Shatteredtower
2012-05-29, 02:30 PM
I've had a few weeks to look over the latest 4E book. At 159 pages, it's thinner than I like, and people who hunger mainly for mechanics may find it rather stringy in that regard.
That said, I still like it. I may have no use for all of the suggestions for recycling old adventures dating back ten to thirty years, but I enjoy the history and the kibitzing. The discussions on Underdark terrain doesn't quite reach the levels offered by Kim Mohan's original 1E Dungeoneer's Survival Guide, but I think it offers better guidelines for being able to create your own encounters, organizations, and scenarios. It avoids specific models of dungeon bases in favour of drawing attention to highlights you might expect to find in various underworld communities, including those built by one race ill-suited to such living conditions. The Appendices might be of most use to those looking for assistance in building their first dungeon, but an experienced designer might unearth a few useful morsels in there as well.
The book focuses heavily on the character themes it offers, but the insights for how to tie them to both setting and circumstance deserves some attention. Constructive use of conflict between a party's (even a character's) goals is mentioned, as are the necessary cautions about using such things. It's generous with examples for how to motivate various characters, giving several for each character offered.
While the use of themes as character enhancement was done well, some were lacking --or at least misleading-- for the purpose of build design. In previous volumes, themes based their attack power on your primary ability score. That's no longer the case, though it only affects the Trapsmith and the Underdark Envoy. Still, the former is an immediate reaction power with an effect, and some people might find their utility powers worth the investment. The Treasure Hunter, on the other hand, isn't likely to be popular. Nearly everything it offers is surpassed by another power option somewhere else, the starting feature is a very limited use daily that only works in a very cooperative campaign (though some of those might outright break the power by being too flexible in interpretation). The last feature is pretty good... if your DM takes pains to make it applicable. (Here's a useful guideline: If your DM has never given a Small PC an advantage over the Medium PCs, look for another theme.)
The Bloodsworn and Escaped Thrall will be the most popular of the book's themes for those looking to optimize combat potential. Deep Delver plays more to campaigns favouring exploration, and Underdark Envoy favours the social one. The Underdark Outcast might be a bit lackluster, but some might find the stamina boosts to their liking. Just keep in mind that a DM is encouraged to make each theme significant in other ways, even mechanical ones, for good and ill.
There are no new classes. There are a lot of new powers, some of them so specific to dungeon-delving that you'd only want them for campaigns based around that sort of thing. Then there's the Artificer's Armor of Darkness, a power you'll want to drop as quickly as you can once you're hitting paragon tier, assuming you'd ever want it at all. Blinding Menace looks right for an assassin power of its level (take that as you will). For once, you get a new power for a seeker and a runepriest. (The latter is much better than the former.) For once, there aren't any new wizard options.
The races aren't too bad, though svirfneblin is likely to wind up used exclusively for clerics moreso than fighters, and the kobold is not the dragon sorcerer candidate it's made out to be. (It doesn't work out so well as a storm or chaos sorcerer either, because it gets a bonus to only one of Dex or Cha.) Their shifty power got replaced with an encounter power that uses a move action, but your team might appreciate it, and there's a bit of feat support for it. Kobolds made out okay for new feats and utilities, and Dragon's Indomitability has potential if resistance to incapacitation is important to your character.
Goblins are my favourites thus far, though. Five out of their six new feats support Goblin Tactics, though it's unlikely any player will pick more than one. The sixth feat,(Ankle Biter) could be preferable to Weapon Focus, even with its situational limitation. The utility powers are a fun bunch, very appropriate to the race, and adequate in what they do. You will be seeing goblin avengers, and they will be awesome.
That said, I still like it. I may have no use for all of the suggestions for recycling old adventures dating back ten to thirty years, but I enjoy the history and the kibitzing. The discussions on Underdark terrain doesn't quite reach the levels offered by Kim Mohan's original 1E Dungeoneer's Survival Guide, but I think it offers better guidelines for being able to create your own encounters, organizations, and scenarios. It avoids specific models of dungeon bases in favour of drawing attention to highlights you might expect to find in various underworld communities, including those built by one race ill-suited to such living conditions. The Appendices might be of most use to those looking for assistance in building their first dungeon, but an experienced designer might unearth a few useful morsels in there as well.
The book focuses heavily on the character themes it offers, but the insights for how to tie them to both setting and circumstance deserves some attention. Constructive use of conflict between a party's (even a character's) goals is mentioned, as are the necessary cautions about using such things. It's generous with examples for how to motivate various characters, giving several for each character offered.
While the use of themes as character enhancement was done well, some were lacking --or at least misleading-- for the purpose of build design. In previous volumes, themes based their attack power on your primary ability score. That's no longer the case, though it only affects the Trapsmith and the Underdark Envoy. Still, the former is an immediate reaction power with an effect, and some people might find their utility powers worth the investment. The Treasure Hunter, on the other hand, isn't likely to be popular. Nearly everything it offers is surpassed by another power option somewhere else, the starting feature is a very limited use daily that only works in a very cooperative campaign (though some of those might outright break the power by being too flexible in interpretation). The last feature is pretty good... if your DM takes pains to make it applicable. (Here's a useful guideline: If your DM has never given a Small PC an advantage over the Medium PCs, look for another theme.)
The Bloodsworn and Escaped Thrall will be the most popular of the book's themes for those looking to optimize combat potential. Deep Delver plays more to campaigns favouring exploration, and Underdark Envoy favours the social one. The Underdark Outcast might be a bit lackluster, but some might find the stamina boosts to their liking. Just keep in mind that a DM is encouraged to make each theme significant in other ways, even mechanical ones, for good and ill.
There are no new classes. There are a lot of new powers, some of them so specific to dungeon-delving that you'd only want them for campaigns based around that sort of thing. Then there's the Artificer's Armor of Darkness, a power you'll want to drop as quickly as you can once you're hitting paragon tier, assuming you'd ever want it at all. Blinding Menace looks right for an assassin power of its level (take that as you will). For once, you get a new power for a seeker and a runepriest. (The latter is much better than the former.) For once, there aren't any new wizard options.
The races aren't too bad, though svirfneblin is likely to wind up used exclusively for clerics moreso than fighters, and the kobold is not the dragon sorcerer candidate it's made out to be. (It doesn't work out so well as a storm or chaos sorcerer either, because it gets a bonus to only one of Dex or Cha.) Their shifty power got replaced with an encounter power that uses a move action, but your team might appreciate it, and there's a bit of feat support for it. Kobolds made out okay for new feats and utilities, and Dragon's Indomitability has potential if resistance to incapacitation is important to your character.
Goblins are my favourites thus far, though. Five out of their six new feats support Goblin Tactics, though it's unlikely any player will pick more than one. The sixth feat,(Ankle Biter) could be preferable to Weapon Focus, even with its situational limitation. The utility powers are a fun bunch, very appropriate to the race, and adequate in what they do. You will be seeing goblin avengers, and they will be awesome.