Ascension
2008-03-29, 11:01 AM
Magnor Criol mentioned the Master at Arms (http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?cPath=4172) series of d20 supplements from Blackdirge Publishing in the "Options available for a spearman" thread, and I decided to take a look at them. I really love their concept… taking weapons whose historical abilities aren’t properly reflected in D&D and enhancing them via specialized prestige class to the point at which they become viable weapons. Because I'm both impulsive and one of those confused would-be cheapskates who will buy more stuff if he "saves" money doing so, I sprang for the first Mega-Bundle, eight of the classes for ten bucks. The reviews on the site are brief, so I decided to do my own in-depth review, keeping optimization in mind. I was going to post it last night, but the site went into maintenance mode, so it got delayed. Here it is.
Overall: These are fighting classes written by fighters for fighters in a fighterly fashion. They're all no nonsense and fairly feat intensive, but some of them can be brutal in the right hands. These are short prestige classes, all five levels, but they generally pack a lot of abilities into those five levels. They all have the (unique? I think so.) ability to count (at least partially) as fighter levels for the purpose of obtaining fighter-only feats like Greater Weapon Specialization and the like. This is hampered by the fact that there aren't really any good fighter-only feats, and these supplements don't add any.
One of my favorite parts of the supplements is how fun the sample characters are. They're not optimal in any sense of the word... the halberdier has a level of commoner, for crying out loud... but they're fun, and they use a lot of uncommon/monster races (the peltast is a gnoll and the hoplite is a hobgoblin, for example).
One aspect of the supplements which seems strange at first is that several of them include new exotic weapons. This seems counterintuitive at first glance, since each class focuses on a particular existing weapon, but in almost all instances they're simply an enhancement of the existing weapon based on a historical model. Most aren’t worth the feat, but at least two are really good (in my opinion, at least).
Though in a few cases they can be, these aren’t usually the classes you take to optimize. These are the classes you take if you really like a particular weapon that receives a royal screwjob in the core D&D rules. These are the classes that level the playing field.
Arbalestier: Wow. Just wow. This is probably the most powerful class in the bunch, at least in terms of damage per attack. It's true that crossbows get the short end of the stick in D&D, but this might even go a little overboard in correcting that problem. By fifth level you're still only doing a single attack per round, but that single attack can be wickedly powerful and can have a really nice chance of critting (up to 15-20 x3). A repeating crossbow would probably threaten to unbalance it, and the author warns DMs to disallow them… but only warns, by RAW a repeating heavy crossbow would be fully (ab)usable.
...of course, it still pales next to magic, even if it uses a repeating crossbow, but you can't have everything.
My recommendation for optimization would actually be scout/arbalestier. You get the ability to reload as a swift action, but you never get multiple shots, so you might as well move and fire every turn. When you take into account the fact that you're delivering precision damage at 60ft range by the time you get to the fifth arbalestier level, a scout could get a LOT of damage out of his single bolt per round.
The more attacks your fellows get, the weaker the arbalestier gets, so this one isn't for near-epic play, but when you first gain access to the goodies, it's quite nice.
Crimson Cleaver: My favorite of the PrCs, I think. For one thing, it starts with a weapon that's already good (the greataxe) and makes it better, rather than starting with a weapon that isn't any good and bringing it up to speed. It turns sundering into a really good idea (at least if you have a high strength modifier), gives you the ability to knock enemies prone on a charge, allows you to frighten any spectators within 30 ft when you score a crit, and finally gives you the (not that useful, but fun) ability to potentially insta-kill things with HD equal to or less than half your CL when you crit them. Not nearly as good as vorpal, because it allows a fort save and only works on things that are wimpy enough you could probably just kill them outright anyway, but still cool.
The best part of it is actually the exotic weapon it adds, the poleaxe. It's a 1d10 axe, a 1d8 hammer, and a 1d6 spear all rolled into one. Slashing, bludgeoning, piercing. Can you say "Bye bye, damage reduction!"?
Oh,there's also an artifact in here that gives MAJOR bonuses but can only be worn by a frost giant or someone with frost giant blood. Cool, but of limited use.
Cudgel Thug: Not worth it. Caters towards panhandlers (the literal kind). Okay for an NPC, pretty lame for a PC. There are a couple of exotic clubs in the back, but they aren't worth it either. I'm not going to bother reviewing it further.
Halberdier: The author's favorite weapon, but it doesn't show quite as much as you'd expect it to. It's a pretty strong class, especially against those who are stupid enough to charge one, and it's nice for either a trip build or an AOO build, but it still doesn't quite have the pizazz that other weapons have. For example, it gives you the ability to threaten at 10ft and 5ft, but at 10ft your halberd only counts as a shortspear for damage... so it's still only the poor man's spiked chain.
Basically, the author wants to make everyone love the halberd as much as he does, but doesn't quite succeed. I do love how the peasant conscript sample character has a level of commoner, though.
Hoplite: Long on style, a wee bit short on substance. Like its historical counterpart, best at fighting in groups... something not easy to do in D&D. Its Dynamis and Skewer abilities are nice, really nice, but Dynamis doesn't last long enough and can't be used often enough, and Skewer essentially disarms you in the process of using it. Its capstone ability (sort of, it's the last new ability... the actual capstone is just a second daily use of Dynamis), Master Overrun, is a disappointment. It would've made a good feat, but as a class ability it seems lacking, particularly on the fourth level of a five-level class.
The weapon here isn't exotic, but rather an intelligent spear. One that likes hobgoblins. Interesting.
Peltast: It's a fairly nice class. Comes very close to actually making javelins worth using. Synergizes quite well with barbarian, making one of the few classes in the entire set that isn't completely fighter-focused. The problem for the peltast is a matter of ammunition... it's good with a javelin... and pretty much nothing else. The peltast will need a good stock of javelins in order to operate. Sure, they can be recovered, but still I'd never try this one without extradimensional storage. The better your party's magical weapons get, the farther the peltast will fall behind, because he won't be able to afford to properly enhance all of his javelins. Returning can help, but the only real solution to the problem would be levels in Bloodstorm Blade... and then you would start wondering why you weren't throwing a better weapon.
From a historical angle I want to love this class, but it's just not quitegood enough for me to truly recommend. If you want to go ranged with these supplements, go arbalestier.
Pikeman: If you ever wanted to use a reach build without relying on the spiked chain, this is the class you've been waiting for. Among other things it lets you sacrifice an AOO to backpedal in order to keep opponents from entering your five foot blind spot and gives you the ability to strike from fifteen feet away. Your other abilities aren’t very notable, but it does allow you to fully emulate the Macedonian phalangites by wearing a shield and using a two-handed pike simultaneously.
The class is alright by itself, but it really shines when combined with this installment's amazing exotic weapon, the sarissa. Based on the historically massive Macedonian pikes of the same name, it deals 1d10 damage and (if I read this correctly) threatens out to 15ft and can threaten and attack at 10ft with a -2 penalty. Backpedal would still keep enemies out of your 5ft ring of vulnerability, and the Massive Reach class ability (although by RAW it becomes useless) should by RAI give you the ability to attack opponents (but not to threaten) up to 20ft away. This weapon combined with this class (and enlarge person!) is the key to the ultimate reach build. Beg your DM for it. BEG. If he complains, tell him that it's the same weapon that let Alexander the Great conquer the world. If that doesn't make it badass, I don't know what will.
Shatterskull Adept: This one's a bit of a break from the norm, usable with both the heavy mace and the morningstar. And it's also a break from the norm in terms of power level. Most of these classes are best described as "a nice alternative to fighter levels," which frankly describes almost everything except warrior and commoner. This one has a single ability that gives it the potential to be even better than the arbalestier... Bone-Shattering Strike, aka the martial save-or-suck. Up to three times a day (once a day at first, working up to three times a day at fifth) you can target a specific body part (with no penalties to hit, surprisingly) and force a fort save. Depending on the part of the body you target, you can cause all sorts of beautifully nasty effects. True, this class is basically built to go nova with so few daily uses of the ability, but it's actually good enough you wouldn't want to allow it more often. If you were to... say... shatter the torso of a BBEG, the fight would essentially be over. Yes, the Shatterskull Adept can pretend he's as effective as a wizard for up to three brief shining moments a day. Awesome.
No exotic weapon here, by the way.
Conclusion: While it’s a bit of a mixed bag, I still like what I see. I’m already debating with myself about buying the next Mega-Bundle, and I probably will. It promises classes focused on fighting with spiked gauntlets (Spiked gauntlets! Can you believe it?), the sling (looks to be an arcane archer variant, of all things), the falchion, the quarterstaff (The cover pic appears to be a drow with a stick. Should be amusing, if nothing else.), the short sword (based on the Roman legionnaire, I fear this one will fall into the Hoplite category of mediocrity, but I’m going to buy it anyway because if it actually does what it says it does it could be awesome), the dagger (I don’t think the author has heard of the Invisible Blade PrC, because it sounds like he’s trying to do the same thing…), the shield (A mix of offensive and defensive skills, and only a three level PrC. Could potentially stack well with the pikeman’s ability to carry a shield, perhaps even obviating the need to constantly backpedal. If it does, then pikeman + sarissa + shieldbearer will officially become the best reach build ever.), and, finally, the ranseur, rounding out the D&D polearms.
Two classes have been published but not yet bundled, the Escrimeur, focusing on rapier combat (Oddly enough, it is apparently designed to replace, rather than synergize with, the swashbuckler. I don’t know for sure, but it should be interesting. It will probably also lead to me fruitlessly attempting to get my DM to approve it for use with my swashbuckling character.), and the Axe Reaver, focusing on… well, you know. I may not pick up the Axe Reaver (Crimson Cleaver covers greataxes quite well, and if you’ve already got the greataxe, why downsize?), but I’ll probably pick up the rest within 1d12 days, and if you’d like me to, I’ll review them as well.
Overall: These are fighting classes written by fighters for fighters in a fighterly fashion. They're all no nonsense and fairly feat intensive, but some of them can be brutal in the right hands. These are short prestige classes, all five levels, but they generally pack a lot of abilities into those five levels. They all have the (unique? I think so.) ability to count (at least partially) as fighter levels for the purpose of obtaining fighter-only feats like Greater Weapon Specialization and the like. This is hampered by the fact that there aren't really any good fighter-only feats, and these supplements don't add any.
One of my favorite parts of the supplements is how fun the sample characters are. They're not optimal in any sense of the word... the halberdier has a level of commoner, for crying out loud... but they're fun, and they use a lot of uncommon/monster races (the peltast is a gnoll and the hoplite is a hobgoblin, for example).
One aspect of the supplements which seems strange at first is that several of them include new exotic weapons. This seems counterintuitive at first glance, since each class focuses on a particular existing weapon, but in almost all instances they're simply an enhancement of the existing weapon based on a historical model. Most aren’t worth the feat, but at least two are really good (in my opinion, at least).
Though in a few cases they can be, these aren’t usually the classes you take to optimize. These are the classes you take if you really like a particular weapon that receives a royal screwjob in the core D&D rules. These are the classes that level the playing field.
Arbalestier: Wow. Just wow. This is probably the most powerful class in the bunch, at least in terms of damage per attack. It's true that crossbows get the short end of the stick in D&D, but this might even go a little overboard in correcting that problem. By fifth level you're still only doing a single attack per round, but that single attack can be wickedly powerful and can have a really nice chance of critting (up to 15-20 x3). A repeating crossbow would probably threaten to unbalance it, and the author warns DMs to disallow them… but only warns, by RAW a repeating heavy crossbow would be fully (ab)usable.
...of course, it still pales next to magic, even if it uses a repeating crossbow, but you can't have everything.
My recommendation for optimization would actually be scout/arbalestier. You get the ability to reload as a swift action, but you never get multiple shots, so you might as well move and fire every turn. When you take into account the fact that you're delivering precision damage at 60ft range by the time you get to the fifth arbalestier level, a scout could get a LOT of damage out of his single bolt per round.
The more attacks your fellows get, the weaker the arbalestier gets, so this one isn't for near-epic play, but when you first gain access to the goodies, it's quite nice.
Crimson Cleaver: My favorite of the PrCs, I think. For one thing, it starts with a weapon that's already good (the greataxe) and makes it better, rather than starting with a weapon that isn't any good and bringing it up to speed. It turns sundering into a really good idea (at least if you have a high strength modifier), gives you the ability to knock enemies prone on a charge, allows you to frighten any spectators within 30 ft when you score a crit, and finally gives you the (not that useful, but fun) ability to potentially insta-kill things with HD equal to or less than half your CL when you crit them. Not nearly as good as vorpal, because it allows a fort save and only works on things that are wimpy enough you could probably just kill them outright anyway, but still cool.
The best part of it is actually the exotic weapon it adds, the poleaxe. It's a 1d10 axe, a 1d8 hammer, and a 1d6 spear all rolled into one. Slashing, bludgeoning, piercing. Can you say "Bye bye, damage reduction!"?
Oh,there's also an artifact in here that gives MAJOR bonuses but can only be worn by a frost giant or someone with frost giant blood. Cool, but of limited use.
Cudgel Thug: Not worth it. Caters towards panhandlers (the literal kind). Okay for an NPC, pretty lame for a PC. There are a couple of exotic clubs in the back, but they aren't worth it either. I'm not going to bother reviewing it further.
Halberdier: The author's favorite weapon, but it doesn't show quite as much as you'd expect it to. It's a pretty strong class, especially against those who are stupid enough to charge one, and it's nice for either a trip build or an AOO build, but it still doesn't quite have the pizazz that other weapons have. For example, it gives you the ability to threaten at 10ft and 5ft, but at 10ft your halberd only counts as a shortspear for damage... so it's still only the poor man's spiked chain.
Basically, the author wants to make everyone love the halberd as much as he does, but doesn't quite succeed. I do love how the peasant conscript sample character has a level of commoner, though.
Hoplite: Long on style, a wee bit short on substance. Like its historical counterpart, best at fighting in groups... something not easy to do in D&D. Its Dynamis and Skewer abilities are nice, really nice, but Dynamis doesn't last long enough and can't be used often enough, and Skewer essentially disarms you in the process of using it. Its capstone ability (sort of, it's the last new ability... the actual capstone is just a second daily use of Dynamis), Master Overrun, is a disappointment. It would've made a good feat, but as a class ability it seems lacking, particularly on the fourth level of a five-level class.
The weapon here isn't exotic, but rather an intelligent spear. One that likes hobgoblins. Interesting.
Peltast: It's a fairly nice class. Comes very close to actually making javelins worth using. Synergizes quite well with barbarian, making one of the few classes in the entire set that isn't completely fighter-focused. The problem for the peltast is a matter of ammunition... it's good with a javelin... and pretty much nothing else. The peltast will need a good stock of javelins in order to operate. Sure, they can be recovered, but still I'd never try this one without extradimensional storage. The better your party's magical weapons get, the farther the peltast will fall behind, because he won't be able to afford to properly enhance all of his javelins. Returning can help, but the only real solution to the problem would be levels in Bloodstorm Blade... and then you would start wondering why you weren't throwing a better weapon.
From a historical angle I want to love this class, but it's just not quitegood enough for me to truly recommend. If you want to go ranged with these supplements, go arbalestier.
Pikeman: If you ever wanted to use a reach build without relying on the spiked chain, this is the class you've been waiting for. Among other things it lets you sacrifice an AOO to backpedal in order to keep opponents from entering your five foot blind spot and gives you the ability to strike from fifteen feet away. Your other abilities aren’t very notable, but it does allow you to fully emulate the Macedonian phalangites by wearing a shield and using a two-handed pike simultaneously.
The class is alright by itself, but it really shines when combined with this installment's amazing exotic weapon, the sarissa. Based on the historically massive Macedonian pikes of the same name, it deals 1d10 damage and (if I read this correctly) threatens out to 15ft and can threaten and attack at 10ft with a -2 penalty. Backpedal would still keep enemies out of your 5ft ring of vulnerability, and the Massive Reach class ability (although by RAW it becomes useless) should by RAI give you the ability to attack opponents (but not to threaten) up to 20ft away. This weapon combined with this class (and enlarge person!) is the key to the ultimate reach build. Beg your DM for it. BEG. If he complains, tell him that it's the same weapon that let Alexander the Great conquer the world. If that doesn't make it badass, I don't know what will.
Shatterskull Adept: This one's a bit of a break from the norm, usable with both the heavy mace and the morningstar. And it's also a break from the norm in terms of power level. Most of these classes are best described as "a nice alternative to fighter levels," which frankly describes almost everything except warrior and commoner. This one has a single ability that gives it the potential to be even better than the arbalestier... Bone-Shattering Strike, aka the martial save-or-suck. Up to three times a day (once a day at first, working up to three times a day at fifth) you can target a specific body part (with no penalties to hit, surprisingly) and force a fort save. Depending on the part of the body you target, you can cause all sorts of beautifully nasty effects. True, this class is basically built to go nova with so few daily uses of the ability, but it's actually good enough you wouldn't want to allow it more often. If you were to... say... shatter the torso of a BBEG, the fight would essentially be over. Yes, the Shatterskull Adept can pretend he's as effective as a wizard for up to three brief shining moments a day. Awesome.
No exotic weapon here, by the way.
Conclusion: While it’s a bit of a mixed bag, I still like what I see. I’m already debating with myself about buying the next Mega-Bundle, and I probably will. It promises classes focused on fighting with spiked gauntlets (Spiked gauntlets! Can you believe it?), the sling (looks to be an arcane archer variant, of all things), the falchion, the quarterstaff (The cover pic appears to be a drow with a stick. Should be amusing, if nothing else.), the short sword (based on the Roman legionnaire, I fear this one will fall into the Hoplite category of mediocrity, but I’m going to buy it anyway because if it actually does what it says it does it could be awesome), the dagger (I don’t think the author has heard of the Invisible Blade PrC, because it sounds like he’s trying to do the same thing…), the shield (A mix of offensive and defensive skills, and only a three level PrC. Could potentially stack well with the pikeman’s ability to carry a shield, perhaps even obviating the need to constantly backpedal. If it does, then pikeman + sarissa + shieldbearer will officially become the best reach build ever.), and, finally, the ranseur, rounding out the D&D polearms.
Two classes have been published but not yet bundled, the Escrimeur, focusing on rapier combat (Oddly enough, it is apparently designed to replace, rather than synergize with, the swashbuckler. I don’t know for sure, but it should be interesting. It will probably also lead to me fruitlessly attempting to get my DM to approve it for use with my swashbuckling character.), and the Axe Reaver, focusing on… well, you know. I may not pick up the Axe Reaver (Crimson Cleaver covers greataxes quite well, and if you’ve already got the greataxe, why downsize?), but I’ll probably pick up the rest within 1d12 days, and if you’d like me to, I’ll review them as well.