.

J

 

[The Serge]

Yes!

I think that it's nice for PCs to know that the powers of righteousness and holiness are out there.

It would also assist DMs create distinct types of goodness without allowing them to be cookie-cutter or bland.

 

[Zappo]

I think that there is less need for a BoED than a BoVD. The reason for the success of the BoVD is mainly the fact that it's the first book of its kind or almost so.

That said, I think there is a lot of room for a BoED too!

 

[Henry]

Nah, too boring - I want my PC's to pillage, plunder, and launder money!

Seriously? If it had things useful to my campaign, I would. In addition to the above-mentioned things, I could see new prestige classes for paladins to become aasimar, like sorcerers can become dragon disciples; I could see rules for additional uses for turn udead attempts, even above those in the Defenders of the faith; I could use info on the kinds of heavenly rewards that would make PC's refuse to be resurrected (maybe XP or attribute bonuses or sample roleplay bonuses to Players if they let their heroic paladins and clerics STAY dead?), and that sort of thing.

 

[Aeolius]

would you be interested in a Book of Exalted Deeds to the same degree as you would be interested in the Book of Vile Darkness?

No, but I'll take an Apparatus of Kwalish

 

[The Sigil]

Absolutely.

Similarly, I would buy a book about Law or Chaos.

On second thought, given that I'm about to move into a new home and start making huge house payments, maybe I wouldn't... due to lack of fundage.

--The Sigil

 

[Enkhidu]

So would it have been a better idea to make a double book - one half BoVD and one half BoED (double sided, of course) with loads of info on both sides?

I have a feeling that I would have bought that one...

 

[Green Knight]

Would I buy a Book of Exalted Deeds? Most definitely! Especially if it included lots of options for the Paladin player. New spells (Especially for 2nd level, which seems to be bereft of any really good stand-out spells), new Divine Feats (Not just Feats which make use of Turn Undead, but maybe also of Cure Disease and Lay on Hands), sample Codes of Conduct, and new Prestige Classes with the Paladin class in mind (Meaning that you can freely multi-class with it, and it'll advance some Paladin abilities. I.E. One Prestige Class will advance Lay on Hands, another will advance the Spellcasting abilities) would be great.