Bards<\/h1>\n
I\u2019ve played a lot of Bards in my life, but it\u2019s more because I like the idea of Bards than because I like the Bard Class. Don\u2019t get me wrong: Bards have come a long way since the \u201cPrestige Class before there were Prestige Classes\u201d of First Edition, but the Class has never quite Fflewddured the old Fflam the way it should. Maybe 5th time\u2019s the charm.<\/p>\n
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- Each class entry starts off with 3 very brief descriptions of members of the class doing something and all three Bards sound like they\u2019re Hobomancers<\/a> tapping into the power of the Songlines. So good start.<\/li>\n
- Every time they use the phrase \u201cIn the worlds of D&D,\u201d (which happens a lot) I substitute \u201cIn the realm of Dungeons & Dragons.\u201d I\u2019m a traditionalist.<\/li>\n
- \u201cBards say that the multiverse was spoken into existence, that words of the gods gave it shape, and that echoes of these primordial Words of Creation still resound throughout the cosmos.\u201d Songlines.<\/li>\n
- \u201cOnly rarely do bards settle in one place for long, and their natural desire to travel\u2026\u201d Kinda like hobos?<\/li>\n
- The rules for Bards aren\u2019t all that different from 2nd and 3rd Edition, but the changes that have been made mostly seem good. The two Bard Colleges (Kit-like things) are basically Lore\/Politics Bard and Battle Bard.<\/li>\n
- Despite there not being any earth-shattering rules changes, I really like the conceptual changes, in particular the whole \u201cprimordial power of music\u201d thing. It really does make Bards sound a lot like Hobomancers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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<\/p>\nCleric<\/h1>\n
This entry opens with glowing elves. Nowhere to go but up, right?<\/p>\n
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- It\u2019s explicitly established here that there are priests who aren\u2019t clerics, but that\u2019s got to be a short-lived career in most cases. Being a priest without powers has to make you feel underappreciated and might even cause a crisis of faith. I\u2019ve got a feeling those guys move on to other things pretty quickly. I bet a lot of them even start worshipping enemy gods out of spite, kind of like how kids brought up in fundamentalist Christians homes become Wiccans or Buddhists or whatever in college. \u201cHey Paladine, remember how you wouldn\u2019t give me any spells? Well Takhisis gave me spells, a bunch of Llewellyn Press books, AND Nine Inch Nails tickets!\u201d<\/li>\n
- A 20th Level Cleric gets one divine intervention a week. That seems powerful.<\/li>\n
- Clerics choose a Divine Domain as the Kit-like thing. The domains (Knowledge, Life, Light, Nature, Tempest, Trickery, and War) are kind of a lightweight version of Specialty Priests from earlier editions. They give you some extra spells that are always available and a special powers as you gain levels.<\/li>\n
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<\/a>Psychometry!<\/li>\n- \u201cOnce on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a weapon attack\u2026\u201d is torturous phrasing. I think it\u2019s saying that the cleric can get the bonus on one attack per turn.<\/li>\n
- \u201cIn some pantheons, a god of this domain rules over other deities and is known for swift justice delivered by thunderbolts.\u201d That seems like an awfully specific general case.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Ok, that\u2019s 3 out of 12. So worst case, 3 more of these and we\u2019ll be into the chapters that I can probably cover in one post each. This review might very well be finished by the end of the year instead of the end of the universe. By the way, if you like dungeon-related stuff, check out Josh Burnett\u2019s new Dungeon Crawl Classics zine, Crepuscular<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Next Week: Druids On Parade!<\/p>\n
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