The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Several months ago I saw that RPG.Net had Demihuman Deities on their review queue. I was informed that the product was going to be sent to me and I waited with anticipation. And at the beginning of August I received…Demihumans of the Realms. Apparently I should pay more attention to what it is I'm requesting, because when I went back and checked, that's exactly what I asked for.

I must admit I was not enthusiastic about this product. It is a supplementary product for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons' Forgotten Realm's setting is an AD&D handbooks. It has a plain burgundy cover with a gold line art picture on it. The contents of AD&D handbooks are rarely exciting to read and only occasionally useful. My biggest problem with the supplementary handbooks is their habit to add to, change, or contradict the core AD&D rules, which results in disputes with other players and Dungeon Masters as to which rules are correct.

Undaunted, I read it anyway.

It opens with some overview information about the various demihumans of the Realms. Instead of adding yet more information about then, though, it lists all the information and rules associated already written about them and then (gasp!) provides the source material for this lore. This I found quite useful.

After that, the book heads right for its heart and purpose: it lists thirty-five demihuman kits. This made me cringe. Players have a habit of using kits to make their characters more powerful, using the special advantages for their own evil, dark purposes. Because of this, I don't like kits that much. But, to my surprise, this book does something I don't recall too many other AD&D tomes doing: the kits are designed to help characters develop personalities in an effort to promote roleplaying!

There can be little doubt that the weakest aspect of AD&D is its lack of promoting roleplaying. After all, player characters are rewarded with experience points for killing things, solving puzzles, and finding magic items, not for good roleplaying.

After realizing this, my first inclination was chose the best and worst kit from the lot for this review. When I finished reviewing them, however, I realized that there are no superior kits here. Each one provides a template for creating a good three-dimensional character to play, even if the kit itself gives no exceptional abilities.

Many of the kits are not limited to one specific race; they can be applied to several varieties of demihumans and could easily be applied to human characters as well. Some are very specific, though. A dwarf, for example, is not likely to use the mariner of Evermeet kit. Nor would all elves be able to use it, for that matter (a drow mariner of Evermeet?).

The kit that I found most interesting was the Gnome Artificer. Not to be confused with a tinker gnome, this kit is for non-multiclassed fighters. Artificers came about after the Time of Troubles. They can build fine, specialized devices, including toys similar trinkets. They arm themselves with guns and are keen on using their devices for protection, although they do not have any aversion to magic and thus they will use it as well (smoke powder being a good example). The kit's special advantages include gunsmithing, lock picking, and the building of clocks and other specialized mechanical devices. Their special disadvantages revolve around less combat proficiencies and gear limitations.

This kit includes a blunder on the part of whoever researched the evolution of the gun. According the special advantages section, gnome artificers begin with a wheel-lock pistol and then "upgrade" to the snaplock and finally the matchlock. Wheelocks evolved after the invention of the matchlocks and are superior to them. The snaplock (or flintlock) is superior to both types and should be the final upgrade.

The kit I thought would be the least useful is that of the scholar (usable by gnomes and certain types of elves). Since most AD&D games have a good dose of combat and because scholars are terrible at that, it stands to reason that they will be hiding a great deal of the time. I was wrong. Right off, the kit offers some nice advantages: the scholar can teach other characters "temporary" proficiencies. He also has a good chance of knowing or unearthing hard to find information, making it easier for adventurers to solve mysteries. The scholar is useless in hand to hand combat, but the rules say nothing about the sort of spells one with this kit can use. Whose to say the scholar can't be armed with an arsenal of fireball and lightning bolts spells?

Before I give my final opinion and an overview of this product, I should first take a moment to cover the basics that reviews are supposed to cover: the writing style and art within its pages. Well, the writing style is good and, to my surprise, fairly interesting to read. As for the art: who cares? Art is irrelevant if the product provides good information (unless the art is the supplement, in which case it does tend to be important). Page layout is irrelevant, too. (Which isn't to say that both are not important for other printed mediums, like magazines.)

To my amazement, this product is probably the best piece of supplementary material I've seen for the Forgotten Realms setting since Faiths & Avatars came out. It provides material that I'll be using for years to come. (Well, I probably won't since it will be obsolete with the realize of the AD&D 3^rd Edition game next summer.) It isn't boring to read (like a lot of TSR products tend to be) and it doesn't force a pile of new rules on me. For anyone interested in promoting roleplaying in your AD&D Forgotten Realms campaign or anyone who is looking for good roleplaying ideas, I recommend this book to you. My original assessment of the product based on what I thought it was going to be was completely wrong!

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Demihumans of the Realms
Author: Roger E. Moore Category: game Company/Publisher: TSR Line: Forgotten Realms Cost: $18.95 Page count: 96 ISBN: 0-7869-1316-9 Capsule Review by Mark Strecker on 08/19/99. Genre tags: Fantasy	Several months ago I saw that RPG.Net had Demihuman Deities on their review queue. I was informed that the product was going to be sent to me and I waited with anticipation. And at the beginning of August I received…Demihumans of the Realms. Apparently I should pay more attention to what it is I'm requesting, because when I went back and checked, that's exactly what I asked for. I must admit I was not enthusiastic about this product. It is a supplementary product for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons' Forgotten Realm's setting is an AD&D handbooks. It has a plain burgundy cover with a gold line art picture on it. The contents of AD&D handbooks are rarely exciting to read and only occasionally useful. My biggest problem with the supplementary handbooks is their habit to add to, change, or contradict the core AD&D rules, which results in disputes with other players and Dungeon Masters as to which rules are correct. Undaunted, I read it anyway. It opens with some overview information about the various demihumans of the Realms. Instead of adding yet more information about then, though, it lists all the information and rules associated already written about them and then (gasp!) provides the source material for this lore. This I found quite useful. After that, the book heads right for its heart and purpose: it lists thirty-five demihuman kits. This made me cringe. Players have a habit of using kits to make their characters more powerful, using the special advantages for their own evil, dark purposes. Because of this, I don't like kits that much. But, to my surprise, this book does something I don't recall too many other AD&D tomes doing: the kits are designed to help characters develop personalities in an effort to promote roleplaying! There can be little doubt that the weakest aspect of AD&D is its lack of promoting roleplaying. After all, player characters are rewarded with experience points for killing things, solving puzzles, and finding magic items, not for good roleplaying. After realizing this, my first inclination was chose the best and worst kit from the lot for this review. When I finished reviewing them, however, I realized that there are no superior kits here. Each one provides a template for creating a good three-dimensional character to play, even if the kit itself gives no exceptional abilities. Many of the kits are not limited to one specific race; they can be applied to several varieties of demihumans and could easily be applied to human characters as well. Some are very specific, though. A dwarf, for example, is not likely to use the mariner of Evermeet kit. Nor would all elves be able to use it, for that matter (a drow mariner of Evermeet?). The kit that I found most interesting was the Gnome Artificer. Not to be confused with a tinker gnome, this kit is for non-multiclassed fighters. Artificers came about after the Time of Troubles. They can build fine, specialized devices, including toys similar trinkets. They arm themselves with guns and are keen on using their devices for protection, although they do not have any aversion to magic and thus they will use it as well (smoke powder being a good example). The kit's special advantages include gunsmithing, lock picking, and the building of clocks and other specialized mechanical devices. Their special disadvantages revolve around less combat proficiencies and gear limitations. This kit includes a blunder on the part of whoever researched the evolution of the gun. According the special advantages section, gnome artificers begin with a wheel-lock pistol and then "upgrade" to the snaplock and finally the matchlock. Wheelocks evolved after the invention of the matchlocks and are superior to them. The snaplock (or flintlock) is superior to both types and should be the final upgrade. The kit I thought would be the least useful is that of the scholar (usable by gnomes and certain types of elves). Since most AD&D games have a good dose of combat and because scholars are terrible at that, it stands to reason that they will be hiding a great deal of the time. I was wrong. Right off, the kit offers some nice advantages: the scholar can teach other characters "temporary" proficiencies. He also has a good chance of knowing or unearthing hard to find information, making it easier for adventurers to solve mysteries. The scholar is useless in hand to hand combat, but the rules say nothing about the sort of spells one with this kit can use. Whose to say the scholar can't be armed with an arsenal of fireball and lightning bolts spells? Before I give my final opinion and an overview of this product, I should first take a moment to cover the basics that reviews are supposed to cover: the writing style and art within its pages. Well, the writing style is good and, to my surprise, fairly interesting to read. As for the art: who cares? Art is irrelevant if the product provides good information (unless the art is the supplement, in which case it does tend to be important). Page layout is irrelevant, too. (Which isn't to say that both are not important for other printed mediums, like magazines.) To my amazement, this product is probably the best piece of supplementary material I've seen for the Forgotten Realms setting since Faiths & Avatars came out. It provides material that I'll be using for years to come. (Well, I probably won't since it will be obsolete with the realize of the AD&D 3^rd Edition game next summer.) It isn't boring to read (like a lot of TSR products tend to be) and it doesn't force a pile of new rules on me. For anyone interested in promoting roleplaying in your AD&D Forgotten Realms campaign or anyone who is looking for good roleplaying ideas, I recommend this book to you. My original assessment of the product based on what I thought it was going to be was completely wrong! Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)