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What you get: a 48 page (50 counting covers) PDF document detailing new and alternate rules for divine spellcasters in a D&D campaign. This book was written by Monte Cook, a creator of 3E rules.

What I wanted before I bought the book: more detail for clerics and paladins. I see the cleric as a necessary part of a campaign, but a part that lacks the "sizzle" of other classes, and is boring to play. I have run a paladin character in the past, and reached the same conclusion Monte Cook did - a paladin has no reason to stick with the paladin class after about 10th level or so. I was hoping at least these two issues would be addressed in this book.

Overall summary: a very worthwhile addition to 3E. Both issues which were top in my mind were addressed, and there is much more to boot.

Details: Unlike many of the add on books to 3E (in my opinion), this book avoids the half flavor text/half rules heavy format in favor of an almost 100% devotion to new and variant rules. While I like flavor text in books, this was a surprise to see such an emphasis on rules. I would have been disappointed, for instance, to see a chapter on "The politics of religion in a D&D World." BOHM includes a few paragraphs on this topic, and also covers the role of clerics in a magical society, alternate interpretations of the administration of curing type spells and holy/unholy places - which includes new uses for consecrate and desecrate spells. All in all, I was very please with the completeness of this text, the thought giving to the D&D rules and suggestions for including divine themes without the feeling that I was being pushed into making every aspect of a campaign revolve around such themes. Mr. Cook walks a fine line with the early chapters of this book, but manages to deliver the exact right combination of overview and rules.

Note: druids, as a whole, are only barely touched. Most of the emphasis is on clerics.

Surprisingly, considering the one variant of the ranger class he has already released, Mr. Cook introduces a third ranger variant. His assumption is the ranger class "is front loaded - once you take a single level, there's no strong reason" to stick with the class. I agree - the PHB ranger gets too much at first level. The variation here keeps the divine spells, but allows the character to take some fighter like bonus feats over several levels. Overall, this looks to be the most balanced ranger yet. Makes you wonder what the new PHB will have...

Addressing the issue of paladin progression at middle levels, Cook points out the paladin only gets a few new spells after 8th level compared to a fighter's continuous feat progression. He offers a variant paladin class which has some extra paladin based feats and abilities which continue through the levels. Again, this looks like a balanced variant. I had personally run into this dilemma when my paladin character hit 9th level, and I wish I would have had this book then.

Now to the truly variant - chaotic good and neutral good paladins. They each have unique abilities which a lawful good paladin does not have (celestial ally summoning, for instance), but also lose some of the prototype paladin's special abilities (no special mount, for instance). I have an inherent view of Mr. Cook's work which manifests itself here. I see these variants as slightly overpowered (in part, my feeling is based on the bard and sorcerer variants in Book of Eldritch Might 2) since they overall lose little used paladin abilities (like turning undead, useful only against undead foes) in favor of abilities which are always useful. In short, they come out a bit more versatile than the lawful good paladin, which may or may not be unbalancing overall. I haven't played these yet, so keep that in mind. I'd be interested to see how they work in a long term setting.

There is also a section quantifying alignment, which looks very useful for situations in which you need to know how well differing alignments would work together. Alignment other than good or evil really isn't used much by my group, but for those that need more detail, you can get it here.

Three new prestige classes are presented. The Blessed Prelate fulfills the role of an enlightened member of a clergy. The Hallowed Mage spans the gap between divine and arcane magic, devoting themselves to the religious study of the arcane arts. The Knight of the Pale is a holy warrior with emphasis on combat, and again, seems overpowered. Again, though, I have not played this class, but I can't see any reason why a fighter type would not want to take one level of this class as soon as it was available.

20 New feats are presented, and cover some of my perceived shortcomings from the core handbooks. Favored Enemy Critical Strike serves as an example - extra damage against a favored enemy seems like a reasonable feat. Feats to cause followers to change alignments are presented, as well as bonus feats distributed from noble/clerical rulers. Several of the feats have "DM Approval" as the prerequisite. I guess the lesson is to consider carefully the ramifications of the bonuses you would get in your campaign. I also see this as a great plot hook - "So you want to be knighted by the king? Well, start by getting the king's attention. Here's what you must do..."

Rules for taking oaths are laid out, but not in the amount of detail I wanted to see. Too much here is left up to the DM discretion, and I really get the feeling this section will evolve into endless house rules. Most of the other information presented here stands on its own well. I would have preferred to see this section reduced in favor of more druidic coverage.

There is a new Light Domain in the magic chapter along with more spells than I care to count. Many of the spells fill niches in the divine arena, such as Grant Quarter, a spell which holds a captive safely in stasis until delivered to the proper authorities. This simply feels like a spell a good cleric would want to offer someone who was captured in order to "bring 'em back alive."

The new magic items and creatures also fill in the gaps left by the core rules. If the core rules have undead for necromancers, what could be the opposite used by good clerics? Well, blessed children, of course - the unborn souls of people not yet which can be summoned by good spellcasters. They can be turned by evil clerics, naturally, and just fit in seamlessly with the core rules so well you are left wandering why no one had thought of undead opposites before.

Artwork within is average for a PDF - pencil sketches and black and white. Covers, including the back, are above average for a PDF and are in color. I paid $7 US for this, but the list price is $8. Either price is fine with me, as this book is a tremendous vale for the divine spellcaster. The new spells, feats and other information makes the cleric a much more interesting character to play.

Book of Hallowed Might
Book of Hallowed Might Capsule Review by John Guin on 31/12/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) A great book aimed at "powering up" divine spellcasters, with chaotic and neutral good paladins as well! Product: Book of Hallowed Might Author: Monte Cook Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Malhovac Press Line: Cost: $8.00 Page count: 48 Year published: 2002 ISBN: SKU: Malhovac010 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by John Guin on 31/12/02 Genre tags: Fantasy	What you get: a 48 page (50 counting covers) PDF document detailing new and alternate rules for divine spellcasters in a D&D campaign. This book was written by Monte Cook, a creator of 3E rules. What I wanted before I bought the book: more detail for clerics and paladins. I see the cleric as a necessary part of a campaign, but a part that lacks the "sizzle" of other classes, and is boring to play. I have run a paladin character in the past, and reached the same conclusion Monte Cook did - a paladin has no reason to stick with the paladin class after about 10th level or so. I was hoping at least these two issues would be addressed in this book. Overall summary: a very worthwhile addition to 3E. Both issues which were top in my mind were addressed, and there is much more to boot. Details: Unlike many of the add on books to 3E (in my opinion), this book avoids the half flavor text/half rules heavy format in favor of an almost 100% devotion to new and variant rules. While I like flavor text in books, this was a surprise to see such an emphasis on rules. I would have been disappointed, for instance, to see a chapter on "The politics of religion in a D&D World." BOHM includes a few paragraphs on this topic, and also covers the role of clerics in a magical society, alternate interpretations of the administration of curing type spells and holy/unholy places - which includes new uses for consecrate and desecrate spells. All in all, I was very please with the completeness of this text, the thought giving to the D&D rules and suggestions for including divine themes without the feeling that I was being pushed into making every aspect of a campaign revolve around such themes. Mr. Cook walks a fine line with the early chapters of this book, but manages to deliver the exact right combination of overview and rules. Note: druids, as a whole, are only barely touched. Most of the emphasis is on clerics. Surprisingly, considering the one variant of the ranger class he has already released, Mr. Cook introduces a third ranger variant. His assumption is the ranger class "is front loaded - once you take a single level, there's no strong reason" to stick with the class. I agree - the PHB ranger gets too much at first level. The variation here keeps the divine spells, but allows the character to take some fighter like bonus feats over several levels. Overall, this looks to be the most balanced ranger yet. Makes you wonder what the new PHB will have... Addressing the issue of paladin progression at middle levels, Cook points out the paladin only gets a few new spells after 8th level compared to a fighter's continuous feat progression. He offers a variant paladin class which has some extra paladin based feats and abilities which continue through the levels. Again, this looks like a balanced variant. I had personally run into this dilemma when my paladin character hit 9th level, and I wish I would have had this book then. Now to the truly variant - chaotic good and neutral good paladins. They each have unique abilities which a lawful good paladin does not have (celestial ally summoning, for instance), but also lose some of the prototype paladin's special abilities (no special mount, for instance). I have an inherent view of Mr. Cook's work which manifests itself here. I see these variants as slightly overpowered (in part, my feeling is based on the bard and sorcerer variants in Book of Eldritch Might 2) since they overall lose little used paladin abilities (like turning undead, useful only against undead foes) in favor of abilities which are always useful. In short, they come out a bit more versatile than the lawful good paladin, which may or may not be unbalancing overall. I haven't played these yet, so keep that in mind. I'd be interested to see how they work in a long term setting. There is also a section quantifying alignment, which looks very useful for situations in which you need to know how well differing alignments would work together. Alignment other than good or evil really isn't used much by my group, but for those that need more detail, you can get it here. Three new prestige classes are presented. The Blessed Prelate fulfills the role of an enlightened member of a clergy. The Hallowed Mage spans the gap between divine and arcane magic, devoting themselves to the religious study of the arcane arts. The Knight of the Pale is a holy warrior with emphasis on combat, and again, seems overpowered. Again, though, I have not played this class, but I can't see any reason why a fighter type would not want to take one level of this class as soon as it was available. 20 New feats are presented, and cover some of my perceived shortcomings from the core handbooks. Favored Enemy Critical Strike serves as an example - extra damage against a favored enemy seems like a reasonable feat. Feats to cause followers to change alignments are presented, as well as bonus feats distributed from noble/clerical rulers. Several of the feats have "DM Approval" as the prerequisite. I guess the lesson is to consider carefully the ramifications of the bonuses you would get in your campaign. I also see this as a great plot hook - "So you want to be knighted by the king? Well, start by getting the king's attention. Here's what you must do..." Rules for taking oaths are laid out, but not in the amount of detail I wanted to see. Too much here is left up to the DM discretion, and I really get the feeling this section will evolve into endless house rules. Most of the other information presented here stands on its own well. I would have preferred to see this section reduced in favor of more druidic coverage. There is a new Light Domain in the magic chapter along with more spells than I care to count. Many of the spells fill niches in the divine arena, such as Grant Quarter, a spell which holds a captive safely in stasis until delivered to the proper authorities. This simply feels like a spell a good cleric would want to offer someone who was captured in order to "bring 'em back alive." The new magic items and creatures also fill in the gaps left by the core rules. If the core rules have undead for necromancers, what could be the opposite used by good clerics? Well, blessed children, of course - the unborn souls of people not yet which can be summoned by good spellcasters. They can be turned by evil clerics, naturally, and just fit in seamlessly with the core rules so well you are left wandering why no one had thought of undead opposites before. Artwork within is average for a PDF - pencil sketches and black and white. Covers, including the back, are above average for a PDF and are in color. I paid $7 US for this, but the list price is $8. Either price is fine with me, as this book is a tremendous vale for the divine spellcaster. The new spells, feats and other information makes the cleric a much more interesting character to play.

Book of Hallowed Might