Masters of the Wild (MotW) is the latest in Wizards of the Coast's Guidebook line for Third Edition D&D. Like its predecessors, it is 96 pages long, sports a color cover, black-and-white interior art and a price tag of $19.95 (US). MotW adds detail and options for the Barbarian, Druid and Ranger player character classes. It's divided into six chapters and introduces 42 new feats, 20 new prestige classes and 63 new spells.
Chapter 1: Nature's Lore
Besides the usual 'perspective' sections for each class, this chapter includes a rules update for wild shape and a variant urban ranger that departs from the more naturalistic aspects of the class and turns it into more of a bounty hunter type. There is also advice for druids on choosing a wild shape for various situations and for rangers on picking favored enemies.
Chapter 2: Skills and Feats
As you might expect, most of the new feats introduced in this chapter expand on abilities that the covered classes already possess like the Barbarian's rage and the Druid's wild shape. For example, Extra Rage allows a barbarian to rage two more times per day and Natural Spell allows a druid to cast spells while in a wild shape. Other feats allow PCs to turn plants and animals as a cleric turns undead and create infusions (which are covered in Chapter 3).
Chapter 3: Tools of the Trade
This chapter includes several new exotic weapons like the blowgun and the nagaika (a studded whip), which seemed pretty reasonable, but the caber was a bit much. Can you really become proficient with a weapon that is basically a 100-lb. tree trunk?
The new magic items include some interesting ones like standing stones and ones that players looking for a an edge are sure to jump on like arrows that affect their target with one of the various cure wounds spells. "Hey, can someone PLEASE shoot me. I'm down to 4 hps over here!"
Infusions are interesting new items that allow PCs with the appropriate feat to store divine spells in specially prepared herbs. Infusions work basically like scrolls, but they are activated by ingesting them. This means a druid can use them while in a wild shape.
Chapter 4: Animals
This chapter includes s lengthy section which might well have been titled 'The Care and Feeding of Your Animal Companion. It also includes six new dire animals (gotta love those dire toads) and a new animal type called the Legendary Animal. Legendary animals are simply an excuse to push animals to hire power levels so they can be appropriate companions for high-level druids (a fact the book bluntly points out). I can't help but think, however, that an 18 HD horse with 225 hp is just a little silly. Of course, power gamers and munchkins everywhere should already be smiling.
Chapter 5: Prestige Classes
New prestige classes are always a mixed bag. Like anyone else, I like some and don't like others. It's just a matter of picking the ones that are interesting and an appropriate fit for the campaign that I am currently involved in.
Ones that caught my eye in MotW included the Animal Lord (who bonds with a particular type of totem animal), the Deepwood Sniper (who is sort of a rogue/archer) and the Shifter (who is able to wild shape into creatures other than just animals).
I don't understand, however, why the Eye of Gruumsh (who is sort of an evil orcish berserker) was included. The guidebooks are designed primarily for players and since (at least I assume) the vast majority of campaigns don't include evil orc or half-orc PCs, it seems like an odd choice.
Chapter 6: Spells
Druids get the lion share of new spells in this chapter, but rangers also get a few. Several of the new spells are also available to clerics and sorcerer/wizards. None of the new spells really leaped out at me but there were a few interesting ones like Beget Bogun (which creates a sort of natural homunculus) and Bottle of Smoke (which creates a horse out of smoke that the caster may ride).
Should you buy it?
If you run a druid, MotW is almost an essential buy, but barbarian and ranger fans will also find plenty to enjoy. I think David Eckelberry and Mike Selinker have done an excellent job and I especially like the useful sidebars that are scattered throughout the book. The information is a good mix of advice and additional rules. Players that prefer to stay out of the dungeon and in the great outdoors should be pleased.
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