@@HowtoRPG I think 5E is unnecessarily pushing players out just with the tone of their books. 5E is still a super solid system IMO, but they are ruining it with the goofy aesthetic they are adopting.
I don't mind the bite scaling of Con, Con is the best or second-best stat in the game (in my opinion Con is the best stat but some would argue that it's Dex) so most characters should have at least a 12 if not more, it's not very optimal in combat, i see it as more of an out of combat boost / RP ribbon
I’ve come to think of WoTC products like a buffet, take what you want, walk past the rest. Great review and I agree with it. Like most WoTC books, there’s always a golden nugget in there for your own game or at least start a thought process and develop it to your own needs. Thank you Fred
I'm late to the party but i got a question. I'm preparing to run the curse of strahd as the DM. I never DMed before so I plan on preparing a lot. Will this book help me run a better CoS in any way?
I made are you disappointed video awhile back. The first day I was excited to read the book. Then I realized how much it fell short, to other publications of Ravenloft. There are parts I did enjoy, but those are few. I feel like they have no respect or real interest to revive pass campaign setting from Advanced Dungeon & Dragons.
lol. I shoot a few photo's of me holding books and making faces. I am not surprised that you have not seen me in a feed on RUclips recommending my video's. Thanks.
Pretty spot on. A few of the extra bits for Ravenloft (like the ghost of VR's son) are nice, where others not so much (updates to "Ez"). Some good overviews of the other domains, but nothing too in depth. The Dark Gifts pdf from the DMs Guild is far superior to the Dark Gifts here. Nearly anything you find for Ravenloft/CoS on DMs Guild will be a better guide for a horror themed campaign than anything in this book. I do like a few of the monsters and am looking forward to incorporating them into my CoS game. I'm definitely upgrading Kiril to the Loup Garou, and look forward to a zombie encounter mash up where I use all the variants I can find in an all out assault upon Vallaki (Picturing Plague and Husk Zombie Bursters among groups of townsfolk, militia, and guards battling various zombie types while a couple Zombie Clots are keeping the players busy... Oh the carnage...). The Vampiric Mind Flayers seem perfect to seed throughout the Amber Temple and Ravenloft. And I think a combo of Skeletons and Boneless could be fun and creepy. But yeah, the stats are a bit weird and can differ from established norms. I'm guessing most will want to tweak them a bit.
Literally everything contained in this book was done better in the 2nd Edition box sets, then again in 3rd Edition. This is both a lazy cash grab, and an attempt to erase decades of existing lore. But hey, kids, you can play a vampire now! Isn't that koooool?? (hashtag) TeamEdward =P Excellent review, btw. I couldn't have said it better.
I just read the spirits bard features and i don't understand why you complained about not being able to speak with the dead, the 6th level feature lets you temporarily learn a spell from the divination or necromancy schools of any class, so you can access the speak with dead spell.
I'm more and more disappointed with the direction WoTC is going. Specially the art/aethstetic direction. The art in the Player's handbook is so evocative, epic and almost old-school... it's awesome. It's a shame that the art started to get more cartoony with time, and now it's just a joke. Thank god for the OSR.
Fred this review was spot on! I laughed when I read the back of the book it says face your fears and a few pages In it gives trigger warnings 😂
Thanks. Strange right. WotC is just trying to cover all the bases and stand on both sides of the fence.
I love how Celtic stereotypes (weepy suicidal kilt wearers and bagpipers) are fine but BEWARE if you offend Ancient Egyptians!
I didn't see that myself, but I might have been stunned ;)
I was considering a possible purchase of this, but now I think I’ll pass. Thanks for another great video!
You are welcome :)
the thumbnail got me dying
@@LukeyU1 Glad you liked it 😉
Fantastic video, thanks for sharing the gift!
Thank you for the kind words.
That thumbnail game is on point.
lol. Thank you. I was trying to channel Jim Carrey.
Wizard's has *dumbed down* evil races. They are no longer "evil." Hell... even Orcs are now "misunderstood." 3.5e looks better and better *every* day.
@@ToySoldierman I am not trying to turn you off 5E.
@@HowtoRPG I think 5E is unnecessarily pushing players out just with the tone of their books. 5E is still a super solid system IMO, but they are ruining it with the goofy aesthetic they are adopting.
@@Valkenvr Hence my expression ;)
I don't mind the bite scaling of Con, Con is the best or second-best stat in the game (in my opinion Con is the best stat but some would argue that it's Dex) so most characters should have at least a 12 if not more, it's not very optimal in combat, i see it as more of an out of combat boost / RP ribbon
Yes, very much so.
Great review Fred!
Thank you Scott.
I’ve come to think of WoTC products like a buffet, take what you want, walk past the rest. Great review and I agree with it. Like most WoTC books, there’s always a golden nugget in there for your own game or at least start a thought process and develop it to your own needs. Thank you Fred
Thanks. Yes, very true. I just wish it was better.
I'm late to the party but i got a question.
I'm preparing to run the curse of strahd as the DM. I never DMed before so I plan on preparing a lot. Will this book help me run a better CoS in any way?
No. The Curse of Strahd is already very dense.
Great review as always, Fred..
Thanks Brenda :)
I made are you disappointed video awhile back. The first day I was excited to read the book. Then I realized how much it fell short, to other publications of Ravenloft.
There are parts I did enjoy, but those are few. I feel like they have no respect or real interest to revive pass campaign setting from Advanced Dungeon & Dragons.
It's trying to get a wider audience. I felt the same.
@@HowtoRPG The sad part is, we were lucky when it first came out, they spent years here with products.
Now we get one book.
Sithicus missed due to recent legal issues? Just a guess that timing was off.
Very likely.
I miss hit dice as a gauge for monster strength/to hit tables...still adjusting to 5E.
There is lots to adjust too.
I totally clicked because of the face you made on the thumbnail. It was also the first time I’d seen your channel pop up on my feed in a while.
lol. I shoot a few photo's of me holding books and making faces. I am not surprised that you have not seen me in a feed on RUclips recommending my video's. Thanks.
Pretty spot on. A few of the extra bits for Ravenloft (like the ghost of VR's son) are nice, where others not so much (updates to "Ez"). Some good overviews of the other domains, but nothing too in depth. The Dark Gifts pdf from the DMs Guild is far superior to the Dark Gifts here. Nearly anything you find for Ravenloft/CoS on DMs Guild will be a better guide for a horror themed campaign than anything in this book.
I do like a few of the monsters and am looking forward to incorporating them into my CoS game. I'm definitely upgrading Kiril to the Loup Garou, and look forward to a zombie encounter mash up where I use all the variants I can find in an all out assault upon Vallaki (Picturing Plague and Husk Zombie Bursters among groups of townsfolk, militia, and guards battling various zombie types while a couple Zombie Clots are keeping the players busy... Oh the carnage...).
The Vampiric Mind Flayers seem perfect to seed throughout the Amber Temple and Ravenloft. And I think a combo of Skeletons and Boneless could be fun and creepy.
But yeah, the stats are a bit weird and can differ from established norms. I'm guessing most will want to tweak them a bit.
Thanks. It's not all bad, but not all good.
Literally everything contained in this book was done better in the 2nd Edition box sets, then again in 3rd Edition. This is both a lazy cash grab, and an attempt to erase decades of existing lore.
But hey, kids, you can play a vampire now! Isn't that koooool?? (hashtag) TeamEdward =P
Excellent review, btw. I couldn't have said it better.
Thanks. It's rare we agree, but nice to know we can.
Thanks for this great review!
You are welcome Oscar. It has been a while.
I just read the spirits bard features and i don't understand why you complained about not being able to speak with the dead, the 6th level feature lets you temporarily learn a spell from the divination or necromancy schools of any class, so you can access the speak with dead spell.
That is not what I am talking about. Speak with the dead or spirits should not be a spell for this class, it should be an unlimited feature.
@@HowtoRPG fair enough
I really liked Candlekeep Mysteries but this one.. Idk
@@arbyaenax I can understand.
I'm more and more disappointed with the direction WoTC is going. Specially the art/aethstetic direction. The art in the Player's handbook is so evocative, epic and almost old-school... it's awesome. It's a shame that the art started to get more cartoony with time, and now it's just a joke. Thank god for the OSR.
Chasing money and a different audience has shifted the art direction. It's not all bad, but you can see the tone change at times.