Advanced Player's Guide comments

First off, I'd like to start with the optional rules towards the end of the book--they're phenomenal. I'd like to petition Mart here to implement all three new rule subsytems. The extra combat maneuvers add a great deal of depth and options to the combat arena. My favorite is the dirty trick, which includes the time-honored tradition of throwing sand into your opponent's eyes. These combat maneuvers give us a rule system for many of the various actions other than swinging a sword or casting a spell, a rule system that I feel was very much needed.

The Hero Points system rocks, plain and simple. This is a great way for PCs to get rewarded with a point system that is actually usable, unlike experience points. As I read this section, I first thought this was really overpowered. However, the balance of power comes with this line: "The GM is the final arbiter on the award and use of hero points." This makes the system balanced because the GM has total control over it. And, the "cheat death" option is awesome for any PC of Pete's, lol!

Lastly, the character traits are a system that I worked with in the rpg Deadlands, and it's something that I really like. First it's player-optional, so one PC could use them and another doesn't. These traits could help a player flesh out a character and create a backstory that ties into the game. As I found with Deadlands, the balance with traits is that each trait must have a potential negative consequence, as ruled by the DM. For example, this book lists Birthmark as a faith trait. You're essentially born with a mark that looks like your deity's holy symbol, and therefore can use your birthmark as such. As a DM, I would rule that the birthmark then had to be obvious and overt, just like a holy symbol worn by a cleric. Therefore, it couldn't be hidden and you'd be much easier to identify--especially by your enemies.

Overall, these new rules are pretty awesome. I think they did a great job with these.

I have no problem with the additional combat maneuvers. They're balanced and cover a lot of things that would fall under the "Miscellaneous" column of things to do in combat. You have my approval to use those. I'm not going to be using the other 2 optional rules though. At least not for the current campaign. There's only one session left, and those 2 rules are things that should be taken into account at character creation. You should be petitioning Dave.

Dave! What do you say bud?

Thus far I think this is a great book, sub-domains are clever idea, and the Summoner class looks awesome. I didn't get to the end of it yet and look at these optional rules yet but will as soon as I'm done posting here.