The aim of this giant resource (352 pages in PDF file, with the last page being the Open Gaming License) is to help dungeon masters make their games more realistic or provide fodder for interesting cultural accents that can be applied to a campaign world. The entire content of the book is focused on the wide variety of weapons, armor, and shields available at one time in different cultures; and on their development over the course of history. If you identify the culture and period of time that your campaign is set in, this product will help you along to imagine what weapons to use, what materials it might be made out of, and a potential prestige class or two. Even if you have never considered bringing this level of depth to your campaigns, you may find that this tour through history interests you none the less.
To provide some guidance on the content I will divide my comments by chapter. The discussion of the earlier chapters will contain slightly more detail so that you can get a feel for the flavor of the text before reviewing the mostly shorter summaries that follow.
Sticks and Stones
Appropriately, ?Stone to Steel? begins with sticks and stones, the most basic of weaponry. (Remember, they can ?break my bones? even if the words, spoken by a non spellcaster, do no damage!) It covers what one might call technology, resources, and strategies for this initial period of time. For some reason, this chapter also includes general information about war and infection. The text tries to tie it to a discussion of the possibility of large scale conflict during this time period, but it still seems out of place in this chapter. Specific advancements that were particular to six different cultural entities (one if which is an ad hoc ?other? group) are then discussed. Mixed into the descriptions of weapons can be found two prestige classes based on Aztec culture. Both of them are melee focused, though one is more stealthy. Finally, this chapter ends by identifying some of the developments that led to the advancement of human society, such as particular materials, strategic tactics, and the first stage of using metals. This final section leads inevitably to the discussion in the second chapter.
Before moving to the next chapter a (nearly completely two page) table can be found listing the ?stone age? weapons discussed earlier in the chapter. This is immediately followed by a similar table for the ?stone age? armor. These tables appear following each chapter except the final two chapters.
Chariots of Bronze
As befits a chapter with chariots in the title, this chapter begins with the domestication of animals and the ride skill. That discussion is followed by a section on copper and bronze. Five different regional discussions and one discussion of chariots rounds out this chapter. The chariot discussion provides interesting mechanics for everything from the impact of chariot riders on the speed of the chariot to crashes. In addition, there is a charioteer prestige class and six new charioteer based feats.
Iron and Empire
There is a minor error in the table of contents for this third chapter (the iron heading appears twice). The chapter begins with a discussion of iron, followed by steel. The advances and quirks, of course including arms, of six different cultures are then described and discussed in the remainder of the chapter. These advances include an upgrade of chariots, which establishes that the author took that extra step to provide a complete product.
Rome
This chapter begins with the Roman monarch and follows the development of the Roman Empire. The Roman legionnaire is presented as a prestige class and a new knowledge skill subset concerning the construction of military defensive and offensive devices. A prestige class is described based on German cavalry. The chapter also includes a discussion of gladiators, including presenting them as a prestige class, and the variety of animals involved in gladitorial contests.
The Far East
This chapter contains a discussion of seven different cultures and contains a section discussing other important cultural contributors. There are an additional six sections of this chapter that explore in depth particular periods of time and provides information that helps a dungeon master bring those periods of time alive in a far eastern campaign. (Such as the Wudan Movement of China.) In addition, interesting combat options are discussed; such as a new combat maneuver called ?Sword Breaking?, the use of tassels on weapons, and a new feat called ?Improvised Weapon Training?. A prestige class based on horsemanship is presented which focuses on melee combat from horseback. This class looks very exciting to play and quite powerful in an appropriate campaign. An adventurer cult/gang prestige class is also presented which focuses on a steady progression in weapon proficiency/focus/specialization (with options for the player). In addition, you will find six new martial techniques available to class members. The discussion of Japan contains a ninja prestige class which uses a similar mechanic to the adventurer class that allows the player to make some choices during advancement. In addition, there are 11 ninja abilities to choose from. Of course, having discussed Japan, there was no choice but to present a samurai based prestige class, which also allows for player choices during character advancement. Finally, it should not go unnoted that the weapons and armor tables at the end of this chapter require a full eight pages.
A Dark Age, A Golden Age
This chapter contains sections on both Christianity, Islam (two sections), and the Crusades. In addition, there is a discussion on the ?barbarian? European factions after the fall of Rome, the British Isles and Arthur, and the Vikings. A short discussion of sieges is included which is just enough to get you thinking about the uses of a siege without getting sidetracked from the main point of individual weapons, armor, and tactics that ?Stone to Steel? focused on so well. An interesting new mechanic for the use of flails is presented in this chapter. It complicates combat with a flail and makes them more difficult to use, but also allows the dedicated combatant to overcome these penalties by additional training as reflected in the selection of weapon proficiency feats.
Pagentry, Platemail, and Pistols
The six sections of this chapter cover a wide range of considerations in combat and uses 14th - 17th century England and Europe as the focus. Interesting discussions of vassalage, serfdom, and peasantry can all be found in this chapter to help dungeon masters bring these economic systems to life in their campaigns. An optional variant rule concerning the benefits of different styles of helmets/helms is presented among the discussion of the developments in armor during this period of time. An NPC class for commoners proficient with archery is presented and discussed. A variety of firearms are presented and there are four new relevant feats. The chapter includes an Ottoman Empire based warrior prestige class. This class contains a mechanic for using tactic ?points? available to be used during combat for particular outcomes. A prestige class for those warriors that want to focus on one on one combat is available in this chapter, and includes seven new feats. In addition, a new ?Fencing? skill is presented. The weapons and armor tables that follow this chapter require seven pages.
Myth and Magic
This chapter provides new magical weapon and armor special abilities. It then, listed by region, includes information on a number of mythical magical items (except for one item that is listed independently rather than by region). The chapter begins with a section on ?divine? items and eight new special divine properties that any divine item may have. Unfortunately, this section contains a dreaded, ?refer to Size Chart on page ???? reference. Following the divine properties, comes a section devoted to identifying the fifteen new magical item abilities for either weapons or armor. The list of magical items are derived from the following regions; America (5 items), Australia (2 items), Sub-Sahara Africa (2 items), Egypt (6 items), Asia (6 items), India (4 items), Japan (1 items), Mesopotamia (2 related items), Tuetonic/Nordic-Europe (6 items), Celtic-Europe (4 items), Rome (2 items), Greece (14 items), and Medieval (3 items). Next, the chapter contains a list of historical racial items for elves, dwarves, and briefly discusses a variety of ?other? races. Finally, the chapter provides descriptions for seven new spells.
Materials
This chapter begins with a general discussion of a variety of mechanics that are impacted by an understanding of the materials used in item creation; such as item damage, deterioration, and calculation of the break DC of an item. The chapter then proceeds to a section which describes the properties an item receives based on what material it has been crafted out of. The section specifically discusses thirteen materials; including among others four different metals, dragon parts, and ice. The next section discusses the maintenance and repair of items. Finally, the chapter ends with a discussion of how to generate stats for an item, and provides tables for weight, hit points, and hardness.
Appendix
The appendix discusses weapon size and damage, suggests optional mechanics for providing a more realistic combat experience, and contains a glossary of terms and bibliography. The optional mechanics range from a damage resistance armor system to an alternate fatigue system. The appendix close with a weapon and armor listing of the traditional d20 weapons and armors.
Master Tables
The thirteen ?Master Tables? that follow the appendix collect all of the new material presented in this book. Each of the thirteen tables corresponds to a category of weapon or armor. For example, a table for ?simple melee weapons?, another for ?exotic weapons - ranged?, and another for ?shields and accessories?.
All in all this is an excellent product. It is thorough and well presented. It provides information on an area that few are inclined to independently research. Of course, after using this as a primer you may find yourself using the bibliography to do additional reading. At the very least, you may wonder why did you not enjoy history more in college or high school! No matter what, you will likely find it influencing your campaign elements in ways small and large.
To rousing gaming and ample rewards,
I. Perez<br><br><b>LIKED</b>:
- Plenty of content.
- Organized.
- Variety in cultural elements used which enhances usefulness to greater number of campaigns.
- Stays focused on its purpose.
- Attacks the sterility of generic campaign settings.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>:
- While this is far from a serious problem, I would have loved some additional classes (prestige or otherwise) that were based in some of the time periods and cultures.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Excellent<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Very Satisfied<br>
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