Relics & Rituals Excalibur (Sword & Sorcery D20) [Hardcover]

Evan Jamieson (Author), Aaron Rosenberg (Contributor), Christina Stiles (Contributor)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: White Wolf Publishing (March 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588469565
• ISBN-13: 978-1588469564
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,436,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

AARON ROSENBERG is the award-winning, bestselling author of the humorous science fiction novel No Small Bills, the space-opera series The Dread Remora, the occult thriller Indefinite Renewal, and many more. He's written tie-in novels (including the PsiPhi winner Collective Hindsight for Star Trek: SCE, the Daemon Gates trilogy for Warhammer, Tides of Darkness and (with Christie Golden) the Scribe-nominated Beyond the Dark Portal for WarCraft, Hunt and Run for Stargate: Atlantis, and Substitution Method and The Road Less Traveled for Eureka), children's books (including an original series, Pete and Penny's Pizza Puzzles, and work for PowerPuff Girls and Transformers Animated), roleplaying games (including original games like Asylum and Spookshow, the Origins Award-winning Gamemastering Secrets, and sections of The Supernatural Roleplaying Game, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and The Deryni Roleplaying Game), young adult novels (including the Scribe-winning Bandslam: The Novel and books for iCarly and Ben10), short stories, webcomics, essays, and educational books. He has ranged from mystery to speculative fiction to drama to comedy, always with the same intent--to tell a good story. You can visit him online at gryphonrose.com or follow him on Twitter at gryphonrose.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, August 18, 2004

By 

J. C. Walden - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Relics & Rituals Excalibur (Sword & Sorcery D20) (Hardcover)

This is a great guide to roleplaying in an Arthurian setting. It provides roles for nonhuman PCs to fill in the campaign (depending on whether or not you want them to be near-human or otherworldly) and a niche for almost all the classes. They even managed to give monks a tiny bit of breathing room. Also, the Honor system is definitely worth taking a look at, as it is extremely well-crafted and realistic (of course, there are far more ways to lose Honor than to gain it). Finally, there's the magic. The book strongly advises that you don't use the "big bang" spells unless it's a dire situation or unless the foe is a dishonorable cur, since these are considered dishonorable uses of power, and in fact the book makes these spells harder to cast (more time, expensive material components). The book also draws a sharp line between wizards and sorcerers (sorcerers are more spontaneous and suited for adventuring, but wizards craft longer-lasting magics and are more prized as councilors for kings). All in all, my hat goes off to Sword & Sorcery on this one. Well done!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some excellent stuff in here, December 30, 2004

By 

Oz Backlund "Oz" (Dayton, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Relics & Rituals Excalibur (Sword & Sorcery D20) (Hardcover)

Of all of the D&D-related material not made directly by Wizards that I've found, this is definitely my favorite. The suggestions for classes are all quite true to genre conventions, and there are some excellent suggestions in here for adopting an Arthurian flavor into your campaign. The Knight core class is a lot of fun, as are the new prestige classes. My favorite is by far the Green Knight--it's definitely an NPC-oriented class if you're going strictly by canon, but it gave me a little bit of a rush to see the classic Gawain tale made manifest in a full stat block (They even get vorpal immunity!).

If I have one complaint, it's that this is one of the most poorly copyedited pieces of D&D material I have seen yet. Typos abound, even in section headings! I understand that this is a minor detail, but it shows a certain amount of carelessness in a book that is otherwise so full of great new material. I don't think this will be a make-or-break point for any buyer, but it did detract from my enjoyment of the book.

All in all, I've had a lot of fun implementing the Arthurian elements into my campaign world. This book will make a great start for all of you young squires ready to become knights, to woo fair maidens, and to battle evil the world over!

3.0 out of 5 stars D & D Third Edition, November 12, 2011

By 

Joseph Adams "brother" (Superior, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Relics & Rituals Excalibur (Sword & Sorcery D20) (Hardcover)

This is compatable with third edition D & D. A number of new classes such as the knight and its variants like Knight Templar are given. It is a campaign setting based on the Arthur mythos (ie Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft). Boosts up existing classes such as the paladin who has a number of powerful spells. Overall I would recommend it, but IMO it lacks depth.