Acquistion: Complete Warrior

On Tuesday I received Complete Warrior from Amazon. Complete Warrior is a D&D book that focuses on combat, rather than spellcasting(arcane or divine) or mad rogue skillz. I haven't used the book in a game so I won't post a full review, but my overall impression of the book is favourable.

The production quality is superb, as you'd expect, and the artwork is generally excellent, with one exception: the Dark Hunter. I just didn't like the look of it.

The new classes are fun, especially the curse-based Hexblade, though I would prefer a more flexible Samurai class. The prestige classes are generally good, but some are only average. I particularly enjoyed the Master of the Unseen Hand, a class focused on telekininesis.

All of the feats were excellent, and I really liked the new tactical and style feats, which add a lot of style to a character. Tactical feats are three microfeats added up to one, and style feats allow characters with particular weapon styles to execute interesting manuevers. My favorite feat was probably Divine Shield, which allows a paladin or cleric to give up a turning attempting and shield the group from energy damage.

One thing I would have liked to have seen is more Hexblade spells, but you can't have everything. Four new domains are presented, especially suited to warrior clerics.

The final chapter is the one I found the most useful. It starts with a discussion of warfare and how it could be affected by magic. The discussion focuses on two possible paradigms of fantasy warfare: a historical, epic style and a gritty, modern style. Both present mechanics to go with the excellent fluff. It then discusses the role of Player Characters in the army, and what kind of missions they could be expected to undergo. I am using this information heavily in my new campaign, which focuses on a war in the Glaadholds of Camberweld.

The chapter then moves on to Sporting Combat: jousting, archery competitions, gladiatiorial battles, etc. It covers each section in detail, giving mechanics and information equal balance. The mechanics are solid and well-built on the foundations of existing rules, and the discussion shows research and knowledge of its topic.

Then the book goes on to the role of religon in warfare, and discusses the role of the Greyhawk deities in the life of warriors. It then has a pantheon of deities designed for a war-oriented campaign, which I will add to the almost 10,000 gods so far discovered by research theologists in Camberweld.

The book ends with several epic feats and exotic weapons, mostly reprints but at least one new weapon: the boomerang.

I'd reccomend this book to any player who likes running a fighter character in D&D.