Epic Level Handbook: Dungeons & Dragons Rulebook (D&D Rules Expansion) [ハードカバー]

Well, put down the inkwell, Hrothgar, a 200 foot tall spider just ate half the city.

The Epic Level Handbook opens up a universe of possibilities for established heroes, and gives Dungeon Masters rules they can run with. Six chapters of pure brain candy, plus three crunchy Appendices to wash them down. Oh, this is the book your high level characters have been waiting for...

The book starts off with the character progression rules and Epic Prestige classes. The rules are straightforward, clean, and thoroughly explained. Full marks to the "Behind the Curtain" segments in this chapter - explaining the whys behind the rules is very important when your telling a 21st level barbarian why his base attack bonus will never increase again. Epic versions of the standard classes are provided (ho-hum), but new prestige classes (like the Agent Retriever) are also provided. These new additions provide not only new paths, but (more importantly) examples on how to make your own prestige classes. Custom classes can define campaign worlds as well as campaigns - and the tools provided here are the building blocks of anything you could want. I'll just mention one of the many Epic Feats: Permanent Emanation (make an emanation spell of yours permanent...ah the possibilities...).

The chapter on epic spells provides the rules for creating magic that does things that Archmages would sell their quasit for. Epic spells cost mucho dinero to research, have Spellcraft DCs beyond the reach of mortals, and serious XP costs. Are they worth it? You betcha. Stuff like, oh I don't know...Permanent spell reflection, summon ten adult red dragons to attack your foes, you get the idea. They even give you the spell to make demi-planes of existence...I mean, how cool is that? Better still, the chapter details seed spells, which are the ingredients in a "build-your-own-spell-buffet." Don't like the epic spells in the book? Well, make yer own, smart guy.

The book comes into its own with chapter three: how to run high-level campaigns. Having the rules and the tools is one thing, but knowing good ways to use them is quite another. The best concept in the world can be ruined if the DM isn't prepared for the radical differences high levels make in game play. A whole section is devoted to advising the DM about coping with the various divination spells that WILL be used in an epic campaign. Given that a high-level adventure can tank because of a single oversight by the DM, this section is manna from above. Other sections in this chapter detail problems specific to high level campaigns ("Managing Wealth," "Handling Wish," and "Dealing with Time Stop") and provide well thought out options to economize on dice rolling. Alternate rules for dealing with natural 1s and 20s in combat, as well as tailoring the "Massive Damage" rule for epic campaigns are intelligently presented and well explained. Thespians may balk at the blunt language of this chapter, but game balance is all about rules and numbers - and the WoTC folks have written this chapter with an honest appraisal of the issues that will affect your campaign.

Finally, the book is stuffed with the things that epic world are made of: New magic items of world shattering power; Non-Player Characters who can level cities with a harsh thought; and monsters whose mere presence can make Odin die of fear. (Ok, maybe not Odin...but they're pretty awful). Consider the Dragon, Advanced: AC of 70 Damage resistance of 35/+6, oh and their bite attack is at +77; did I mention that isn't even the BAD one? The Epic Dragons are much, much worse... (oh and that giant spider, I wasn't kidding - Poison save of 94 and 2d12 CON damage, twice...*shudder*).The monsters, spells and toys are all nice, but the best things about this book are the game mechanics. With these rules, you can take your players into levels that were unheard of before, and the rules can create challenges that will keep it interesting for everyone.

If you're interested in playing your character beyond level 20, these rules will more than keep pace with you. Hat's off to Mr. Collins, Mr. Cordell, and Wizards of the Coast.
A marvelous capstone to the core rules. I for one, can't wait to put it to use.

Uh lessee here... Uvuudaum, Large Outsider CR 27....hmmm

This sourcebook, a mammoth tome if there ever was one, is all about D&D characters after 20th level. It includes character information, new magic, new items, advice on running epic-level games, new monsters, and a new campaign setting designed for epic-level play.

The heart of the book is the character section, detailing all sorts of options for people to try after 20th level. They've looked at classes, core *and* prestige (from DMG), and tried to find patterns to extrapolate from. Those that don't have easily extrapolable abilities get more feats than those that do. It does seem that they try to ignore some things...rogues, for example, get no more special abilities, though that's clearly a pattern starting at 10th level. They also include suggestions on how to advance other prestige classes not in the DMG.

Next, we have epic skills and feats. Well, the epic skill section is a list of new possible checks to make, such as the Balance DC-120 check to walk on a cloud. The epic feats are a mixed bag; some are really cool, others aren't. They do tend to assume that people play in a certain pattern...for example, druids are assumed to focus on shapeshifting, and clerics to focus on positive/negative energy channeling. It's written conservatively, with suggestions that if you want to change something, do so.

Next, we have epic spells and magic items. Epic spells require research and experience to create, and a Spellcraft roll to cast, but are often worth it...like Nailed to the Sky, which puts the target in orbit, or Contingent Resurrection, which resurrects the target if s/he dies. Epic magic items are also interesting; most of the wondrous items and weapons are extrapolations from previous items (i.e. gloves of +12 Str), but the rods and staves are very creative. There are also a few new artifacts, most of which are actually reprints. Interestingly, arcane casters can make items more easily than divine, which may or may not be intended.

Now, the most fun part of the book...monsters! After all, your epic-level character needs something to fight that isn't another character, right? So, now we have official 3e stats for things like the Demilich, the Winter Wight, and the Blackball (aka a high-speed, homing, teleporting sphere of annihilation). There are new monsters, like the colossus (really, really BIG golems), and a variant pseudonatural template (which jacks the CR of a creature up by 10-15 points!). A new type of monster is the abomination, which is the disfigured offspring of a deity and...something else, like the infernal, born from a deific/infernal or abyssal union, or the anaxim, a twisted mechanical creation. These tend to be mean.

Advice for running epic-level games is given, including official sanction of making the PCs pay for overly creative abuse of the Wish spell, but in general encouraging fun. The new setting is an interplanar city, called Union, full of portals and potential adventure. I think they might've gotten better results with Sigil (from Planescape), but Union works too. An introductory adventure is included, and ELH stats for high-level Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk characters are included.

All in all, this is a very good book. You'll need it sometime. However, be aware it tends to be kind of conservative, and that you may wish to jack the power up even more.

Some of the skills pointed out as being ridiculous actually can be found used in - wouldn't you know it? - epics like that of Cu Chulainn or the Mabinogion or the Kalevala. Such tales from the real world are FILLED with heroes doing things like swimming up waterfalls and any number of other endeavors normally impossible for individuals, like diverting rivers. The book is about EPIC level play, after all. It's meant to evoke the kinds of feats (not in the D&D sense) we find in legend.

While the book does approach this level of play, it is remarkably conservative in what is presented. Sure, the epic spells are extremely powerful - but look at the prerequisites and cost! No character is going to be wielding such magic daily, if ever - unless the campaign was already way out of balance before the ELH was published.

The spells are good examples of what to do with the new "spell seeds" concept. The skills and feats are logical, and often kind of mundane, extensions of the material in the Player's Handbook. The new epic monsters are amazingly strange, unique, and powerful. Anyone worried about Monty Haulism cropping up with the ELH need only trot out some of these new critters into a campaign - then you'll see why some of the epic level material is needed. Even then, epic-level characters will be hard-pressed to even survive against many of these monsters.

I wasn't too keen on the section about the "epic city." I just wasn't convinced that such a city could exist (I think I saw 29th level, nameless NPC city guards). Plus, I just wasn't too inspired by it. I think that much of this section could have been replaced by more monsters, spells, skills, feats, and other supplemental material.

Overall, the ELH is a good addition to D&D, and covers areas of the game I've been waiting to see covered for 20+ years. All the wailing and gnashing of teeth about the book I've seen on the internet has been overblown - as I said above, the ELH, if anything, was underpowered compared to what was expected. And that's better than being overpowered.