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Adventurous Archetypes, Vol. 1 Pay What You Want
Average Rating:4.1 / 5
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Adventurous Archetypes, Vol. 1
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Adventurous Archetypes, Vol. 1
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by Grant B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 10/10/2019 07:01:50

This supplement is a little hit and miss. By and large the authours were guided more by the role-playing aspects of the game than the combat ones. I for one loved that, even if it does lead to some underpowered character builds.

But in the same supplment the authours went and designed the Circle of the Harvest Druid; a subclasses which steaks the extra spells of the Land Circle, the level 10 transformation of the Moon Circle and the Divine Smite of the Paladin. Now in my opinion, Druids are already OP, but this subclass is OP on steroids! Put one of these in your team and the DM has absolutely no chance. The Way of the Changing Tides monk is similarly overpowered, but only at level 17 when it gains an instakill ability. The rest of the build is nicely balanced and seems like fun. I suggest that a DM simply rebalance the final ability to thier tastes.

All in all, I think there is a lot of good ideas in this supplement, but no DM should allow one of their PCs to use the Circle of the Harvest Druid. That sublclass needs to be reserved for the odd high-level NPC and/or villian.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Adventurous Archetypes, Vol. 1
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by Zeke G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/15/2019 12:07:00

Fiona Elliott's Adventurous Archetypes, Vol. 1 is an interesting supplement that contains 12 new subclasses, each of which offers a fresh take on high fantasy tropes. Regardless of the previous reviews, I found the writing to be clear and succinct with each subclass taking up less than a page, and often associated with some nice art that breaks up the text and makes the document easier on the eyes. I think that most of the archetypes within this supplement are really fun and offer interesting opportunities for character creation. However, I do agree with the previous reviewers that several of the sub-classes seem overpowered with passive damage buffs or really powerful combinations of abilities. In particular, I would be wary to allow a player to use the Barbarian: Path of the Wildfire (though it is super dope and flavorful); Ranger: Storm Enclave (really evocative with great roleplaying opportunities, but also super powerful); and the Rogue: Pactkeeper (essentially a Warlock/Rogue hybrid class that grants some of the most powerful benefits for each class under a single subclass banner). My only other critique is a bit of a nitpick, but I'm hoping it is constructive criticism. Monk: Way of the Changing Tides has fun, waterbending flavor, but some of the mechanics seem a bit miscalculated. For example, while in water, "each ki point you spend on your Tidal Whips counts twice towards the benefits you gain" but the ki point use requirements are all odd numbers, which makes that benefit unintuitive and feel a bit wasteful.

Overall, this is a fun supplement that can definitely inspire some amazing character creation, but look carefully at the power level of the classes and talk to the DM before you use one of these sub-classes.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Adventurous Archetypes, Vol. 1
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by Cory L. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/21/2018 07:48:20

The content is original and interesting and while the writing isn't Hemingway, I'm not expecting it to be either. This is a great compendium for players, but I would make sure they run it by their GM first, as some of the options are slightly overpowered.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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Adventurous Archetypes, Vol. 1
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by Trenton A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/06/2016 20:47:24

Not the bet writing, but good enough to get the point across. Missing levels here and there for class features. My favorite like the other review was the druid. The survival of the fittet mindset was pretty cool. Some of the other classes seemed to lack. Like the Rogue, Barbarian, and Ranger archetype. Not to mention how overpowered Dragonheart is. Pretty much, gain proficiency in every saving throw; at level 10.

Overall, some cool concepts. Yet, some were classes being merged together. Intereting to say the least.

Happy Gaming, T.G.



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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Adventurous Archetypes, Vol. 1
Publisher: Dungeon Masters Guild
by Jonathan G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/15/2016 06:32:06

Overall thoughts: A product with some great ideas, but most of the options are unbalanced; missing information, and in need of revision and review. Writing is clearly amatuer, but (mostly) clear on what the author intends. Worth getting if you want a solid starting point for new archetypes, but are willing to put in the work to balance features/abilities.

Barbarian: Path of the Wildfire Overall, not bad, but not terribly impressive. "To Hot to Handle" is missing a level, and 3 damage is shockingly low (at the assumed level). Flavor-wise, this doesn't really feel very...Barbariany

Bard: College of Beasts A superior version of the Ranger animal companion, not much else

Cleric: Hunt Domain Overall, very neat. Fun flavor. The Channel Divinity feature "Killer Instinct" should probably specificy attacks only, otherwise spells like Blade Barrier. But definitely one of the better achetypes in this product

Druid: Circle of the Harvest Possibly my favorite archetype in this product. The Reaper Druid culling the living is a terrifying mental image, and this archetype fits it via both flavor and mechanics.

Fighter: Dragonblood Knight Ever wanted a fighter to have dragonborn abilities? Here you go. Mechanically, not extremely unbalanced, but you could also just play a dragonborn fighter and get most of these abilities already. Fills a very specific niche.

Monk: Way of the Changing Tides Cool Water monk, mostly balanced abilities, the "Stand With the Tide" ability needs clarification (and a level) on exactly how it works, but you could make a really neat Waterbender type. The ability "Drain Liquids" is visually neat, but the wording of this ability is a mess. No level, awkward phrasing of what to do with liquidless creatures, and strange addition of an aspect to prevent resurrection. Great concept, poor execution.

Paladin: Oath of Liberty Some of their abilities feel very weak when compared to other paladins. Prevention from being grappled/restrained doesn't feel nearly as useful when compared with other paladin auras. Channel Divinity choices are a lot of fun.

Ranger: Storm Chaser Many of the abilities are strangely specific. If weather isn't a significant factor in your game, most of these abilities will go unused.

Rogue: Pactkeeper A rogue with a few warlock invocations, and are good at hiding in shadows. Meh. The one really interesting ability, Shadows Embrace, isn't til 17th level (and should probably allow a saving throw)

Sorcerer: Succubus Bloodline Some neat things here. The bonus to interaction checks is a bit overkill. Otherthan that, the draining kiss and enthrall mind abilities are fun and flavorful (Enthrall mind should have a level listed, and specificy that only one creature at a time can be under the effect of Enthrall Mind)

Warlock: Ghost Patron Make a pact with a ghost, get ghost powers. Cool enough. The 14th level ability "Posession" has some realy fun implecations, but is not very clearly worded. Stylystically, it just doesn't seem to flow with the standard d&d method of writing

Wizard: School of Biomancy Ever wish your Wizard was a bit Druidy? The biggest things that concern me here are wizards with access to healing spells (traditionally a big no-no), and while the giant familiar is a neat idea, not certain how useful it would be in game. But still, I can see this class being fun.

Summary: If this was a version 0.5, I would be impressed. It needs some work, and some polish to really make some cool ideas shine. As-is; everything here will probably need tweaking before use in game



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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