I'm a big fan of Monte's Arcana Unearthed/Evolved system, and how he manages to make a variety of small but simple tweaks to D&D3 to give a far more satisfying game.
So naturally I was interested in what he had to say here, and at the price it is well worth a look.
The specifics are covered in other reviews here, some (such as 20 spell levels) are ideas that, according to the Design Diaries on his website, Monte has been pursuing since being part of the 3rd Ed design team. Most of the elements are designed to stop the 'fight/rest/fight/rest' cycle of standard D&D by making resources more resilient. This is kind of the goal of 4th Ed., but I think Monte cocks a snook at the new edition by getting there first with a simple little inexpensive add-on that doesn't require a massive upheaval from the past ten years of gaming.
I've started using the Grace/Health system in my latest game, and it really helps remove that pathetic fragility of 1st level characters without in any way making them uber-gods. And it means as a DM you can treat them to more original opponents than dire rats and kobolds.
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] |