Mongoose publishing has decided to use the AD&D look of the "Complete such and such Handbook" for their Collector Series, of which "The Quintessential Fighter" is the first book.
This book supplements the combat options available to the fighter class, proposes a few prestige classes, describes some fighting styles and provides us with the Open Mass Combat System.
Character concepts are described and are somewhat reminiscent of the kits found in the 2nd ed. "Complete such and such" handbooks. Each character concept provides role-playing notes and offers a small bonus and a small penalty. The character concepts developed here are the professional soldier, the tribesman, the noble, the savage, the fop, the nomad, the gladiatorial slave, the outlaw, the thug, the beast master, the explorer, the last survivor and the fighter assassin.
Following that we get ten short prestige classes, of the five levels variety. Some incorporate elements from other classes (the barbarian rage and the rogue sneak attack). A few are particularly interesting, such as the master bowman who threatens a 20 feet area around him for attacks of opportunity. Others are apt at leading units in battle, which is important considering the Open Mass Combat System included in this book.
A section called "Tricks of the Trade" supplements combat options available to fighters. Crafting armor and weapons is discussed. A rule for called shots suggests that when a character scores a threat, instead of dealing double damage she can make a called shot. The result of such an attack will temporarily cripple an opponent. There are rules for duelling, jousting and using the shield wall formation. A section also describes tournament games. These are interesting but the rules for duelling fail to take AC in consideration. I am almost sure that the author intended AC to be relevant in duels or else would not have mentioned Fighting Defensively. At the end of this review I have tried to revise this rule.
Most of the new feats make a worthwhile contribution to the d20 system, with some new feats being only available to fighters.
A section describes a host of "new" weapons (some are just different versions of the same weapons found in Sword and Fist), some new armor and some tools. Seven types of arrows are described, such as the armor piercing, barbed, fire and whistling arrows. A section also details the creation and use of blackpowder and firearms.
The section on fighting styles has a lot of potential but can also be problematic. A fighting style involves the character meeting some prerequisites, mostly skills and feats, to gain special bonuses. Each fighting style is divided in five stages of progression. Each stage requires a period of training, from two weeks to two months. Some styles provide special abilities or bonuses under certain limited conditions and can add an interesting touch to a character. On the other hand, a character must conform to a specific list of feat and skill progression, thus limiting customisation for a PC. Also, some fighting styles offer some pretty powerful bonuses "for free" since they can be acquired at almost no expense. Gaining a level of ability in a fighting style does not mean "spending" a class level in it. DMs will have to exert care with those.
The requirements a fighter must meet to learn a fighting style don't always make sense. For example, to gain the third level of ability in the Rain of Blades style, a character must have a base attack bonus of +6 and 8 ranks in bluff. Unless one uses special rules, bluff is a cross-class skill for the fighter class, hence 8 ranks can't be achieved before the 13th level. Why the +6 BAB requirement then? Keep in mind that this is not a sourcebook for rogues.
The Open Mass Combat System is a very interesting tool for creating large-scale battles. It draws extensively on the d20 system. I have already described it in my review of "Seas of Blood" where it was introduced. A problem lies with the lack of range increments for war machines and no indication as to what modifies the attack roll with such an engine. Whose attack bonus is applied? Shouldn't a ballistic skill be involved? These are issues gamers will have to address on their own.
The last section describes the construction, maintenance and defence (or attack) of strongholds using the structural damage rules introduced in the Open Mass Combat System. Different parts of a stronghold are described in terms of structure points. Employing staff and maintenance crews for day to day life is discussed, as well as the duties and rights of a landlord.
This book contains some excellent elements but also some important mistakes and omissions. Visit Mongoose Publishing.
Revision of the duelling rule:
Step 3: A duelling check is then made, with both opponents making an opposed attack roll. If the attacker wins the Duelling check and beats his opponent's AC, he will deal damage to the defender, according to the weapon he is using.
