QUICK HIT: Model of fantastic - if spartan - sourcebook for paladins. In the top three "classbooks" I've seen from any d20 Publisher, print or PDF. No, not "paladin classbooks", "Classbooks" - for ANY class.
Excellent book... one of the better ones I've seen to date. Don't let the plain text look fool you - the writing is superb. It lacks some of the artistic polish of other offerings here, but the content is A+ stuff.
This book contains several variant paladin core classes (20 levels' worth) to start you off - paladins who focus in healing or smiting evil or defending the innocent. Each is a slight tweak on the basic paladin class.
The prestige class selection is good - well-detailed and 5 levels apiece. Nearly every one is well thought-out in terms of both abilities and how it fits into a campaign. There are even a couple of classes for campaigns with firearms (not that I use firearms, but nice touch).
In addition you have sections detailing further Feats for your paladin - well thought-out, flavorful Feats, and new paladin spells are included as well.
The "Tests of Faith" section is also excellent - it provides a means for a paladin to "prove himself" to himself - or fail to do so - with appropriate bonuses (or penalties) if his faith is found to be true (or lacking). Also included is a section on expanding the paladin's Smite Evil ability - a wonderfully flavorful section. Abilities for armor and shields round out the selection of goodies with a few other extras thrown in.
All in all, a wonderfully comprehensive book on paladins - easily the best one I've seen to date (not that there are many). I was VERY pleased to find this little gem. If you are considering playing a paladin - or a DM looking for a way to differentiate Paladin Joe from Paladin Bob, I can't recommend this book highly enough. Best of all, I saw no glaring balance problems (granted, I haven't had time to playtest everything) in any of the material presented - a huge plus.
Even if you're not inclined to play a paladin, pick this up - you just might want to play one when you're done.
--Spencer "The Sigil" Cooley
|