Post originally by Aaron at 2004-03-08 08:02:30
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This was a strange and ultimately disappointing product for me. Some of the book would make fairly decent house rules, forex, negative hps, racial levels, heightened/diminished spells, spell weaving. Some of the book was ok add-on material, forex genero dog-men, genero cat-men, noble lizardmen (who look like the lizardmen from the cheesy Lost World TV show), playable fey and giants. The rest, however, was too tightly integrated and often overpowered. A Warmain is a heavy fighter, but better than a D&D heavy fighter. Unfettered are rogue-fighters but better than D&D rogue-fighter, etc. The magic classes are dependent on the simple/complex spell classifications. In short, if you want to play with this PHB, you can't use any other d20 material without major rework. This could have been avoided by giving classes interesting powers instead of just piling on more and more hps, feats and special abilities to make players drool.
Another problem I had was that many of the good ideas were needlessly limited. Racial classes are cool, but why 3 and only 3 levels? Heightend/Diminished spells is a good idea but why only + or - one level?
When I got the book I was hoping to get interesting rules to add to my game. What I ended up with was a 250 page book with only about 20 useful pages. I guess I could have stopped my campaign and thrown out a shelf full of other d20 products, but I chose not to. It is sad because it didn't have to be that way; a decision to make the new classes and spell compatible with plain D&D could have easily resulted in a better book (at least for everyone not playing in the diamond throne).
Post originally by committed hero at 2004-03-08 08:39:20
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Let characters fall unconscious at 0 minus Con Modifier? What about characters with negative modifiers? Do they get knocked down with positive HPs?
Essentially this rule means that a character's CON bonus gets doubled for the determination of hit points. Why not double the bonus for everything? Saves, AC, initiative, whatever?
Post originally by Coyraven at 2004-03-08 10:00:10
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hmm. That is amusing. I found the opposite of some of your observations. I thought most of the classes were quite poor. Some were over powered and others much too weak.
I agree with you on the Warmain, but the Unfettered is rather weak. As the only rogue-like class, it is a disappointment.
The Akashic's abilities are cool, but they are so spread out that the class would take many levels to be much more then a armored expert. That was another poor decision, the class was designed to be a support fighter. Since that makes the class need a lot wider range of stats, then the Magister is just going to outshine the Akashic in two of its main abilities- skills and knowledge checks.
The magic system is cool on first glance, but in play it is too generic. All classes have access to many of the same spells. That makes the major difference between the classes is a few very spaced out class abilities.
On top of that- the only difference between two characters within a class is just feats. A magister is a magister is a magister.
That is pretty much my largest complaint about the classes- they are too specific. There is not enough range in many classes to be anything other then a clone of other classes.
Granted, some d&d classes have the same problems, but it is a standard among the classes of AU.
It is very frustrating to me since I find most of the book inspiring, but the classes just irritate me when I attempt to use them.
Post originally by Trombone4Hire at 2004-03-08 12:20:38
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"The other races were effectively enslaved. Until the Dragons, driven by proophecy, landed on the continent's shores and over a few hundred years drove the Dramojh into utter extinction."
First, I can usually look right past typos, but in this case I almost laughed. Also, it was the giants who freed the humans from the Dramojh, then set up the Diamond Throne. The dragons created the Dramojh originally.
"As [unfettered] advance, they gain a modest sneak attack ability, bonus feats, the ability to parry missile attacks and, like the mage blade, magic (although nowhere near as well for that last)."
The first time I read this I thought you meant they can use magic like a mage blade, which they can't. In the future you might want to look closer for clarity in your reviews.
Otherwise I really like the review (and love the product). You explain things very well. I might use the book for a Planescape-esque setting soon.
Post originally by Doug Easterly at 2004-03-08 14:16:56
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I agree and disagree. The litorians are a generic lionman race, the sibbecai a little less generic jackal-men, but the mohj are asexual dragon-men who used to be human. That seems more than a bit off the usual savage lizardman trope.
The simple/complex spell classifications assumes that what sets spellcasters apart are either their individual class powers or their choice of additional feats. The feats, which grant access to more spells and abilities, are key to the spellcasting system, and can greatly change the spells available to a spellcaster.
However, I agree that these rules do not drop easily into a campaign. The classes tend to gain more power in low levels, are modestly powerful in mid levels, but seem weaker than D&D classes at high levels. They balance differently, and do not seem to mix well with D&D classes.
As a supplement to an ongoing game (which this game only vaguely pretends to be) this would be a disappointment. As a separate system, I think this provides an interesting and very different set of rules.
Post originally by Wombat at 2004-03-08 18:06:38
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Hmmm, AU is one of the few D&D supplements or alternates that I have purchased that I have not regretted at some point (the only other one that springs to mind is Green Ronin's "Book of the Righteous"). I find AU highly imaginative, more flexible than the base set of rules (especially the magic system), somewhat less combat driven, and generally a lot of fun. The faen liven up the games, the giants bring a sense of dignity and grandeur, and the litorians add a sort of savage nobility. Also, unlike some other people I have talked to about this game, I don't miss Magic Missile and Fireball.
Of course it all comes down to personal tastes and take, YMMV, usw, but AU reallys scored for me, much more than the sorry retread that is 3.5
Post originally by Kintara at 2004-03-08 20:13:46
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I did have a long post, but I think it might be the wrong approach, so I'll re-think this. What classes /do/ you like?
What D&D /or/ AU classes aren't either specific, or defined "only" by their feat selection (and skills, and ability scores, and equipment, and spell preparation)?
Think about your comments: don't you think they sound contradictory, or at least can be interpretted as such?
I mean, champions, witches, and totem warriors are all examples that, tentatively /don't/ necessarily fit what you were saying, as they have switchable class abilities that aren't feats. If anything AU has the most examples of that.
I think your problem is that you don't get/like the flavor of AU. It has nothing to do with genericism or specificity. That's all I can come up with.
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