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Title: Oriental Adventures (Dungeons & Dragons Supplement) by James Wyatt ISBN: 0-7869-2015-7 Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Pub. Date: October, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.95 (38 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Whole New World, A Whole New Challege
Comment: Did you know that the tanar'ri aren't the only demon race there is? Ever wonder what makes a samuri's katana better than your old longsword? And what use does a D&D character have for skill in origami?
All these questions and more will be answered when you delve into the magical world of Rokugan, a place where honor can be more vital than life. Not only must you choose a character class - with new character classes to choose from - but you must choose where your loyalty lies. Do you belong to the steadfast Crab Clan? The elegant Dragon Clan? Maybe the stealthy Scorpion Clan is more to your liking.
Of course, you'll still be fighting monsters, saving princesses, and uncovering priceless magical items and secrets...
But its a cool way to do it.
Rating: 4
Summary: A great addition, but not perfect
Comment: Ok, first off I am a huge fan of asian culture and history, and because I loved the original Oriental adventures so much I was particularly anxious for this updated book. I gave the book 4 stars but if I could I would have given it 3 1/2 but the rating method won't allow it. Overall it translated over well from 1st to 3rd addition, but they added the Rokugan aspect to it rather than Kara-Tur, which changed things a bit. Although I wasn't familiar with the Rokugan card game which this was based off of, I actually feel this adds some very interesting elements to the world. You can be from different clans, and each clan has their own ways of fighting or acting toward the world in general, so this can add another layer to your characters personality. Most of the classes are very cool, but as one of the previous reviewers said there is some overlapping of classes, but its not a huge issue for me at least. I particularly like Wu-Jens and Shugenjas(now Shamans)because they have some very unique and interesting new spells.
The one thing that fell short in the 3rd ed rules was the martial arts system. This is partially because characters no longer have a certain amount of proficiencies at first level and gain one ever couple levels, like in the 2nd edition rules. That made martial arts advancement very smooth I thought. Now, because characters start(or can take a feat) with broad proficiencies in weopon groups, you don't have "proficiencies" to use at first level, although you do get "feats" as you go up levels which can be spent on martial arts feats, but because you don't have those proficiency slots initially, learning martial arts can take longer than maybe it should. Also, some classes don't even get the ability to gain martial arts feats, which I think is odd. In addition, some classes like "sohei" DO get feats as they go up levels, but the feats are chosen for you and you don't get the option for others. Monks and Samurai are really the only two that have that freedom, but I think any class should have the option, so in that respect I like the 2nd ed "proficiency slot" idea better for martial arts. I think I will just keep that part of it and mesh the two together. One last note, they do have some very cool new martial arts feats in here, and some new ways of handling combat which I think makes the feats a little more valuable than in the 1st addition.
Overall a good book, but just fell a bit short of what I was expecting. However, its shortcomings can easily be changed by the DM to fit better into his/her campaign so I gave it 4 stars.
Rating: 5
Summary: Really Good Asian Flavor
Comment: I've been a fan of oriental milieus for role-playing for a long time. I've played various incarnations of 'Bushido', which I keep for source material, and the 'Legend of The Five Rings' is prominent on my bookshelf.
I may not need them anymore.... I have Oriental Adventures now.
First off, the artwork and presentation are on a par with the Forgotten Realms Sourcebook. Yep, it's just that good. Most games that try to add an Asian flavor just try to tweak the ordinary fighter/wizard/cleric/thief classes a little and call them something else, like samurai or ninja. Worse, they make the Asian PC's virtually unstoppable against those poor elven and dwarven sods in Western games. Not historically accurate, or really that broadening to play. The samurai and other classes are very well fleshed out. Love the rules on augmenting a family katana, too; it makes good sense how they do it, and makes it unnecessary for the DM to alter his treasure tables if he has one samurai character in a party.
The history section is interesting, and based on L5R, but I'm more interested in historical Japanese and Hindu milieus. That said, the section on weapons is very good, and doesn't have just one or two weapons. The special rules on the sodegarami and the sai really capture the reason for the weapons. Some nasty Chinese weapons make the cut, too. (So to speak....)
The spell lists are great (although I have a certain fondness for Bushido's "Stench of Kim-Chi" spell), and very Asian in their flavor and execution. This way, a wu-jen isn't just a standard D&D wizard with a couple of odd characteristics and different names for his spells.
The feats and prestige classes are uniformly well balanced and interestingly presented. The monk classes, like the Tattoed Monk, are inspired, and fit the flavor well. As a GM, I didn't see anything in them that warranted disapproval, or (*gasp!*) being banned from the games I run. All in all, very well thought out.
The extra races are a treat, too, and, like the rest of the book, very well balanced, and they fit well within Asian areas of concentration. I especially like the Vanara.
All told, an excellent supplement, and well worth the dollars I laid down for it.
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Title: Player's Handbook: Core Rulebook I (Dungeons & Dragons, Edition 3.5) ISBN: 0786928867 Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Pub. Date: 18 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: The Draconomicon (Dungeons & Dragons) by Andy Collins, James Wyatt, Skip Williams ISBN: 0786928840 Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Pub. Date: 14 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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Title: Complete Warrior (Dungeons & Dragons Accessory) by Andy Collins, David Noonan, Ed Stark ISBN: 0786928808 Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Pub. Date: 03 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title: Dungeon Master's Guide: Core Rulebook II (Dungeon & Dragons, Edition 3.5) ISBN: 0786928891 Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Pub. Date: 18 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Book of Exalted Deeds (Dungeons & Dragons Supplement) by James Wyatt, Darrin Drader, Christopher Perkins ISBN: 0786931361 Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Pub. Date: 29 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $32.95 |
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