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Elemental Powers Sourcebook: The Definitive Guide to the Elemental Lands World
By C. Kendrick Dunham published by Dunham Studios. It is a D20 fantasy sourcebook for the 3rd edition of the game, so it will require minor adaption to the 3.5 version of the rules. The sourcebook is quite large (138 pages), with a distinctive full color cover and a fairly readable two column layout with a smaller font size packing in a lot of information, the parchment background might make printing difficult however. A fair amount of art is scattered through the product, all of it thematic and some of it quite good.
There is a look of information packed into this sourcebook, from the history of the world to religion, new cultures and races to new forms of magic. It builds upon the earlier Elemental Powers sourcebooks but is essentially usable by itself.
The product begins with a very complete table of contents. Following is an introduction to the setting including a history of the world. Then how player character fit into the setting, along with new and optional rules that effect character generation. Other useful information such as the calendar, taxation and religions follow. The religions section is extensive covering the many gods of the setting in minimal, but sufficient, detail.
Twenty-nine new races and sub-races are introduced, ranging from variants of elves and dwarves to Doplegs (half-doppleganger), Flyers (lizard-folk who have mastered flying ships) and Telosians (descendants of incubi-human matings). A wide variety of options, though many of the races have odd (as in +/- 1, 3, 5) ability modifiers, which has a potential for abuse and several of the races also have Level Adjustments. Scattered through the races are new items, a clerical domain and other bits and pieces that relate to them. Quite an interesting selection of beings though many could have been further detailed as far as culture and how they act.
A few variations on the core classes are provided along with seventeen Prestige Classes. Many of whom are tied to the elements (and the Elementalist feat, which in not introduced until the next section) and thus have four sub-versions (the Elemental Warrior is the framework from which the Air Warrior, Fire Warrior, and so on is built for example). The base attack and save progressions of several of the prestige classes are non-standard which could be troublesome. Two of the classes (Dark Goth -an evil bard- and Destroyer Witch) are tagged as NPC-recommended, presumably as they are both evil classes. Most of these classes are very tightly tied to the Elemental Lands setting and would take some effort to convert.
Then we come to feats, lots of feats, many of which key off of the Elementalist feat which allows the character to access the power of one of the four elements (and, naturally, is an important part of the setting). Other feats are linked to the various deities of the setting. A wealth of material, but again, very tied to the setting.
Following feats are spells and magic, as one would expect, there are a considerable number of new elemental spells here most liked to the Elementalist feat. But for any campaign that uses elementals, there is much here that can be easily adapted.
There is then a miscellany of things for the setting, new weapons (including firearms), parasites and diseases, and new creatures and templates. The creatures range from new dire animals to new demons, undead to abominations, a little bit of everything. Lastly, a few example NPCs end the product.
The Elemental Powers Sourcebook is packed with information and ideas, the organization is a bit strange at times but it is usually easy to find what you want with the extensive table of contents. However, the rules and setting are very intertwined making adaption of the material for other campaigns some work, but for those interested in the setting or in a world that makes extensive use of the elements, there is much here.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>
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