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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The dynasty continues..., May 22, 2002
This review is from: Faiths and Pantheons (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Setting) (Hardcover)
It's gotten to the point that now when I see a new product for Forgotten Realms, my reaction is summed up in one word: Gimme. The Forgotten Realms products are the most consistently well-done supplements third edition D&D has to offer. Gorgeous artwork and ever-expanding detail have made a believer out of me. That said, this product is a product with a very narrow focus - and if Faiths and Pantheon's focus falls outside of your gaming style, you should save your money for other supplements. The real core of this product is the full descriptions and stats for the major deities of the Forgotten Realms setting. The descriptions are in the standard format outlined in the Deities and Demigods supplement. The artwork is inspired (with the possible exception of the non-human pantheon artwork), and the overall feel of the Realms is maintained throughout. The pantheons are described in detail and the stat blocks for any of the divine powers will make 20th level characters look downright milquetoasty. It's worth stressing one thing about the deities: These folks are dangerous. This is why this book is not for every campaign. One harsh encounter with the divine can destroy all your players and/or their respect for the Dungeon Master. Many DMs will find their Forgotten Realms pantheon to be little more than trophy-NPCs that are kept on the bookshelf. That being the case, I'd make sure you want to use these NPCs before you buy this book. The extras in this book are nice as well: Twenty prestige classes that are tied to the various religions. Some of these classes have additional minions that are described complete with stat blocks.
Three sample temples are mapped out and described with NPCs, and there are numerous sidebars placed in the book offering extra detail on the surrounding material. To be fair, many of the sidebars are material found in other books, but the FR crew can be forgiven for duplicating them in the name of easy reference. My biggest quibble with this product is that while the thirty main deities of the realms are given full stat blocks and avatar descriptions (and stats, where necessary) - the lesser deities of Faerûn are not.
Sure, full stats for all the many deities of Faerûn would take up a lot of space, but so does reprinting summaries of deities already described in Deities and Demigods (Like Tiamat or Loth, for example: Each gets a "Realms-specific" write up in Faiths and Pantheons - but the stats for each are only in Deities and Demigods). DMs looking for stats for Realms-only deities like Lovitar will NOT find them in this book (Lovitar's entry, like all the entries under "Other Deities," contains her Bio, History/Relationships, and Dogma.) All in all, however - this book provides what it sets out to: provide a detailed and working pantheon to add to a Realms campaign. The descriptions are rich, the artwork is inspiring and the continuity of the setting is maintained while being enhanced. This is not a book for you if you don't use divine NPCs in your worlds, but if you do - this book will be essential.
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24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I really wanted to like it, but..., June 5, 2002
This review is from: Faiths and Pantheons (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Setting) (Hardcover)
I was distracted by this book's seeming split personality. It appears to me that the writers were attempting to satisfy 2 groups of gamers, but did't quite make it with either. The bulk of this book is descriptions of the gods of the FR setting. I mean that literally- Hit points, class levels, spells per day, AC, etc. Very similar to the old 1st Ed. Dietys & Demigods book. This appeals to the power-oriented game, in which players can expect to eventually say "I rolled a 50 on attack roll- Did that hit Cyric?" However, the gods are presented as so powerful, that I don't see how even an out of control power game can make a battle with one of them make sense. I have nothing against power gaming, mind you. I personally find a more 'realistic' (if you'll pardon my using that word in a FRPG review) game more enjoyable. In my games, gods are gods and you are not going to be beating one up with a sword. I would have liked more detail on the role of the power in the world, the nature of the priesthood and church, and samples of power centers for the church. I think this would have been a better product if it had focused on making the gods less powerful, so that PCs can hope to compete with them, or ultra-pwerful so that the stats were uneeded and the space could be used with more setting oriented info. The book is still useful (hence the third star). Some of the lesser powers not covered in detail in the main FR book are described. There are a few prestige classes, although they are very much faith specific. I just wish it would commit to one style or the other.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Has its uses for Fans, May 28, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Faiths and Pantheons (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms Setting) (Hardcover)
The Fr line has put out another top notch book, hardback even. Instead of saying first what DID work, i want to point out some shortcoming to prospective buyers. This book assumes that you really need stats for the dieties, all the way down to their SKILLS and FEATS. I personally thought that was going too far, and was a major waste of space. But, the way the folks at Wizards have set things up, you could easily run a campaign with the PC's playing dieties, and you could have Helm clash with Umberlee and actually know exactly what they could or could not do in combat. Beyond that, the roleplaying aspects of controlling a diety take the game to new realms. Anyway, a lot of the info is stuff old FR players have seen before. The 2nd edition Faiths and Avatars actually had tons of info that this book does not (and consequently print small enough to make your eyes bleed). If you have the old Faiths and Avatars, i suggest using it along with the Faiths and Pantheons to get the maximum impact (the older book had incredible detail about the clergy; the newer is scimpier in that regard). The prestige classes are interesting, and the art in the book is overall very good, as other reviewers have noted. I like the Realms, but in my personal opinion there are too many dieties, and most of the information in these books i will never use, sad to say. Overall, there isn't much bad about the book, assuming that you like the Realms in the first place. It is all the dieties you could ever want, or need, or use, but at least DM's and players have a lot of room to work with.
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