The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I've never played the EverQuest computer game. I know next to nothing about it. Please bear that in mind as you read on.

The EverQuest Role-Playing Game Player's Handbook is one of the first fruits of the Open Gaming License. Its 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons roots are strongly in evidence, but EverQuest easily stands on its own.

Appearance

Oh, my, the EQ PHB is a beautiful book. It's a heavy perfect-bound hardcover, full color throughout. Each page has the same border, a slightly blurry grapevine. The top of each odd-numbered page has the chapter and name, which is also on a "tab" on the edge. The tabs have a unique color, so as long as you know the relative chapter positions, you can find any section of the book fairly quickly.

The artwork is all at least OK, and some of it is absolutely beautiful. The artists evoke the feel of the world of Norrath quite well. Except Keith Parkinson, that is. While he has provided excellent work (the wraparound cover and two-page pieces for the major section divisions), doesn't that elven wizard in the silk bikini get cold? She wears the same outfit in lava-filled caverns, summer forests, and snow. Well, OK, she trims her boots and loincloth with fur in the snow, but still. A little more realism would have been nice.

In general, elves have artistic problems. The picture of Eweniel, the female high elf paladin, has more or less normal proportions. But the elves shown as iconic characters -- male and female -- have extraordinarily long legs. The three races of elves are all described as being about five feet tall. Apparently that difference from humans comes entirely out of their torsos. And yet, in the rest of the book they have normal proportions again.

Artwork aside, the EQ PHB has four main sections set off by the aforementioned Parkinson artwork. The separation into books flows logically and well, without losing any cohesiveness.

Introduction

Artwork starts the book off. A nicely drawn map of Norrath forms both endpapers to the EQ PHB. It then goes into a standard introduction, divided more or less into "what's an RPG" and "what's EverQuest" sections. In particular, the introduction talks to people who've never played the computer game, never played a tabletop RPG, or are veterans of one or the other. For the online vets, there are conversion rules for bringing your digital character into the paper world.

There's also a good description of the world of Norrath, its history and geography. The history gives excuses for the existence of ruins full of magic and treasure, and the politics provide plenty of additional plot hooks. Unfortunately, it doesn't always match the map. One island city on the map is described as being part of the mainland.

While this is a helpful overview, it doesn't match up with the map. Everything on the map is here, but not everything here is on the map. Considering that the description presumably touches on the high points, it would be nice to actually see what it's talking about.

Book One: Creating a Character

Characters have the familiar six abilities, but they are not rolled. Instead, each ability starts at 8 and is bought up with a pool of points. Any score over 16 costs double, and the maximum is 18. You can lower a starting score below 8, but you get nothing for doing so.

After generating stats, you choose a race from the 14 listed and apply the resulting modifiers. Except for humans, each has two or more ability score adjustments that range from -4 to +6. Some races also have bonuses such as infravision, or penalties such as lower movement rates.

The racial ability adjustments are an excellent argument for the 8 minimum. With a -4 penalty applied, that means the race-dependent minimum for any ability becomes 4, one more than the absolute minimum you'd get on a classic 3d6 roll. An Intelligence score below 3 (for example) is animal level, so loosely enforcing a minimum on abilities makes sense.

The races are:

Barbarians: muscular, cold-resistant warriors from the north
Dark Elves: twisted dwellers beneath the surface
Dwarves: strong and sturdy miners
Erudites: highly intelligent offshoot of humans who favor magic
Gnomes: small inventors of clockwork technology
Half Elves: usually descended from humans and wood elves
Halflings: short, hospitable folk
High Elves: oldest and most noble strain of elves
Humans: "rats" of the civilized races
Iksar: proud and violent reptilians
Ogres: exceptionally large, strong and stupid brutes
Trolls: swamp-dwelling monstrosities
Vah Shir: catlike inhabitants of Norrath's moon
Wood Elves: denizens of the living forest

Each race has one or more favored classes. In some cases, a race will have two different favored classes, neither of which counts when calculating experience penalties.

Some of the races also have experience penalties, which are nominally due to the advantages they get at first level. Barbarians, iksar, ogres and trolls all have varying penalties, which stack with any multiclassing penalties. Frankly, I think ogres and trolls have it the worst with a 20% penalty. Their only real advantage lies in melee combat, so they suffer greatly unless they single-class as a fighter type.

Multiclassing penalties are exactly like those in D&D. Ignore any favored classes. The character then takes a 20% experience penalty per class that is more than one level away from his highest-level class. Keeping your non-favored classes balanced is the only way to go.

Character classes are broken down into three broad categories: dedicated spellcasters, dedicated fighters, and hybrids. Dedicated spellcasters are further divided as arcane or divine, depending on the source of their magical ability. Either way, they have no zero-level spells, and their spells go all the way to 15th level!

Bard: wandering minstrel -- arcane, but the only class to use songs instead of spells
Cleric: servant of a god -- divine
Druid: servant of nature -- divine
Enchanter: commander of minds and illusions -- arcane
Magician: conjurer and controller of the elements -- arcane
Necromancer: one who traffics in death -- arcane
Shaman: commander of spirits -- divine
Wizard: combat spellslinger -- arcane

Spellcasters are the most numerous type of class. In contrast, there are only three dedicated fighter classes.

Monk: master of unarmed combat
Rogue: master of stealth
Warrior: master of armed combat

All hybrids include the warrior class as a component, and most are divine spellcasters. The spell list for each class is similar to its spellcaster relation. A hybrid class has a caster level four less than the character level, gaining first-level spells at character level 5, so their spells go to 12th level instead of 15th.

Beastlord: warrior/shaman
Paladin: warrior/cleric
Ranger: warrior/druid
Shadow Knight: warrior/necromancer

I would like to see a rogue/wizard hybrid, along the lines of an infiltrator. Multiclassing allows a similar result, of course, but it seems like a natural inclination in a politically charged environment. (An assassin class would be a rogue/necromancer hybrid, of course.)

I'd also like to see the examples cleaned up a bit. For example, a dwarf is a small character, which means she'd have to wield medium-sized weapons two-handed. But the sample dwarven cleric starting package includes a heavy mace and a shield. It should be a light mace.

All classes use the same experience table, which goes to 30th level. Full experience rules will be in the game master's guide, but the XP table in the EQ PHB exactly doubles the one from D&D. So to get to second level, you have to amass 2000 XP, 6000 for third level, etc. If this is any indication, the D&D DMG Challenge Rating table will work if you double the listed XP award.

Characters get skill points when leveling up, but they do not get free feats or ability score bonuses. Instead, they get five training points with each level, including the first. You can spend training points on feats, ability bonuses, or skill ranks. Cross-class skill ranks cost more than class skill ranks, though not double.

Each option is limited in some way, both by cost and by character level-based restrictions. For example, class skill ranks are still limited to character level plus three. This doesn't prevent you from saving training points and buying four feats at ninth level, just from buying the same four feats as soon as you have enough training points for them.

You do get a free feat at first level, and some classes get bonus feats at higher levels. Some classes also have class-specific abilities that kick in at higher levels. For example, clerics don't automatically turn undead. A cleric can choose that at fourth level, or he can choose another divine bonus instead. The option comes back at later levels, but it's never required.

The chapter on skills doesn't have much new. Some of the skills have been renamed, such as Channeling instead of Concentration. There are new skills such as Taunt, which lets you talk an enemy into attacking you. It's one more way to protect those low-HP arcane spellcasters.

One major difference is that a skill roll of 1 is an automatic failure, regardless of your bonus. A 20 is an automatic success, though taking 20 is not. I don't like this at all. It gives every character a chance of failure even on easy tasks, no matter how well trained she may be. I think that if you're good enough, if you've spent the points and taken the feats, there are some things you shouldn't have to worry about. On the other hand, a complete novice has a 5% chance of outdoing a seasoned professional who takes 10. That's just stupid.

The other big change is in languages. Language is now a trained skill, a class skill for some. At first level you get four ranks in Common and four in your racial language, if one exists. (Ogres and trolls are stupid, so they get three ranks in each.) Three ranks give you normal conversational skill, while four give you fluency. Five gives you insight into etymology and history of the language, as well as the ability to imitate accents. More than that is generally not necessary, except for professional translators.

I really like this. It makes a lot of sense, certainly a lot more sense than default D&D. Language DCs depend on the difficulty of the idea being expressed, compared to the total number of ranks in the language between the two speakers. So three or four ranks for each person is generally enough to hold a conversation without needing to roll. Complex ideas are beyond anyone who doesn't have at least two ranks.

As with skills, there aren't many new feats. Weapon proficiencies are done by category, rather than by weapon. A character can take a feat like Weapon Class Proficiency (One-Handed Slashing) to use any one-handed swordlike weapon.

Also, there are no exotic weapons. That's too bad. It means the GM can't create an oddball weapon used only by some distant island tribe and expect that no PC can use it. Chances are that someone has an applicable proficiency. GM fiat is the only avenue left.

Once feats are selected, you have description. Description starts with personal moral code, also known as "alignment." Yes, the EQ PHB uses the same nine alignments. The words "orderly" and "discordant" have replaced "lawful" and "chaotic" in the alignment system, but alignments are otherwise the same.

There are 16 deities in Norrath. Almost everyone worships a deity, and clerics must, but religion is flavor text. It provides no in-game benefits outside NPC reaction.

Actually, NPC reaction is an integral part of the game. It's summed up in the faction system. Faction is essentially an NPC reaction modifier, but it's group-dependent. Your character will have one faction score for the Steel Warriors, another for the Field Priests of the Tribunal, etc. Alignment and deity affect faction, as does race. You may also earn or lose faction through quests.

The book tells you to record faction on your character sheet. Where? It's a nice character sheet, very pretty, and most of the vital information is there. But there's no place for faction. Given how important faction is to your character's social well-being, not to mention the explicit instructions in the rules, I wish they'd made space for it. You can write it on the back, but only if you don't use double-sided sheets. I like double-sided sheets, and I like to have a new sheet at every character level as a history. I can't track faction on my preferred character sheets.

I can't put my gear on my horse, either. To quote the equipment list, "Horses are rare and wildly expensive luxuries for residents of Norrath. When horses are found for sale, the price is usually entirely negotiated by the seller and buyer; there is no standard price." And that's all the EQ PHB has to say about horses. Or donkeys, mules, etc.

You know what? I'm going to get hold of a breeder herd, then I'm going into business for myself. Apparently I'm the first humanoid in Norrath to think of raising horses for profit. Cattle exist aplenty, so there must be decent pasture land. I'll get richer than a dungeon delver's wildest dreams! Beastlords can talk to animals (and Ride is a class skill for them), so I'll take a few levels of that while I earn my stake. Maybe I can convince a few horses to come with me willingly. Either that, or I can pay some unscrupulous individual to, uh, release a few from their cruel and oppressive current owners.

There are some missing weapons. The iconic characters Basheera, Vagner and Quillaa carry weapons that are not described anywhere in the book. Quillaa and Vagner have what appear to be sword-sized kukris that can probably be treated as broadswords. But what of Basheera's half-moon hand-to-hand blades? They have a certain cool factor that some players will like, but the description is sadly lacking.

The only interesting addition to the equipment list is weapon speed factors. Lighter weapons are easier to ready again, so you gain multiple attacks with them earlier. For example, a sixth-level warrior has a base attack bonus of +6/+1 with a standard weapon. A quick weapon makes that +6/+2, which means he can do a multiple attack with it at fifth level, for +5/+1. Of course, the smaller and quicker a weapon is, the less base damage it does, and the less likely it is to have a high critical threat range or multiplier.

Overall, I like EverQuest character creation and progression. Point buy lets you get the ability scores you want. The races let you optimize for certain character classes, such as high-Intelligence Erudites for arcane spellcasters, but that's no great shame. Multiclassing, class bonuses and training points let you customize the character's growth.

In practice, that's exactly what I've seen happen. Some players prefer to buy ability scores, others buy feats or skills. After just a couple of levels, each character has a distinct feel, even within the bounds of the class system.

Book Two: Songs and Spells

Magic. Here's where EverQuest rewrote the SRD. Fire and forget prepared spells? Divine casters get what they ask for? Bards use a mishmash of divine and arcane spells? Minimum ability score to cast a given level of spell? Toss them all out.

Each spellcaster, divine or hybrid, carries a spell book. (Bards have song books, and divine casters have prayer books, but the idea is the same.) The book has all the caster's known spells. Casters don't get free spells when leveling up. Instead, they must research, buy or steal them. Unfortunately, research rules will be in the game master guide, a future release as of this writing.

Spellcasters have eight spell slots, more with the right feats. They start first level knowing only four spells, though, two songs if a bard. A caster may memorize one spell for each slot. Dismissing a spell from a slot is a free action, but it takes time to prepare a spell slot.

Once the caster has prepared spells, he may cast any of them by taking an action and expending mana. The spell is not lost, so he may cast the same spell at will until he runs out of mana, or until he dismisses the spell. If he has insufficient mana, the spell fizzles and the mana pool empties.

The mana pool is the caster's personal spell battery. The amount of mana in the pool depends on the caster's class level and primary spellcasting ability; e.g., Wisdom for a cleric. Also, divine and arcane pools are separate for multiclassed characters.

The mana pool refreshes at a rate based on how active the character is, his primary spellcasting ability, and how many ranks of the Meditation skill he's bought. Multiclass casters decide which pool recovers when they add points.

This part bugs me. Meditation is a cross-class skill for hybrid classes and bards. However, any spellcaster worthy of the name will keep that skill maximized. So hybrids will burn the lion's share of their skill points on Meditation, shortchanging them for other skills. Bards aren't so bad off, both because they get the most skill points per level of any class (eight!) and because their songs generally cost only one mana to cast.

Most spells cost two or more mana to cast. They can be prepared with metamagic feats applied, which usually add a significant amount of mana to the cost. Now, a dedicated spellcaster will easily have a +3 or +4 primary ability bonus at first level, so the mana pool will start out at 6 to 8 mana. This goes up amazingly quickly, as does the recovery rate.

But then, so does the mana costs of spells. A typical second-level spell will cost five mana, and the 15th-level Disintegrate spell costs a whopping 108 mana before metamagic! A 30th-level Erudite wizard who's maxed out his Int at character creation and with training points, but who has no magic items to help his Int or his mana pool, will have 600 mana to burn. This means he can cast Disintegrate five times before running low. On the other hand, he'll recover some 43 mana per hour of light activity if he's kept his Meditation skill maxed.

Significantly, this relationship between the mana pool and the spellcaster's ability holds more or less true across the board. At first level, the recovery rate is about equal to the mana pool, but by third level, the caster is good for four to six spells before running low on mana. In other words, a caster is good for one challenging fight, then he must rest and recover for a while.

Bard songs work differently. A bard has the same mana pool as any other dedicated caster, but a somewhat lower recovery rate. Songs typically have lesser effects than spells of the same level. By way of compensation, most bard songs only cost one mana to cast. The catch is that it's one mana per round the bard sings. Most song effects last as long as the bard sings, or perhaps a few rounds after he stops. The cool bit is that the bard can sing as a free action, which means he doesn't have to stay out of the action. Though there are songs that have additional effects when played with the right instruments, so there's always the option of helping by staying in the background.

To make things more interesting, bards can combine songs in a process known as "song twisting." Basically, the bard can add one song every round, to a maximum of five songs. The mana cost stays at one per round, regardless of the number of songs twisted. However, every time he adds a song, the bard must make a Perform check. The DC is set by the number of songs twisted and the highest level song in the twist. For five songs, the DC is 50 + highest song level, so don't try this until you reach higher levels. (Or unless you have a loaded die that rolls 20 all the time. Stupid rule.)

The magic section rounds out with the usual spell lists. Bard songs are in one chapter, and all spells, arcane and divine, are in another. That is, of course, the biggest chapter in the book.

Overall, I find the magic overpowered. Clerics who choose the right prayer heal 1d10 at first level, and 4d6 at third. Contrast this with D&D where the respective rolls are 1d8 and 2d8. Then consider that character class hit dice still range from d4 to d12 in EverQuest, and the damaging spells are almost as potent as the healing spells. The combat orientation is high.

The problem isn't limited to damage and healing, though it's most obvious there. Take the second-level spell Gate. This is effectively a teleport with unlimited travel range. It can only take the caster to a fixed point, so it acts more as a quick getaway than anything else, but that's extraordinarily effective for a low-level spell.

While I complain about the raw power of the spells, I do like the mana system. With some work it should be portable to any OGL or d20 game. The main concern is balancing the mana costs. You can get around that by just porting the spells with the system. And EverQuest bards are cool.

Book Three: Playing the Game

The last couple of chapters are all about adventuring. There's a set of rules not covered in character creation: how far you can see, how much you can lift, how fast you can travel, etc. There's also a player's-eye view of quests.

Remember above when I mentioned that you gain or lose faction through quests? Well, quests are the heart and soul of game play, which is not surprising for a game named "EverQuest." You can still run dungeon crawls, but the experience system revolves around quests.

A quest is a mission undertaken on behalf of someone else. Completing a quest not only earns you faction, it earns you XP. You see, a quest has one or more goals to complete, each of which has a CR independent of any humanoids or monsters encountered on the way. It's really a concrete story award system.

Completing or failing a quest can also lead to further quests. In game terms, this is called a "quest ladder." Successfully completing a quest on behalf of the Steel Warriors, for example, will probably lead them to offer you future quests. You may also pick up incidental quests on the way, such as rescuing the person you need to talk to from slavers.

For a novice GM, quests are a useful idea. The quest ladder reinforces the idea that a campaign should flow together, rather than being a collection of separate incidents held together only by the presence of the PCs. It also helps remind the PCs that story is important (and a way to gain XP), not just combat and treasure. But that all assumes that quests don't get tossed out by the group, and that the group needs the guidance in the first place.

On to combat. This works exactly like standard d20: moves and move-equivalent actions, standard actions, full-round actions, five-foot steps, etc. Attacks of opportunity get a better explanation than the first printing of the D&D PHB provided, though not as thorough as the appendix in the second printing.

The EQ PHB adds two optional rules to combat: called shots and fumbles. A called shot is a full-round action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If the attack roll (and you get only one regardless of your BAB) is a confirmed critical, the character hits the announced target for critical damage, with additional effects adjudicated by the GM. Any non-critical roll is treated as a normal attack roll, which means it may or may not hit for normal damage.

Fumbles work in similar fashion. On a natural 1, the GM decides what the available target of the fumble could be. The player then rolls again. If the fumble check is a confirmed hit on the available target, then the target takes normal damage. If no target presents itself, the GM adjudicates the result of the fumble.

Both called shots and fumbles add something odd to the game, namely an area of pure GM fiat. No game can provide a detailed rule for every possible situation, but these are explicit if optional rules with absolutely no guidance other than what the roll needs to be. This isn't necessarily bad; it's just out of step with the rest of the rules.

Rounding out the EQ PHB are three appendices: the OGL, a glossary and an index. The index is nothing special, more a reorganization of the table of contents than anything else. Sword & Sorcery Studios should have followed Hero Games' lead by providing a useful index.

They also should have proofread a touch better. Typos show up in almost every chapter. A basic spellchecker will catch words like "elmental," and a decent grammar check should point out the problem with "loose canon." And in the description of the Disguise skill, there's a mistaken reference to Diplomacy that practically jumps out. But the problems are at least obvious and survivable.

Summary

The EverQuest RPG Player's Handbook is a good-looking if not so well-edited start to the EverQuest RPG line. It offers an enjoyable alternative to D&D, but not a radically different one. The magic system offers the biggest and probably the best change.