Masters of the Wild is a supplement published by Wizards of the Coast for use with
Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition. It is the last in their series of character builder supplements, and it is definitely the best of the five. As with the previous books, this one focuses upon a set of similarly themed character classes with an eye towards helping players make the most of these classes in terms of practical gameplay; this book focuses upon barbarians, druids and rangers. Also as with the previous books, the artwork and layout are above average in quality; the book is easy to read and use, which is a vital requirement in non-fiction works such as RPG supplements. There’s no backsliding in the style; it’s just as good as it ever was.
The improvement is in the content. It seems as if the lessons learned while writing the previous books finally came to fruition with this book. While some problems remain—such as the handful of questionable prestige classes—the content overall is wonderful and it adds a great deal of value to the game. Specifically I speak of the rules for Infusions, Legendary Animals, new Dire Animals, new spells, additional information for dealing with animal companions (recruitment, management, training, etc.) and new feats. Each of these additions either add a logical extension to the rules or they make explicit an aspect that was present by not obvious. This makes the book a worthwhile purchase right there.
The new prestige classes, as said above, are better than in previous books. That said a few still seem wonky. The Exotic Weapon Master is one such class, which requires that the character possess the ability to rage (such as by having levels as a barbarian, sohei or Kishi Rager) when its only benefit is to lessen (and later eliminate) non-proficiency penalties for using exotic weapons. The Tempest is another, as all it requires a lot of feats—two of which are Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting—and a Base Attack Bonus of 9; there is nothing here that makes this class one aimed at rangers, druids or barbarians other than it builds off of the ranger’s class abilities. Both of these prestige classes are little more than fighter-oriented classes with odd class abilities tacked on to the prerequisites as a brain-addled afterthought. The Geomancer is problematic due to its ability to allow the character to take the best advantages of his spell casting capabilities across the board. The other classes may not be suitable for player-characters, but they do fit the theme of the book and they are worthwhile ones overall; compared to the previous four books, this is a great improvement.
The new rules are wonderful, as they go a long way towards offering alternatives to the defaults assumed in the rules as well as addressing concerns about certain subsets that are important to barbarians, druids and rangers. First are the rules for infusions. This is a new type of magical item that druids and high-level rangers may create; these are, in game terms, a hybrid of scroll and potion and the rules governing their use make this obvious. Infusions go a long way to make herbalism far more effective for gameplay, which redresses the weakness in the Aragorn archetype of the ranger and the version of the Merlin archetype that resembles a druid.
The animal companions section address caring, training and administering companions as a character goes through his advancement stages. It ends with the new Dire and Legendary Animal types; this allows all of we Tolkien fans to finally convert Shadowfax to D&D3e without bending or breaking the rules, as he is definitely a Legendary Horse. Much of this is in terms that impact upon practical gameplay, and it addresses points often made in discussions of animal companions: fragility at higher levels, best use for given situations, etc. Those often critical of the animal companions will see that their points are addressed in this book sufficiently for them.
Naturally, this dovetails nicely with the character generation and advancement advice for the three focus classes in the book. As with the other books in this series, the advice slants toward practical gameplay at all times. Thus the suggestions lean toward working in the context of an adventuring party, which is—as I said previously—quite all right with me; more such advice needs to see print. The new spells, feats and items also lean in this direction (for the most part; Standing Stones, while impressive, aren’t portable) and they are all worthwhile additions to the game. The rage-related feats are natural extensions of the class ability, and the new Wild category of feats are a long time in coming. The Toughness successor feats are controversial in that they aren’t chained together in a feat tree; rather, all that they require is a certain Base Fortitude Save bonus. This doesn’t help those who think that Toughness should have some sort of scaling with level. Favored Critical is a great addition for rangers, and I am not surprised to see Greater Two-Weapon Fighting here despite the fact that such a feat better belongs in Sword & Fist. As for the items, none stand out as particularly great or lame save the new exotic weapons—all of which, again, belong in Sword & Fist instead—and the Standing Stones mentioned above. The spells, however, are standouts aplenty; the new Regenerate “X” Wounds series will see much action, moreso as Infusions, as will all of the nature and animal-themed spells. Oh, and then there is True Reincarnation; why this spell was not in the Player’s Handbook (aside from the obvious) I do not know.
Together, Masters of the Wild puts just enough worthwhile content into one product that I must recommend it as a secondary purchase for all and a primary purchase for GMs as well as those who play barbarians, druids and rangers. (Most especially do I recommend it for players of druids and rangers.) As always, check it out yourself first—your mileage will vary—but I doubt that you will fail to find it useful.
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