Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Resource
Review: A very useful resource, especially for those incorporating the high planes into their campaign.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic Book from Wizards
Review: Continuing their trend of good and bad material, this one definitely hits the mark as a winner. A companion book to Vile Darkness, Exalted Deeds shows gamers how to portray the heights of good and righteousness in the face of evil. There's not much to add that other reviewers haven't already covered. One missed element is the outstanding artwork. The angels are portrayed as firesword-wielding instruments of the gods, burning with divine might. Avatars and immortals clash on vivid fields, and the dark things of the universe paw closer like hungry tigers.
Some of the artwork contains nudity, which is another reason for the mature rating, but it is nothing gratuitous or pornographic. Overall, the book is a unique one among the annals of roleplaying material, if not for the content, then surely for its combination of stunning full color art. Good work, WotC.
Rating:
Summary: What Fools these Mortals Be!
Review: Finally a book of goodies for those of us who prefer to play true heroes. Book of Exalted Deeds has to be the deffinative book for play Good aligned charactes in D&D/D20. I don't mean just Paladins and certain Clerics, there is something for all D&D style players who want to traverse the moral high road. Their term for truly Good characters is a little pretencious calling them Exalted, but for who choose the "straight and narrow path" as they put it, there are rewards a plenty. New feats, prestige classes, magic and monsters are found here as well as discussions on how to play a Good Guy/Girl. Robin Hood on par with King Arthur in Exalted status? According to this they both can be. The straight and narrow path is a little broader than one might imagine but while in some cases there is a lot of breathing room for the forces of Light there are perils. This book has a warning label for mature content and in some cases themes that truly require a bit of maturity from the reader. It is also meant to be used in conjunction with the Book of Vile Darkness. Having purchased both books I must heartily concur with this. Book of Exalted Deeds and Book of Vile Darkness are two extremes of the D&D world. Even if you don't use the defaul setting of Greyhawk these two books are meant to be used in the same campaign as a way of differentiating between the Dark and the Light and in this they do their job quite well. Some of the material is drawn from real world faiths which some may find disturbing. But this is also a distinction of the maturity this and its companion volume not just simply require but demand of its reader. Challenge yourself; challenge your world and get this book. And if you don't have Book of Vile Darkness, get that too.
Rating:
Summary: So, you're on a mission from Heaven? Step right this way...
Review: Finally, we have something to stick in the Demon Princes' craw.The Book of Exalted Deeds (commonly acronymed BoED) is the counterpart to the Book of Vile Darkness. Named after a nifty artifact in the game, this greatly-welcomed tome brings you the ability to play, well, "goody little two-shoes!" The book is set up rather like Book of Vile Darkness, with sections I'll title Discussion, Stuff, Feats, Prestige Classes, Magic Stuff, Big Huge Celestials, and (Mostly) Friendly Monsters. The Discussion section talks about how being Good (not good) works, and how it can expand your enjoyment of the game. This includes ethics and examples of heroic types. Stuff includes relics, Ravages and Afflictions (Evil-targeted poisons and diseases), and some alternate rules, including the explanations for the Vow of Poverty, Vow of Nonviolence, and Words of Creation feats. Speaking of feats, there are quite a few here, some generally useful and then one or two per class. There really need to be more, for reasons I'll get to in a second. This has some quite nifty things, like Sacred Strike (sneak attacks rise from xd6 to xd8 versus evil creatures) and Sanctify Martial Strike (gives extra damage against evil creatures, and allows your weapon to breach n/good damage reduction). These are often necessary to the Prestige Classes, many of which are built on one or two of these feats as prerequisites. I rather liked the Slayer of Domiel (a LG assassin-type...no, really), the Initiate of Pistis Sophia (Exalted monk), and the Fist of Raziel (uber-smiting paladin-cleric). The Magic Stuff includes quite a few new spells and domains, though some are revised (like Glory). This book introduces the Sanctified spell, which has somewhat greater effects for its slot, but at the cost of some sacrifice from the character (usually ability damage or XP). There are nifty new magic items, which can be a tad problematic; one, the Retributive Amulet, reduces damage by half and returns that half to the attacker as damage, which, at 56,000 gp, is a bit cheap for the effect. However, these are generally nice items. (Re-)Introduced here are the Higher Celestials, the Good counterparts to the Archdevils and Demon Princes. You probably won't ever see them, and they don't accept worshippers, but they do have small followings (sort of like saints in the Church). Also included are quite a few new and revised celestials, most of whom appeared last in the Planescape setting, like the Hollyphant! On the whole, I enjoyed the heck out of this. There are a few things that could make it better, like more Exalted feats; only having one or two per class means that you will, eventually, run out if you take the Vow of Poverty feat (which grants bonus Exalted feats every other level). Feat chains built for each class would be very nice, indeed; some higher-level ones would be most welcome, especially if they supported multiclassing in their requirements.
Rating:
Summary: So, you're on a mission from Heaven? Step right this way...
Review: Finally, we have something to stick in the Demon Princes' craw. The Book of Exalted Deeds (commonly acronymed BoED) is the counterpart to the Book of Vile Darkness. Named after a nifty artifact in the game, this greatly-welcomed tome brings you the ability to play, well, "goody little two-shoes!" The book is set up rather like Book of Vile Darkness, with sections I'll title Discussion, Stuff, Feats, Prestige Classes, Magic Stuff, Big Huge Celestials, and (Mostly) Friendly Monsters. The Discussion section talks about how being Good (not good) works, and how it can expand your enjoyment of the game. This includes ethics and examples of heroic types. Stuff includes relics, Ravages and Afflictions (Evil-targeted poisons and diseases), and some alternate rules, including the explanations for the Vow of Poverty, Vow of Nonviolence, and Words of Creation feats. Speaking of feats, there are quite a few here, some generally useful and then one or two per class. There really need to be more, for reasons I'll get to in a second. This has some quite nifty things, like Sacred Strike (sneak attacks rise from xd6 to xd8 versus evil creatures) and Sanctify Martial Strike (gives extra damage against evil creatures, and allows your weapon to breach n/good damage reduction). These are often necessary to the Prestige Classes, many of which are built on one or two of these feats as prerequisites. I rather liked the Slayer of Domiel (a LG assassin-type...no, really), the Initiate of Pistis Sophia (Exalted monk), and the Fist of Raziel (uber-smiting paladin-cleric). The Magic Stuff includes quite a few new spells and domains, though some are revised (like Glory). This book introduces the Sanctified spell, which has somewhat greater effects for its slot, but at the cost of some sacrifice from the character (usually ability damage or XP). There are nifty new magic items, which can be a tad problematic; one, the Retributive Amulet, reduces damage by half and returns that half to the attacker as damage, which, at 56,000 gp, is a bit cheap for the effect. However, these are generally nice items. (Re-)Introduced here are the Higher Celestials, the Good counterparts to the Archdevils and Demon Princes. You probably won't ever see them, and they don't accept worshippers, but they do have small followings (sort of like saints in the Church). Also included are quite a few new and revised celestials, most of whom appeared last in the Planescape setting, like the Hollyphant! On the whole, I enjoyed the heck out of this. There are a few things that could make it better, like more Exalted feats; only having one or two per class means that you will, eventually, run out if you take the Vow of Poverty feat (which grants bonus Exalted feats every other level). Feat chains built for each class would be very nice, indeed; some higher-level ones would be most welcome, especially if they supported multiclassing in their requirements.
Rating:
Summary: A great guide to the good side
Review: First thing i have to say about this book is its very well written and deals with some sensitive issues in a respectful and realistic way. It also gives ideas on how a player could play a pacifist character or a character that gives away his material wealth to benifit others. The book does a very good job of laying out the different types of good alignment in a detailed and understandable way and it discuses how good characters might deal with difficult decisions. Feats and Prestige classes
These sections are probably the best part of the book. I really enjoy the ideas behind some of the prestige classes and the feats will definatly make a good character shine. Spells
This section of the book is probably my 2nd favorite. Its very detailed and innovative. Each spell deals with fighting and/or subduing evil and in some cases even destroying the evil in a persons heart and making them see the error of their ways. Deitys and creatures
The deities presented in the book are all about good, although if you read over most of them you may question the approach a bit. The creatures presented are very well done, they present many different celestial beings each having their own role within the multiverse however the creature part is probably the only part of the book that im a little disappointed with. Overall the book is very well done and gets a high rating as the best WotC release ive seen this year IMO. If you play or are planning on playing any type of good character i would check this book out because it makes good rock.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but of little use
Review: I bought and read some of, skimmed some of, this book. So take this with a grain of salt, but I thought it such a poor value that I retured it immediately. The book has a lot of new classes, most of which seem best adapted to NPCs. It has a lot of new "monsters" - angels of the heavens which seem usable only in very narrow, particular campaigns with high level good characters (or evil I suppose). And everything else was pretty lame. The descriptions of what was good and what wasn't; and the ideas surround the Chaotic Good versus Lawful Good is, as D&D is always, simplistic and relativistic; but also useless in a supplement as it is so subjective. The feats were dumb, the items and relic stuff felt like filler, and there wasn't enough focus on how good combats evil and how good campaigns are run or story ideas. In short, I felt like it was an interesting book that would have made a great paperback for $11, but certainly not this full hardback $30 book.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but of little use
Review: I bought and read some of, skimmed some of, this book. So take this with a grain of salt, but I thought it such a poor value that I retured it immediately. The book has a lot of new classes, most of which seem best adapted to NPCs. It has a lot of new "monsters" - angels of the heavens which seem usable only in very narrow, particular campaigns with high level good characters (or evil I suppose). And everything else was pretty lame. The descriptions of what was good and what wasn't; and the ideas surround the Chaotic Good versus Lawful Good is, as D&D is always, simplistic and relativistic; but also useless in a supplement as it is so subjective. The feats were dumb, the items and relic stuff felt like filler, and there wasn't enough focus on how good combats evil and how good campaigns are run or story ideas. In short, I felt like it was an interesting book that would have made a great paperback for $11, but certainly not this full hardback $30 book.
Rating:
Summary: Ditto on the balance thing...
Review: I have to agree with some of the other reviewers...this book is a welcome rebuttal to the Book of Vile Darkness, but seems a little bland in comparison. The authors recognize that fact in the text, and admit that it's hard to hold to some of these ideals in most any campaign. There are some very powerful abilities, but only usable by the most dedicated role-players...that's good for balance in that there is a large price to pay for gaining these abilities, but there's not a lot here for the "really pretty good guy" who may not be willing to go full-time "exalted". A great book for ideas, but I'd modify some of the requirements for a standard campaign.
As with it's nastier sister volume, the production quality is excellent and likewise the art.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully written, with a few balance issues
Review: I was delighted when I first heard about this book. I'd been peeved for some time by the focus on evil presented by the Book of Vile Darkness as being somewhat unequilateral. This book is, in essence, a guide to playing good characters. Not just run-of-the-mill good characters, but for those who really want to get INTO playing a truly good character, right along with all of its consequences and dilemmas. It's hardly easy or simple, but definitely interesting, and this book provides some great food for thought on such characters, as well as a handful of really nifty and fairly original prestige classes. However, apparently, there are some balance issues, as a few of the new classes and feats are rather disproportinately powerful (though a careful DM can balance these out with the alignment requirements and making sure that these prestige classes in particular are stricter about the characters being good). This book does Dungeons & Dragons the deep service of demonstrating that goodness is neither laughable, trivial, feeble, or misguided. It is a powerful force unto itself that is as every bit as real, potent, and meaningful as any other sort of power. This is the type of heroism that I feel this game was really made for, and the classes and feats herein are perfectly suited for characters who have reached epic levels of both moral development and power.
In a nutshell: Nice guys only finish last because it takes them a little bit longer to wind up to deal the deathblow.
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