Rating: 
Summary: Time saver and idea package
Review: If your game group wants more choices in character types and skills, if you want to whip up an instant population of craftsmen before or even during the game, if you want more depth in the nonplayer characters (NPCs) you play, or if your players' visits to towns and cities have become a long, non-roleplaying chore, then this book is for you. This volume is packed with an incredible wealth of gaming aids and ideas. Everything is here to let you, for example, quickly look up an exact remedy and price from the town herbalist or alchemist, play a prerolled Sage or Craftsman instantly, set up your own specialist Expert in a few minutes, set up a Guild, let a player train/practice in a craft or play an unusual Expert, or determine whether a city even has certain Experts available.The book outlines five broad types of Experts (Craftsmen, Scholars, Entertainers, Professionals, and Tradesmen) and under them, details 28 types of Expert: Alchemists, Physicians, Courtesans, and more. Many, such as the Armorer, Physician, or Sage, would usually act as "services" in town; some could be important NPCs, such as the Steward of the local castle; others, such as the Guide, the Artificer, and the Slaver, could easily become the center of new adventures. A great amount of supplementary and background material supports these Expert types: medieval work area and laboratory descriptions, a whopping list of about 110 new skills, three new feats, and Guildmasters (as a new prestige class) and their guilds (including several tables for quick random generation of guild structures and availabilities in any given town/city). Table contents include effects of unsound construction, ship design flaws, sages' libraries, herbal remedies (with availability and properties), mineral availability, device complexity, Experts as spell casters, Experts' prices per level, and more. A second prestige class, the Militiaman, is also offered, and suggestions are given on use of the various Experts' materials as part of a campaign or for player character use. The 28 ready-to-go NPC Experts (one of each kind) have enough background and personality to get going the moment you need them, without being so detailed as to require major rewrites for your campaign. The worst you'd need might be a name change for the person, their city of origin, or their god. A few of these characters have enough back story (ranging from humorous to sinister) to potentially springboard some side-quests for the Dungeon Master. Linked to several of these NPCs are some of the book's 17 brand-new magic items (all items are tied to the Experts theme, such as the Everfull Brewpot, Fireseal Wax, and the Mini Mecha Golem); these could be easily written into side-quests as well. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Good Buy
Review: It's rare any more when you can come across a gaming purchase that is worth every penny. "Experts" was such a purchase. Loaded with alot of useful info for all your games from nearly any world setting. Very cool, can't wait for more.
Rating:
Summary: A 'Core' NPC's Handbook
Review: Moreso than anything else I have seen, this book underlines the value of the d20 licensing system, and expands in the most invaluable way upon the rudimentary description of the Expert NPC class in the current Dungeon Master's Guide. A must for serious DMs who want to incorporate interesting Craftsmen, Professionals, Academics, Entertainers, and Scholars into their games--and a good bet for players who want to try their hands at playing such characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Something needed for some time
Review: Other systems have had helpful guides for filling out the average town with something other than cardboard cutouts - now finally d20 has as well. While the book is a bit flawed in many of its assumptions about a few experts, overall it provides value for the dollar. Something that you cannot say about many of the d20 books.
For those looking for a better source about townsfolk I would look at Mystic Stations Design C&S material or the various Harn products.
Rating:
Summary: Multiple Dimensions
Review: This book is a superb tool for giving depth to any role-playing game. It affords superb flexiblity in a variety of applications. The authors capture a wide range of experience and insight that will add to virtually any scenario. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Darn Good...
Review: This d20 supplement is very well put together indeed. Lots of information, and as far as I can tell, it's all useful. My only complaint with the book are a few of the graphic elements. The gradiated bar at page top and bottom eat up more space than I'd like making the text seemed cramped on the page. The bars are also quite distracting as the obvious transition from bar to bar is way to glaring. A single color bar or a black at the top and medium gray below would have been much better in my mind. That said there is nothing else I can fault with the book and recommend it for any fantasy d20 system player/DM.
Rating:
Summary: Rich lode of information for players and DMs
Review: This d20 system publication provides the DM or player with a huge store of Expert character classes and sample NPCs for use in fantasy games. Alchemists, blacksmiths, shipwrights, sages... the people that make a town or city more real. New d20 skills and feats help you work out PC interactions when they need an Expert's services - or if you have a PC who wants take a few levels of the Expert class. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A new core book?
Review: Very rarely in the role playing universe do I believe that there are more than one "core" book for any roleplaying game. Really, if one has the main rulebook, than all the rest are secondary as your own imagination can fill in the gaps. This belief was shattered when reading the "Experts" book. In it is so much information, so well thought out, and so, well, full of information that a good DM NEEDS for games that I wouldn't mind listing it under "Core books" for this genre. I could list for you the multitude of different feats/classes/items/NPCs/etc, but this can only be 1,000 words, and that's not nearly enough to do this book justice. Support the little guy and find small press books like this, these are the people that don't put money before their love of gaming. And besides, if Gary Gygax says it's a good book, I'm one to agree.
Rating:
Summary: A new core book?
Review: Very rarely in the role playing universe do I believe that there are more than one "core" book for any roleplaying game. Really, if one has the main rulebook, than all the rest are secondary as your own imagination can fill in the gaps. This belief was shattered when reading the "Experts" book. In it is so much information, so well thought out, and so, well, full of information that a good DM NEEDS for games that I wouldn't mind listing it under "Core books" for this genre. I could list for you the multitude of different feats/classes/items/NPCs/etc, but this can only be 1,000 words, and that's not nearly enough to do this book justice. Support the little guy and find small press books like this, these are the people that don't put money before their love of gaming. And besides, if Gary Gygax says it's a good book, I'm one to agree.
Rating:
Summary: Best supplement I've bought this year
Review: Worth the money, unlike a few others I've bought this year. Packed with information, tables, stats, and useful stuff. I especially like all the new skills - there must be at least a hundred.
|
