Close
Close
Advanced Search

Book of Exalted Deeds (3.5)Click to magnify
Quick Preview
/gs_flipbook/flip.php?xml=/demo_xml/25928.xml&w=500&h=330
Full‑size Preview
https://watermark.dmsguild.com/pdf_previews/25928-sample.pdf

Book of Exalted Deeds (3.5)

ADD TO WISHLIST >
Strike Down Evil with the Sword of Enlightenment
 
This source book for the D&D game is intended for mature audiences and provides players and Dungeon Masters with inspiring subject matter that will broaden any campaign. Included is a detailed look at the nature of Good and the complex challenges that face those who join the eternal struggle on the side of the moral and just. Along with exalted feats, prestige classes, and spells, the Book of Exalted Deeds also provides descriptions and statistics for a host of creatures and celestial paragons to ally with virtuous characters.
 
*****
 
Product History

When I think about the essence of heroism and D&D, I immdiately think of the classic illustration "A Paladin in Hell" in the 1st edition AD&D Player's Handbook. The lone paladin, even with glowing aura, might seem doomed facing off against a stream of fiends - but you know what? I always will put my money on the paladin.

The Book of Exalted Deeds (2003) is like a love letter to that image. It's inspired by the similarly "mature audiences only" Book of Vile Darkness penned by Monte Cook. Wizards of the Coast understandably wanted to present the other side of the coin, so they produced a sourcebook that holds up Good as something noble and heroic, something worth striving for. Why should the despicable villains get all the attention? Shouldn't those who sacrifice themselves to destroy evil also gain allies and tools with which to defeat evil? Heck, yes. And this book succeeds in providing these, pointing the game back towards its roots, where good was never (well, not usually) stupid.

Playing a Hero. The book begins by detailing what it means to be good in an imperfect world, with discussions of sin, law, chaos, and the meaning of exalted acts. Variant rules follow. Think you can qualify to become a saint? Want to exorcise demons, or martyr yourself, or accept a vow of pacifism, or cast aside wealth in exchange for spiritual benefits?
 
It seems foreign to the traditional "let's beat up monsters and steal their loot" of D&D, but these rules are a valuable addition to the game. You'll want to examine them closely before making sure they fit in your campaign, both from a thematic and balance basis, but they're a flavorful accompaniment that rewards heroes mechanically for a challenging roleplaying choice. (Then again, maybe a mechanical benefit for doing good deeds goes against the whole point of doing good deeds for the good of it. But hey, that's your call too.) Rules for sanctified weapons are also provided, along with nonlethal weapons and holy relics.
 
More interesting, perhaps, are the Exalted feats, which reward heroes who cleave to the cause of good, and whose benefit vanishes if the hero ever willingly commits an evil act. These feats are key for any player who wants to model a holy hero in the game. Picking one of these feats really means something - it's a symbol as much as a benefit, and the exalted nature of the feat means that the character is striving toward a particular role-playing challenge. Either way, these feats vary in power and effectiveness, and each needs explicit DM permission to use.

A Class unto Itself. Common wisdom dictates that the prestige classes in the Book of Exalted Deeds are the best part of the book. Over 20 prestige classes are presented, of which two are 3-level PrCs, one is a 5-level, and the remainder cover a full 10 levels. Several of these allow a character to gain more Exalted feats at the expense of a slower progression; some tie the heroes to a patron deity or other powerful celestial creatures. A hero can gain better access to exalted spells, in some cases, or amplify their magical weapons.
 
Overall, the prestige classes are a well-rounded and interesting lot, well balanced and fun to play. They are backed up by a host of new spells and spellcasting options. There are nine new domains that focus on good, a "good" spell descriptor, and certain prohibited schools. New exalted magic items also join the fray.

Exemplars of Heaven. Chapters 7 and 8 cover new monsters and celestial paragons. The paragons include Chaotic Good eladrin paragons of the Court of Stars and Neutral Good paragons of the Upper Planes. Named celestials have sample champions, and there are "saint" and "sanctified" templates included for both PCs and NPCs. New archons, non-evil undead, eladrin, guardinals, and even an "apocalypse frog swarm" fill out the list of new monsters. It's also nice to see that the aleax, the bariaur, and the moon dog are back from previous editions.

A Poisonous Rose by Any Other Name... The Book of Exalted Deeds reflects its dark counterpart, the Book of Vile Darkness, in organization as well as subject matter. In fact, I'll argue that the supplement's only real weakness is that it follows the pattern perhaps a little too closely: the rules may go a bit too far in making sure that every evil option has an opposite. Take poisons and diseases, for instance - their divine counterpart are named "ravages and afflictions." Changing their name doesn't change their nature, though, and let's face it: poison is poison. This bit of sophistry is about the only minor quibble in a fine and useful supplement.

Overall? This is an excellent book. If you have any interesting in playing holy or good heroes, it's well worth checking out. While written as a counterpoint to ineffable evil, Exalted Deeds ends up shining forth as a fun and worthwhile game supplement.

About the Creators. James Wyatt is a novelist and former minister who has worked at Wizards of the Coast since the year 2000, long after he began writing for Dungeon Magazine. Christopher Perkins joined WotC in 1997 as editor for Dungeon and is a 15-year veteran of Wizards of the Coast; he is also the most prolific adventure writer in Dungeon's history. Darrin Drader is an author and game designer with over 40 published works, from roleplaying games to articles to fiction.

About the Product Historian

History and commentary of this product was written by Kevin Kulp, game designer and admin of the independent D&D fansite ENWorld. Please feel free to email corrections, comments, and additions to kevin.kulp@gmail.com.

We (Wizards) recognize that some of the legacy content available on this website does not reflect the values of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.

pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
 
 Customers Who Bought this Title also Purchased
pixel_trans.gif
pixel_trans.gif
Reviews (0)
Discussions (1)
Customer avatar
brian M March 01, 2022 1:53 am UTC
We need this item to be Print on Demand.
Narrow Results
$ to $
 Follow Your Favorites!
NotificationsSign in to get custom notifications of new products!
 Recent History















Product Information
Gold seller
Artist(s)
Pages
194
ISBN
0-7869-3136-1
Publisher Stock #
880260000
File Size:
20.79 MB
Format
Original electronic Click for more information
Scanned image
These products were created by scanning an original printed edition. Most older books are in scanned image format because original digital layout files never existed or were no longer available from the publisher.

For PDF download editions, each page has been run through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to attempt to decipher the printed text. The result of this OCR process is placed invisibly behind the picture of each scanned page, to allow for text searching. However, any text in a given book set on a graphical background or in handwritten fonts would most likely not be picked up by the OCR software, and is therefore not searchable. Also, a few larger books may be resampled to fit into the system, and may not have this searchable text background.

For printed books, we have performed high-resolution scans of an original hardcopy of the book. We essentially digitally re-master the book. Unfortunately, the resulting quality of these books is not as high. It's the problem of making a copy of a copy. The text is fine for reading, but illustration work starts to run dark, pixellating and/or losing shades of grey. Moiré patterns may develop in photos. We mark clearly which print titles come from scanned image books so that you can make an informed purchase decision about the quality of what you will receive.
pixel_trans.gif
Original electronic format
These ebooks were created from the original electronic layout files, and therefore are fully text searchable. Also, their file size tends to be smaller than scanned image books. Most newer books are in the original electronic format. Both download and print editions of such books should be high quality.
File Information
Watermarked PDF Click for more information
Watermarked PDF

These PDF files are digitally watermarked to signify that you are the owner. A small message is added to the bottom of each page of the PDF containing your name and the order number of your purchase.

Warning: If any files bearing your information are found being distributed illegally, then your account will be suspended and legal action may be taken against you.

Here is a sample of a page from a watermarked title:

File Last Updated:
July 29, 2013
This title was added to our catalog on July 30, 2013.