There
are a few minor things that kind of annoyed me. They seemed to double down on
the Drow, adding more material for them and yet not developing anything further
for other fantasy races you can play in the core. So it’s no surprises that I
didn’t like that. They had a half dragon template which I felt was redundant
all things considered (with the Dragonborn and all). And there is still no sign
of the Aasamir. I’m curious if they have plans for a book of new PC races and that’s
what they are being saved for.
The
book also kinda left me feeling like the intent for Wizards of the Coast was to
bled GM’s dry. When it makes mentions of building an encounter the book
recommends you either get the DMG or the starter kit. While I wasn’t expecting
a deep conversation on building encounters I think some general notes for new
GM’s would have been appreciated. They also save making adjustments to
challenge ratings for the DMG leaving new GM’s and even old ones not confident
with the system having to buy another book and wait yet another month before
they can really build a campaign on their own. Given that this game has been
out since August I think stretching it all out till Nov is a bit ludicrous.
Still
it’s not a bad book. It’s definitely a book you should get if you’re committing
to the 5th Edition game. I was rather surprised when they add a few
psionic races to the book. They didn’t add psionics but they did make notations
that for now psionic creature abilities are like magic abilities just with no
components. Psionics being one of my favorite things I was amused to see them
crop up this earlier into the new edition. Each monster has a wonderful
illustration to go with it. I think Wizards of the Coast sunk a lot of money
into their art budget and it shows.
So
overall a 4 out of 5 possible fro’s :P. The book has strong production quality,
is beautiful and is something every GM will make use of. Now to return to Destiny and Edge of Empire (I’ve
recently decided to take a look at the new iteration of Star Wars).
