Dramatis Personae: Campaign Ready Npc's

Rating:
Summary: An excellent, often overlooked game aid
Review: I recently received the Red Star compilation as a gift, so imagine my surprise upon learning that the same team of artists had also published a D20 supplement. Quality tends to follow quality, so I picked this up for my own game as well.

Dramatis Personae provides profiles and full background on 24 primary characters from levels 4 to 11. These NPCs run the gamut from brave warriors to evil monks to wizards and criminals. The character concepts are distinct and fresh for the most part; some are downright unusual, although there are one or two clichés as well (not necessarily a bad thing in D&D).

Essentially, whenever you need a quick and interesting villain or ally, this book allows you to take any of the characters within and plunk them down anywhere in your campaign as needed with little to no work on your part. Full statblocks are provided for each character, along with a detailed description, background, and combat preferences. For the most part the NPCs are all of moderate to major importance and ability- no bartenders here.

Following the character section there is also a healthy selection of new magical items as well as a handful of new feats and spells. Most of these are tied to the NPCs themselves.

As a GM aid this book could prove indispensable in a pinch or as a resource for new ideas. For players it might be somewhat less useful, but it could still provide hooks for a memorable character.

Now let's get to the artwork. It is unfortunate that the entire book wasn't done in color, because the cover is truly stunning. The interior pages are black and white with gray shading, but even so, the character pictures (which are done by some very respected comic book artists) are on par or better than the artwork in any other D20 material out there.

I'd also like to make note of the fact that this is just about the most error-free D20 product I have ever seen. The errata, which can be found at the Archangel Studios website, lists a mere handful of typos.

Dramatis Personae uses the D&D 3.0 rules, but if you're the GM, then your players don't have to know that. However if you really are that anal, then the changes to 3.5 are minor.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with this purchase, especially considering its modest price. I would recommend Dramatis Personae to any GM who was seeking to spice up his or her campaign, or to anyone who simply wanted a useful, high-quality D20 supplement that can take a place of pride in any collection.

And yes, the cheesecake fairy on the cover is also in the book. No, you don't want to mess with her.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent, often overlooked game aid
Review: I recently received the Red Star compilation as a gift, so imagine my surprise upon learning that the same team of artists had also published a D20 supplement. Quality tends to follow quality, so I picked this up for my own game as well.

Dramatis Personae provides profiles and full background on 24 primary characters from levels 4 to 11. These NPCs run the gamut from brave warriors to evil monks to wizards and criminals. The character concepts are distinct and fresh for the most part; some are downright unusual, although there are one or two clichés as well (not necessarily a bad thing in D&D).

Essentially, whenever you need a quick and interesting villain or ally, this book allows you to take any of the characters within and plunk them down anywhere in your campaign as needed with little to no work on your part. Full statblocks are provided for each character, along with a detailed description, background, and combat preferences. For the most part the NPCs are all of moderate to major importance and ability- no bartenders here.

Following the character section there is also a healthy selection of new magical items as well as a handful of new feats and spells. Most of these are tied to the NPCs themselves.

As a GM aid this book could prove indispensable in a pinch or as a resource for new ideas. For players it might be somewhat less useful, but it could still provide hooks for a memorable character.

Now let's get to the artwork. It is unfortunate that the entire book wasn't done in color, because the cover is truly stunning. The interior pages are black and white with gray shading, but even so, the character pictures (which are done by some very respected comic book artists) are on par or better than the artwork in any other D20 material out there.

I'd also like to make note of the fact that this is just about the most error-free D20 product I have ever seen. The errata, which can be found at the Archangel Studios website, lists a mere handful of typos.

Dramatis Personae uses the D&D 3.0 rules, but if you're the GM, then your players don't have to know that. However if you really are that anal, then the changes to 3.5 are minor.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with this purchase, especially considering its modest price. I would recommend Dramatis Personae to any GM who was seeking to spice up his or her campaign, or to anyone who simply wanted a useful, high-quality D20 supplement that can take a place of pride in any collection.

And yes, the cheesecake fairy on the cover is also in the book. No, you don't want to mess with her.

Rating:
Summary: 5 Stars for the last review
Review: That last review said it all. I agree with everything. Needs a little conversion to 3.5 but that's no biggie. Great artwork, original characters, nice format, excellent product.

Buy it.

Rating:
Summary: 5 Stars for the last review
Review: That last review said it all. I agree with everything. Needs a little conversion to 3.5 but that's no biggie. Great artwork, original characters, nice format, excellent product.

Buy it.