Need to liven up your campaign world? Try an apocalypse: it can do wonders for your game. Forgotten Heroes: Fang, Fist, and Song uses an apocalypse theme to re-introduce four new character classes to your 4E game. The druid, barbarian, monk, and bard all have their place in a cataclysmic destruction of the old world that clears the way for a fresh age of heroes—and they also make for great additions to any existing campaign. This GSL sourcebook provides players with everything they need to play these base classes in their 4E games!
The barbarian is a tough-as-nails warrior that can take serious punishment while dealing out a respectable amount of carnage himself. The barbarian's role is the defender, and he excels at intercepting the attacks and movements of his enemies to protect his companions.
Bards are leaders, using music to bolster their comrades with rousing songs and strike down foes with reverberating percussion or the stinging cut of a note sharper than steel. Bards are also a living archive of much that has been forgotten, and can use this esoteric knowledge to point out the weaknesses of their foes through the deft flourish of a rapier.
The druid is a master of primal forces, a controller who taps into the elements to push back the encroaching borders of civilization. Druids are fiercely protective of all that grows wild and free, lashing out with fire, ice, and lightning against all that would defile the sanctity of the natural world.
Monks are potent and versatile warriors, using speed and skill to bring down their foes with strange and exotic weapons or simply the calloused strength of their own fists and feet. The monk's skill flows from the mastery of mind and body and the careful study of ancient fighting styles and techniques. Monks excel in the role of striker, and can move through melee with startling agility, striking crippling blows from unexpected directions with fluid ease.
Preview: Learn more about the 4E druid in this FREE PDF preview!
Reviews:
Critical Hits: "You have to give credit to Goodman Games for putting out a solid and professional looking product... The book feels very complete, with feats and magic items doing a great job of providing everything you need for the classes therein."
EN World Staff Review: 4 stars. "If you're looking to pick up some of the 3e slack that 4e skipped out on, Forgotten Heroes offers a good place to start."
Flames Rising: "The book is almost all rules and these are all laid out clearly and precisely... The rules seem to work and seem to have been thoroughly playtested."
Rules Set: 4E (GSL)
Writers: Tavis Allison, Eytan Bernstein, Brian Cortijo, Greg Tito
Editor and Developer: Aeryn "Blackdirge" Rudel
Cover Artist: Steve Ellis
Graphic Design and Art Direction: Jim Pinto
88 pages
Product Availability
Fulfilled immediately.
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The Introduction states the purposes of this book: to introduce the concept of cataclysmic change in a game world and to present 4e versions of the barbarian, bard, druid and monk... which are linked to the apocalypic theme by being either manifestations of the new and changed world, or lingering remnants of an old order; although it is not of course necessary to have a world-shaking event just so that they may appear, you can just make the classes available if you prefer. Note that since this book was published, Wizards of the Coast produced the Player's Handbook 2 in which their versions of the barbarian, bard and druid appear. So, for those classes you have a choice of two variants... and I certainly prefer this bard to the 'official' one!
At the time of writing this review, no 'official' monk character class has been published. Monks are strikers, masters of melee especially without weapons, and can base their combat moves on either 'kick-boxing' or 'grappling' - striking or wrestling with opponents as preferred. Within this each monk also will have a particular fighting style which further characterises the way in which he fights.
Overall this is a quite interesting work, although some may find it has been rendered redundant while others will mine it for additional powers and abilities for their characters. The discussion of the role of apocalypse is interesting and well worth a read, although it would probably be worth developing into a whole book of its own.
When is it going to be available worldwide?October yes but what day?
Most companies in our industry don't set single dates for product releases. Even those of us who do set them generally don't set them until about two weeks before the release date.
(Even now, Goodman only has his September releases broken down into "early" and "late" September.)
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