Ring Side Report- RPG Review of Elemental Evil Player’s Companion

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Product– Elemental Evil Player’s Companion

System– Dungeons and Dragons

Producer– Wizards of the Coast

Price– $FREE!  here http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/145542/Elemental-Evil-Players-Companion-5e

TL; DR– If this is what WotC’s future looks like, I’m on board! 93%

Basics– Horrors of the elemental apocalypse are upon us!  It’s time for new heroes to rise!  This book provides new player options including new races like the deep gnomes and the genasi.  This book also proves a surprising number of spells for almost all the classes except for clerics

Mechanics or Crunch–   Honestly, it’s good to get ANYTHING from the currently quite WotC.  The new races are all well done.  These races are not anything new for the system, but they are new to the current rules set. The spells all look great, and they add some new diversity to the ones from the core set.  It’s just good to get some more!  The one problem I do have is the exclusion of clerics from the rules.  What here is good, but he absence of some things are noticed. 4.75/5

Theme or Fluff- This does have some fluff to it.  Each race has a write up that adds some impressive diversity to the races in the Forgotten Realms.  Again, these write-ups are not anything new as the races are all old favorites from at least fourth edition, but it’s good to hear what these races have been up to since fourth edition DnD ended.  The spells all have some great elemental flavor.  What I did want that wasn’t here was some bonds to draw characters in as well as some background on the adventure.  My players all loved this new book, but the current season doesn’t have that much background to front load the adventure like the Paizo Player’s Companion books for their adventure paths.  I love what I’m reading, but I’d like a bit more to bring the playing in. 4.25/5

 

Execution– I’m really digging the new layout for the DnD books.  This book feels like an RPG, but it also feels fresh.  Sure it’s a short book, but getting this much content from another company would cost you $5 from Monte Cook games, and Paizo doesn’t even offer this much content in their free player adventure path companion books!  The font is good, the spacing is great, and the art is fantastic.  There is only one piece of art that I know has been reused, so that’s even more top marks for WotC, who has notoriously reused art in the past.  If you can keep this up, I’ll buy more player books when they happen! 5/5

Summary– This isn’t perfect, but it is amazing. And, it’s FREE!  I’m really surprised that this book is free.  It’s got an impressive amount in it for the first really player expansion out there.  I know that we, the player base, can’t expect to get free books forever, but if this is the treatment I’m going to get for all of the adventure seasons, I’ll be happy.  I would like more, but for the price and the content, I’m thrilled! 93%

Daily Punch 3-19-15 Genasi Focus feat for DnD 5e

The Deep Gnomes get a feat, but the other races don’t from the Elemental Evil Player Companion?!  Let’s fix this problem!

Genasi Focus

Prerequisite: Genasi

You are a paragon of your race.  A person truely chosen by the elements!  Gain the following benefits:

  • Increase to the same elemental specific statistic you normality gain a bonus from at character generation by one.  As an example a Air Ganasi would gain a +1 bonus to dexterity.
  • The elemental specific spells you gain at character generation now can be reused after a short rest instead of a long rest.

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 3-18-15 Armored Flight feat for DnD 5e

With people flying around, someone is going to want to fly in some armor.  let’s make that happen!

Armored Flight

Prerequisite:  The ability to naturally fly with wings

You have worked hard to strengthen your wings to carry even the heaviest of loads.  Gain the following benefits:

  • Increase your strength or constitution by 1 to a maximum of 20.
  • You may now fly with any armor you are proficient with.

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 3-17-15 Flight Mutation for DnD 5e

The Aarokacra can fly!  Devils and dragons have wings too.  Could a tiefling or a dragonborn get wings?  Maybe…with a feat

Flight Mutation

Prerequisite: Dragonborn or tiefling

Deep in your family history are flying beings, and you’re lucky enough to gain that too.  You gain wings that allow you a flying speed of 50 and to hover.  You have to spend an extra 25% of any armor or clothing’s cost to modify the armor or clothing to fit you.  This is not true for magic items as they resize for you.  You may not fly with heavy or medium armor.

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 3-13-15 Hold Your Ground Feat for DnD 5e

You can charge and do damage.  What if you could stand tall and hold a position?

Hold Your Ground

You are a wall!  You don’t move the fastest, but you no one moves you or around you.  Gain the following benefits:

  • Gain +1 to your strength or constitution to a maximum of 20.
  • Gain advantage on any saving throw that would move you.
  • When you don’t move for a turn, gain a +1 bonus to your AC and any attack you make.
  • When a creature moves to engage you in melee, as a reaction you may make an attack against that creature.

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 3-12-15 Bow Expert feat for DnD 5e

How about some feat for DnD 5e.  If there is a crossbow feat for DnD 5e, then let’s make a longbow/short bow feat for DnD 5e!

Bow Expert

Your skill and speed with the longer bows makes you a formidable foe.  Gain the following benefits:

  • Increase the damage dice for any longbow or shortbow you you by one step.  As an example a d6 weapon would instead deal a d8.
  • As a bonus action each round, you can shoot one additional arrow with a longbow or a shortbow.
  • As a reaction each round, you can make an attack with a shortbow or longbow when an enemy moves into its melee range and engages you for the first time.  This one attack does not suffer disadvantage.

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 2-24-15 Knowledge is Power feat for DnD 5e

I’ve been thinking about how to combine skills in DnD 5e.  Here’s a feat that does some of what I’d like to add to the system.

 

Knowledge is Power

You’re good at talking to people, but better when you’ve got some knowledge of what your talking about.  Gain the following benefits:

  • Increase your intelligence or wisdom by +1 to a maximum of 20.
  • When you make a Charisma(persuasion), Charisma(deception), or Charisma(intimidate) check and have proficiency in a relevant skill, you may double your proficiency bonus for that check if you include information from that knowledge in your check.  In the case of expertise, you triple your proficiency bonus, not quadruple.

Daily Punch 2-23-14 Reactive Stealth feat for Dnd 5e

Sorry for being away for a bit there.  Something has to pay for my board game addiction, and sometimes that my actually job.  Let’s hop back into this with a feat I feel most of my players want in DnD 5e!

 

 

Reactive Stealth

You’re a master of stealth.  Even when you do badly, it’s almost impossibly to fail.  Gain the following benefits:

  • Increase your dexterity by 1 to a maximum of 20.
  • When you roll a stealth check and fail, you may take a -5 penalty and reroll.  You  must accept the result of this second roll.