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| Sigfried |
 Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 1:48 pm Post subject: Advanced Feats: The Cavalier's Creed - Collected Reviews |
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Hi folks,
This is simply a collection of reviews for Advanced Feats: The Cavalier's Creed.
These are posted by yours truly and collected from various locations. These reviews are not edited other than formatting so they are readable in this forum.
If you wish to post your own review, you are by all means welcome and encouraged to do so. |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 1:51 pm Post subject: Tower of the Lonely GM |
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Reviewer: Tzimiscedracul
Website: Tower of the Lonely GM
Rating: Worthy
The Cavalier’s Creed is newest installment of the Advanced Feats series for Pathfinder. For those yet unfamiliar with the line, each Advanced Feats product is a small PDF – 16 pages – devoted to one of the base classes of the game.
The first part of the book focus on the cavalier base class features, trying to elucidate some of its core elements and tactical advantages. I find these sections rather bland, though I can’t deny that they’re useful to inexperienced or new players (especially in the case of the cavalier, one of the new base classes of the Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide).
For me the real “meat” of this book is its 30 new feats, most of them followed by commentaries of the author, where he explains the design reasons and intents behind each new mechanic. I’ve found out that the Advanced Feats line is not your usual ‘supplement of feats’ – and that Sigfried Trent isn’t afraid to push the feat mechanics to new areas of Pathfinder. Albeit it’s true that sometimes this may lead to unbalanced rules, I find it a refreshing and thought-provoking approach. A fine example is the feat Provoke that’s practically a new class feature and reminds me of similar abilities, like the challenge feature of the Night class (from the Player’s Handbook II of the 3.5 Edition). The author clearly states in those cases like that that he’s dealing with a very polemic mechanic.
As we’re talking about the cavalier, there’re a fair number of Teamwork feats, like Back to Back, that prevents enemies from flanking the heroes and Pack Attack, that allows you to enjoy the benefits of allies flanking a common adversary. Certain feats improve class features, like Bloody Banner. Some are useful to any character, like Bravery (bad name here, as it was already used by the Pathfinder fighter class) or Fortune. Cavalier’s Creed, obviously, also has some feats dedicated to animal companions or mounts. Finally, there feats to improve the Leardership rules, like Extra Cohort and Great Leader.
Now, about the strong stuff, we have feats like Defensive Sunder, that lets you execute a Sunder maneuver while fighting on the defensive (full defense, fighting defensively or combat expertise) if your enemy misses an melee attack against you. Another extremely tempting feat is Near and Far, that lets you attack adjacent foes with reach weapons.
Some of the new feats appear to be draw from classics of the fantasy genre, like Shield Evasion (finally my knights will be able to resist unscathed to dragon’s breath!) .
Cavalier’s Creed ends with three full character builds for the base class: the defensive Green Knight, the riding master Tawny Knight and high-damage striker Black Knight.
All things considered, Advanced Feats: The Cavalier’s Creed an excellent source of feats, even if you’re not that interested in the class itself. The price range and quality of PDF make of it a worthy acquisition. |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 2:25 pm Post subject: Charles Carrier - 5 of 5 stars |
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Reviewer: Charles Carrier
Website: Paizo
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
In the interest of fairness, I must begin by disclosing that I received my copy of Cavalier’s Creed free, for reviewing purposes. However, now that I have read it over, I am hanging onto it with all my strength. They will get it back when they pry it from my cold, dead, hands! Why am I so attached to it? Let me tell you…
This supplement begins with a nice page-and-a-half discussion of the Cavalier class’s strengths and weaknesses. Without doubt it is good and useful information, visually enhanced with some quality heraldic artwork, but of course we are here for the Feats!
The real meat of this supplement, the new Feats, starts on page 3. …And I was hooked right from the very first one! A lot of these Feats (I’d say well over half) fall into the category of “that’s so obvious – this should have been a part of the game all along!” For example, the image of two heroic warriors fighting back to back, protecting each other’s blind spots while facing a horde of enemies, has been a staple of heroic literature for centuries. And there it is, exemplified by the very first Feat on the list!
All of the Feats have simple, straightforward, robust mechanics, which are usually described very completely in just a few sentences. This is a powerful benefit for both GM’s and players: If you need to refresh your memory of a Feat in the middle of combat, the succinct descriptions mean that you can do so with a quick glance rather than a long pause. In his introduction the author mentions that he has a decade of experience in designing Feats, and that experience clearly shows in the clean, streamlined design found throughout Cavalier’s Creed.
Even better, each Feat includes a section titled “Commentary”. It is here that Sigfried Trent, the author, speaks directly with us, the audience. This section describes things like where the inspiration for the feat came from, what he was trying to accomplish, and why the rules were designed the way they were. I really like this kind of behind-the-scenes discussion. Providing a little extra insight makes the Feats more fun to use. Furthermore, it can help the GM to fairly adjudicate those occasional weird moments when things happen that no rule could ever anticipate. I also like the friendly, conversational tone it lends to the overall work. I definitely feel that Mr. Trent is sharing these rules with us, not dictating them to us.
There are several sidebar boxes sprinkled throughout the pages. In some we get to learn a bit of historical context, while others discuss rule decisions and consequences in more detail. I found all the sidebars to be very informative and entertaining, but my favorites are the historical ones. They show very clearly the amount of knowledge and research Mr. Trent brought to this project. Also, I really like genuine history!
At the end are three new builds for the Cavalier class, complete with Leveling Guides, which show how to use these new Feats to best advantage. I think GM's will find these builds more useful than players, simply because players (in my game at least) always seem to ignore character builds in favor of going their own way. However, we GM’s benefit greatly from having the groundwork already laid when we need a quick NPC with a particular “flavor”.
This review would not be complete if I didn’t mention something which this supplement lacks: Power Creep! That’s right, these rules are balanced! Nothing here is going to turn your players into little campaign-wrecking mini-gods. These new Feats will noticably improve the Cavaliers in your game without giving them an unfair advantage over the other classes.
Worthy indeed! |
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| Dark Mistress |
| Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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Advanced Feats: Cavaliers Creed by Open Design
This product is 16 pages long. It starts with a cover, ToC, and credits. (2 pages)
Introduction (2 pages)
It explains the purpose of the book and then breaks the class down. Talking about all the aspects of the class.
New Feats (5 ½ pages)
There is 30 new feats. Most of them can be used by any class, though some of them will be less useful to other classes.
Back to Back – I really like this feat and can see a lot of PC's taking it.
Barreling Overrun – Overrun more than one target along a path.
Bloody Banner – bonus to allies dmg.
Bravery – turns fear effects of running etc into shaken instead.
Buckler Mastery
Campaigner – only need half the rest.
Clever Critter – animal feat, bonus to their int. Good for animal companions or familiars too.
Defensive Sunder – while fighting defensively may attempt to sunder weapons if they miss.
Extra Cohort
Fortune – 1/day can reroll
Great Leader – bonus to leadership
Intimidating Gaze – I like this one... you become Clint Eastwood. 
Moral Chameleon
Move As One – allows mount to take moves the rider could make if on foot, like 5ft step.
Near and Far
Nimble Mount
Pack Attack – If two or more with feat flank target, then all count as flanking target.
Pierce Armor – grant bonus to hit against heavier armor with a pierce weapon.
Provoke
Pull Blow – can choose to do less damage after seeing damage roll, lowering final amount.
Rampage
Rank Fighting – lets you use a reach weapon to fight around a alley with no penalty.
Reflexive Brace – as a immediate action brace your weapon against a charge. (if weapon is a brace weapon) make AoO before charge is resolved.
Shaft and Shield – Can use spear/polearm and shield at same time.
Shielded Move – use tower shield, against one foe do not provoke AoO against them while moving.
Shield Evasion
Size Doesn’t Matter – not what you think. Size has no effect on intimidate.
Strength in Numbers
Tag Team Fighting – if you hit a target, your alley with feat gains a bonus to hit.
Team Initiative
Character Builds (3 ½ pages)
A few sample builds to help players make cavaliers.
Green Knight – Defensive and protector of allies build.
The Tawny Knight – Small race that is always mounted build.
The Black Knight – Damage dealing build.
It finishes with a OLG and ad. (2 pages)
Closing thoughts. I liked this book, this might be the best book in the series so far. Most of the feats can be used by most classes, but all of them are useful to the cavalier class. There was really no feats I read that I thought. I would never take that or why would I use a feat on that? There wasn't really any feats I felt would become must have feats either, though a few of the teamwork feats I see being very popular.
The layout, editing, was very good and it is a very pretty book. There is really no artwork hardly other than the cover and one section of shields. Though the borders are very pretty and not to bad on a printer. There is several side bars where the author talks about why he did what he did and all the feats have comments on why they was done etc. It was not really needed but interesting to read. Being unable to really find a flaw with the product I am giving this a 5 star review. This product would be useful to many classes and pretty much any melee combat class and very useful to cavalier players. |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 7:21 pm Post subject: Roberto M from Stargazer's World - Liked |
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Reviewer: Robert M Emerson
Website: Emerson's Bookshelf
Rating: Liked
Disclaimer: The copy used for this review was provided by the folks at Open Design.
The Cavalier's Creed is that latest offering from Open Design in the Advanced Feats line of Pathfinder RPG compatible books that focus on the classes presented in the Advanced Players Guide. It is a 16-page PDF that consists of a full color cover with artwork, a credits page, the customary OGL page, a split-page of Advanced Feats line advertisements, and 12-pages of content.
As with previous entries in this series, we are presented with an examination of the advanced class, 30 feats for it, and build ideas and three examples. It also has a nice cover by Christophe Swal that is quite evocative of the cavalier.
Okay, there's the cut-and-dry aspects out of the way, now onto the editorialization...
It'd be a slight understatement if I said that I like the work of Sigfried Trent on the Advanced Feats series, as well as that of his wife, and graphic designer of the series, Anne Trent. I really do as they put out a quality product for the folks at Open Design each and every time and The Cavalier's Creed is no exception.
In addition to the crunchy mechanics within, we are also presented with various author notes about historical footnotes, design notes, and factoids that are a combination of interesting and useful for the reader. Whether the reader is someone who remembers cavaliers in their various incarnations in d20-based roleplaying games, as well as a certain overly entitled pain-in-the-backside from a certain fantasy-based cartoon, or they are someone new to the class, this PDF will be quite useful and informative.
The black-and-white illustrations are a nice touch, as well, especially given their period feel and flavor. In fact, I would say that the illustrations lend an ambiance to the text, given the subject matter, and it helps put someone in the right mindset for playing a cavalier.
See, it is not just about being noble, talking flowery language, or being the hopeless romantic, and The Cavalier's Creed helps show that quite nicely. A quixotic knight is not a career, it is a calling. It is not a character trait, it is character exemplified. It is not just tilting at windmills, it is knowing that one of them one day will be a dragon.
Basically, being a cavalier is taking an unreasonable ideal or belief and instilling it as such a core concept for a character that it becomes reasonable, nay even admirable. It is when chivalry leaves a cavalier that the unreasonable occurs, but fortunately with a piece like The Cavalier's Creed that will not happen. |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 8:05 pm Post subject: Satyre of Fame and Fortune - 5 Banners of 5 |
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Reviewer: Sayre
Website: Fame and Fortune
Rating: 5 Banners out of 5
Spurred to greatness - review: advanced feats the cavalier's creed.
Advanced Feats: The Cavalier's Creed by Open Design.
Metric: Banners. Though I admit being a fan of Don Quixote, windmills would mean I'd turned this review into a Terry Gilliam movie.
DISCLAIMER: This review is of a PDF copy provided by Open Design.
Summary: 5 banners (out of five)
Advanced Feats: The Cavalier's Creed has found a level I've known the series can hit since The Witches Brew. Sigfried Trent and Open Design have got it right on the content. The walkthough is informative, the feats add to the class and support other classes. The builds are excellent stuff. One faulty bookmark isn't enough for me to mark it down, even at my level of pedantry. If you've got the Advanced Players Guide and need to understand the cavalier, get this. Wonder if there's going to be an Advanced Feats compilation?
Content: 5 banners (now this is how you do it).
The walkthrough comes out swinging, a mechanical breakdown of the cavalier, the potential of it's class abilities is defined and it's foibles explored. If your GM likes to play with wilderness sandboxes, this is an ideal class. Hardcore dungeoneers may find the horse somewhat cumbersome yet without it, the cavalier is a combatant missing some of it's perks unless you're allowed collaborative feats in which case, things get… interesting.
The feats are how you design for Pathfinder or 3.xE. Interesting toys for the cavalier and the mount and again, non-cavaliers can benefit from a range of feats (Rogues with Pack Attack? Scary!) in here. The design notes in here were nice, showing the thought processes behind the decisions made.
Three solid builds and the mount details help confirm their importance in this build. The Green Knight showcases how a half-orc can win spurs as a shield to allies and a threat to their foes. The Tawny Knight, a gnome/wolf tagteam that combines to cause mayhem would work well in a dungeon. And the Black Knight brings rapier, buckler and sheer mayhem with a lance to bear, despite inevitable Pythonisms. Didn't feel another build was needed here this time so this is it done right.
Art/Layout: 5 banners
Awesome cover? Check. Interior layout is crisp and well-ordered with heraldic designs and vines giving a smooth appearance that shows how far things have come from Secrets of the Alchemist. One minor blemish, a bookmark is mislabelled. Everything else is slick and beautifully done.
Overall, this brings it all together. If you have a Pathfinder GM looking for an excuse to use high-strung knights and jousting in the manner of BBC's Merlin, this is a great holiday gift that keeps on giving. |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 2:31 pm Post subject: Sunglar of Stargazers World - Recommended |
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Reviewer: Sunglar
Website:Stargazer's World
Rating: Recommended
Ok let me say it outright, I love the cover! After complaining about previous covers in the Advanced Feats series, with the exception of The Witch’s Brew, I must say this is my favorite cover thus far. It has action, it tells a story and it makes me want to read what’s behind the digital cover.
After such a stellar first impression I sat back with great expectation to read The Cavalier’s Creed, the 4th installment if the Advanced Feats series published by Open Design. They provided this review copy of their new book aimed at another of the classes introduced in the Pathfinder RPG Advanced Players Guide, the Cavalier.
Some personal details in the interest of full disclosure, I am a big fan of the AD&D cavalier originally presented in Unearthed Arcana. My favorite character, and the one who bore the name Sunglar, was a Cavalier/Paladin under the rules presented in the AD&D 1st edition Unearthed Arcana. The Pathfinder cavalier is NOT a rehash of that class, being its own creature, but I could not avoid making the connection and more goodies for the class is a big plus.
The book is 16 pages long, 12 of those pages actual gaming content when you discount the cover, adds and the OGL. The layout on these books improves with each installment and this is not the exception. The normal two column layout is adorned with flair and details, shields, silhouettes and woodcuts that enhance the theme of the book, giving it an air reminiscent of jousting tournaments, very fitting with the class.
The Cavalier is the odd one out of all the new classes in the Advanced Players Guide, it’s the only non-caster. The opening discussion on the class and its abilities touches upon this and all relevant abilities a player should be aware of. Be mindful, the fact the cavalier is not a caster doesn’t make it any less versatile. The cavalier’s orders offer many role playing opportunities and the challenge and tactician abilities change the tide of battle and give flavor to the class. Specifically the Cavalier’s Creed refers the reader to more Teamwork Feats available in Kobold Quarterly #15, a fine and entertaining publication on its own right.
The builds at the end of the book cover traditional knightly archetypes of myth and literature, the Green Knight, the Tawny Knight and the Black Knight. Notes on historical bucklers and horsemanship, while short, are very informative and really invite the reader to further research historical details for their games.
But, what about the feats, that’s why you are readying a book called Advanced Feats after all if? (Not really, the book is chock full of other useful information, but I digress.0) There are 30 new feats, all useful to the Cavalier, but like in previous Advanced Feats books, many are useful for other classes as well, here are feats of particular interest to combat heavy characters. The author notes on the feats are always informative and interesting form a game design point of view. Many feats play off the classes specific abilities, which is always good. Some generally useful feats, like Campaigner (need less rest and food, accustomed to being on the road) and Bravery (resistant to fear effects) are useful for building knightly or military themed characters even if they are no specifically cavaliers.
Clever Critter, meant for the mount is simple, it makes the mounts just a little smarter, but very useful. Many feats enhance Leadership. Moral Chameleon allows the character to change orders and there are plenty of combat and teamwork feats to make your cavalier interesting.
The author, Sigfried Trent, continues to impress me with his rule insight and mastery of the rules. While there are many feats products out there, many have balance issues and I always think twice about letting my players pick from those books. This is not the case here, the Advanced Feat series are books I would allow my players to use sight unseen, and this is my campaign we are talking about here, so this is high praise! This, and previous installments of the Advanced Feats series, are a great digital stocking stuffer for your friends who love Pathfinder or play these classes.
If you are curious here are my previous reviews on the Advanced Feats books dedicated to the Alchemist, Witch and Summoner. Here is looking forward to the Oracle and the Inquisitor![url][/url] |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 1:04 pm Post subject: Megan Robertson from RPG Resouce - 5 of 5 stars |
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Reviewer: Megan Robertson
Website: RPG Resource
Rating: 5 of 5 stars (On Paizo.com)
As the Introduction states, this product (like the others in the Advanced Feats line) is more than a collection of feats: it's an exploration of the potentials and ramifications of the Cavalier class as a whole. Of the classes offered in the Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide, it's the only one not to make use of magic, but gives those players fond of both strategic combat and sheer role-playing bravado scope to shine. Two standout features of the class are the challenge ability and the mount. The mount is more than a mere nag, with its own feats, and a good understanding of mounted combat and the capabilities of the Ride skill will stand a cavalier character in good stead. The use of Orders primarily build in good role-playing opportunities, but each provides advantages and limitations as well. Good with both combat (especially in situations where you can mount up) and with social skills fit for the courts of princes, it makes for an intriguing class to play.
Throughout the work, the illustrations fit well, with a mix of mediaeval woodcut-style images of knights in combat and several painted heraldic shields, again reflecting the rather 'Arthurian' style of this class. As a herald painter, there's really only one questionable one, a gyronny of eight sable and vert in flagrant breach of the rule of tincture!
And so, on to the feats. Whilst aimed at Cavaliers, most can be taken by any character who meets the prerequisites. The majority serve to hone combat abilities, and to focus on particular areas or specific fighting styles. However, one gem is Moral Chameleon, which permits a Cavalier to switch Orders without losing all that he had gained from membership in an Order he's decided to leave. Several empower battlefield teamwork - Back to Back, Tag Team Fighting and Pack Attack stand out - while others are aimed at the Cavalier's mount rather than the rider. Near and Far enables you to use a 'reach' weapon such as a polearm in close quarters, certainly something real-world combatants can master with the correct training and useful when a melee moves unexpectedly or an opponent tries to rush you. An interesting feature is the 'commentary' given with many feats, presenting insights to the author's thought processes as the feat was designed.
Finally a selection of character builds - planned progressions to support a specific approach to the character as a whole - are presented. For the Cavalier, the options are the Green Knight, the Tawny Knight and the Black Knight. Lovers of the Arthurian type of knightly adventure will recognise the tendency of certain knights to be known by colour instead of their names. The Green Knight specialises in being a noble defender of other party members and of society as a whole. A bold style is proposed, where the Green Knight uses his challege ability beefed up with the Provoke feat to goad his chosen enemy into attacking him, a risky tactic that requires you to be secure in your combat abilities, and the build emphasises shield work and tactical teamwork to reflect this.
The Tawny Knight is focussed on the combination of rider and mount, and a Small race is chosen to maximise the opportunities of remaining mounted in situations where larger Cavaliers might be forced to get off due to space limitations. So the example is a gnome riding a timber wolf, with a wealth of mounted combat feats and leadership skills to make the most of their combat potential. Finally, the Black Knight is a combat monster, whose challenge ought to make his opponent ensure that his affairs are in order! Even his mount is given the Intimidating Prowess feat (and levels in the Intimidate skill), and is able to fight independently using teamwork with his rider, as well as when the Black Knight is mounted.
This is a considered and well-balanced (in game mechanic terms) look at the Cavalier class, and is recommended to anyone considering playing one. |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 3:30 pm Post subject: Jarall of tenletter press 4.5 of 5 |
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Reviewer: Jarall
Website: tenletter
Rating: 4.5 of 5
The Cavalier’s Creed, by Sigried Trent, is the fourth supplement from Open Design’s Advanced Feat series. As with the other products in the series, the Cavalier’s Creed begins with an investigation of the cavalier class, followed by a collection of 30 new feats and then ends off with a discussion focusing on 3 character builds.
Trent’s examination of the class provides readers with an excellent base for understanding and playing a cavalier character. Furthermore, it gives us a little insight into Trent’s feat and class build design decisions. Best of all though, this type of class analysis will most certainly prove to be a powerful tool for those taking part in this year’s RPG Superstar challenge (round 2 requires contestants (and those just following along for the practice/experience) to design a class archetype). I wonder if Trent can squeeze out an analysis for the other classes before the end of round 2.
The feats, as always, are well presented, with additional explanatory commentary, sidebars (often including references to real world techniques and examples) and tips for incorporating them into your game. Though the feats were designed with the cavalier in mind, many of them can be used by other character classes. Most of the feats will find a space in my games, but there were a few that really stood out from the rest:
Nimble Mount: Nimble Mount is one of several feats specifically designed for animal companions and bonded mounts. This subgroup of feats allows for a number of interesting mount-based builds and options, but Nimble Mount happens to be my favourite. Just as the Mounted Combat feat allows a rider to defend her mount, Nimble Mount provides the mount’s rider with a dodge bonus to AC and reflex saves. Quite often, when building a mount-based character, so much of the character’s feats and equipment purchases go into ensuring the mount’s survival. So, it’s nice to see that a mount can now give its rider a bonus for a change.
Back to Back: One of a number of teamwork feats (building on the cavalier’s tactician class ability), Back to Back prevents adjacent characters, that all have this feat, from being flanked. Back to Back is an elegant feat that should provide a good basis for many a cinematic fight scene… and can also be taken by selfish inquisitors that use allies as living shields.
Shielded Move: Another distinct subgroup of feats focuses on reach weapons and shields, giving all characters more options whether mounted or on foot. Shielded Move is my favourite, as it adds an interesting tactical movement option to a large group of character types. While wielding an appropriate shield, Shielded Move allows a character to protect herself from one designated enemy – movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity from the designated enemy. I like the feel of this feat, even though it is better than using acrobatics to prevent AoOs (in some situations). I can clearly see a cleric using this feat to get close to a wounded ally or a fighter deflecting spear thrusts to close in on an enemy.
The three builds, at the end of the PDF, gives players a greater starting point for planning a cavalier’s career. The Black Knight (despite the lack of Monty Python references) is my favourite, since part of the build concept plays with the idea of giving the mount ranks in intimidation. I love the idea of a mount that is as intimidating (perhaps even more so) than its rider.
Visually, the PDF carries on with great artwork and design that helps enforce the knightly feel of the class. Only a few formatting errors detract from the product, but these are relatively minor. Overall, I enjoyed reading through the Cavalier’s Creed and look forward to having my evil knight’s mount staring my player characters down in the near future.
Arbitrary score: 4.5/5
- Jerall |
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| Endzeitgeist |
| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 7:28 am Post subject: |
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This pdf is 16 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial + ToC, 1 page advertisement and 1 page SRD.
That leaves 12 pages of content and starts with 1.5 pages of analysis of the cavalier class, detailing potential strengths and giving a nice overview.
After that, we get 30 new feats, including Teamworkfeats.
-Back to back: Fight with ally, deny flanks
-Barreling Overrun: Overrun more enemies
-Bloody Banner: Inspires allies
-Bravery: Fear and panic are treated as shaken
-Buckler Master: better at using Bucklers
-Campaigner: Sleep anywhere
-Clever Critter: Smarter than other animals
-Defensive Sunder: Sunder incoming attacks
-Extra Cohort: self-explanatory
-Fortune: 1 reroll per day
-Great leader: Leadershipbonus
-Intimidating Gaze: Demoralize foes
-Moral Chameleon: Change orders, retain some abilities
-Move as one: Move when rider does
-Near and far: Reach weapons to attack adjacent foes
-Nimble Mount: Keep rider out of harm's way
-Pack Attack: Flank when allies flank
-Pierce Armor: Bonus to hit armored enemies
-Provoke: self-explanatory
-Pull Blow: Reduce damage after rolling
-Rampage: Continue charge after dropping foe
-Rank Fighting: Cuts penalties for attacking through allies
-Reflexive Brace: Brace faster
-Shaft and Shield: Wield two-handed spears in one hand
-Shielded Move: No AoO from chosen opponent
-Shield Evasion: limited evasion when using a shield
-Size doesn't matter: Ignore size penalties to intimidate
-Strength in Numbers: Better resist are effects when with allies
-Tag Team Flanking: Allies gain bonuses against enemies you hurt
-Team Initiative: you and your allies share the best initiative roll
All of the feats were either interesting, good ideas and more importantly, none seemed too weak or too strong. They also come with commentaries on the design decision as well as some nice bits of historical trivia. In the rare cases (e.g. provoke), where I would have disliked a given feat, it's mechanics are specifically worded so the DM can prevent abuse.
After that, we get 3 sample builds for cavaliers: The green knight, the tawny knight and the black knight. I liked the builds and their explanations.
Conclusion:
Formatting and editing are top-notch, I didn't notice any mistakes. The feats were often imaginative, cool, fit their niche and felt neither under- nor overpowered. This is quite simply a great feat book and worth the few bucks it costs. Due to the high quality and the low price, I'll settle for a 5 star-rating.
Good work!
Cheers,
Endzeitgeist |
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| Sigfried |
| Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:37 pm Post subject: Shane O'Connor of Drive Through RPG - 5 of 5 stars |
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Reviewer: Shane o'Connor
Website: RPG Now
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
I never really saw the benefit to mounted combat in Pathfinder; from my perspective, it seemed like an expensive and somewhat dangerous proposition. After all, you had to sink a lot of feats into it, and most mounts seem to have a “kill me” sign around their necks. Even with the advent of the Cavalier class from the Advanced Player’s Guide, it just didn’t seem like something I’d be interested in.
But on a whim, I decided to check out Advanced Feats: The Cavalier’s Creed, since author Sigfried Trent has some serious street cred where feats are concerned. So I checked out the book and, for possibly the first time ever, I’m thinking about how it’d actually be kinda cool to play a mounted warrior.
Advanced Feats: The Cavalier’s Creed starts by talking about the cavalier class’s strong points before it heads into the thirty new feats based around them. Note that these are based around the class only in a loose sense, as something like three-fourths of the feats don’t require that you have cavalier levels to use. This is a good thing, as the book presents feats that deliver things I’ve seen players wanting for a long time. Near and Far, for example, lets you attack adjacent enemies with reach weapons, while Shaft and Shield lets you use two-handed polearm weapons in one hand. Several feats here are written expressly for animals, such as Clever Critter, which effectively grants a creature an extra 2 points of Intelligence (for that Lassie-level intellect).
What really made these feats stand out for me, however, was how (like other books in this series) the author includes a personal commentary with each feat, giving us a few sentences about why they were written the way they were. I’ve always loved these “behind the curtain” peeks and this is no exception. Sigfried Trent not only has great feat design experience, but he shows that experience off here.
The book closes with three example cavalier builds. These are the green knight (attract enemies’ attention and protect the party), the tawny knight (a small-sized hard charger), and the black knight (heavy damage-dealer). These list all of the various options that cavaliers should take at each level, including class features, feats, and ability score increases. Helpfully, they also list how to level the mount as well.
Needless to say, this book is an absolute must-have for anyone playing a cavalier, and extremely useful if you’re interested in a character that fights on a mount, uses polearms, commands followers, or fights with teamwork. There’s a lot of great options here, so mount up and check out The Cavalier’s Creed. |
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| Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 12:00 pm Post subject: Sean Holland of RPGDrivethrough - 4 of 5 stars |
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Joined: 08 Jan 2008
Posts: 94
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Reviewer: Sean Holland
Website: Drive Through RPG
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
If you wish to understand the Cavalier class and to expand the options available to these mounted combatants, the Cavalier’s Creed is an excellent sourcebook. The feats contained within are mostly applicable to all classes but especially those characters with a mounted focus.
The Cavalier’s Creed: Advanced Feats is a 16-page PDF (13-pages if you remove the cover, ad and OGL page) for the Pathfinder RPG written by Sigfried Trent and published by Open Design. This is part of Open Design’s Advance Feats line for Pathfinder.
The layout is primary traditional two columns and the table of feats clear to read. The cover is full color while the minimal interior art is mostly black and white carefully chosen public domain art to support the theme.
The Cavaliers Creed begins with an introduction to this product and it intention, which is to provide a detailed look at the Cavalier class and ways to play it as well as providing additional options for the class. It then proceeds to do just that, outlining the strengths and weaknesses of the class and provides basic advice to consider when playing the class. All quite well done.
Next are the thirty new feats, only three of which are tied to Cavalier class abilities, and each has paragraph or so of commentary that talk about the reasoning behind the feat and occasionally potential balance issues with a feat. Personally, I really like this insight into the design process. The feats are solid mechanically and certainly aimed toward what the Cavalier does well including several new teamwork feats and others to be used by mounted fighters.
Concluding the product are three example builds: the Green Knight (defensive), Tawny Knight (expert rider) and the Black Knight (challenge master).
Disclosure: As a featured reviewer for RPGNow/DriveThroughRPG, I received my copy of this product for free from the publisher for the purpose of this review. |
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