FINALLY! I got a copy [Archive] - Wizards Community

FINALLY! I got a copy [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Ikyotojin
03-09-07, 03:55 PM I'd really like to know if WOTC are going to re-release OA for 3.5. I got a mint copy for 3 on Ebay for $25. Now it's just waiting for it to get to the house.

Anyone want to give me a brief review of the book so I can have something to do other than wait? Not quotes, just what you think about the layout and content. Maybe just a table of contents would be nice.
Lord Gwydion
03-09-07, 08:11 PM WotC is NOT going to re-release OA for 3.5. Instead, they had Dragon #318 as the "official update" and have retooled some of the classes and PrCs in the 3.5 Complete series (Wu Jen and Shugenja are nearly the same, but the Samurai in CW is a worthless waste of 3 pages of print IMO, stick with OA Samurai when it arrives). That's all they're gonna do with it as far as I know.

So don't worry, they're not about to spring a new updated version of OA on you.

As for what's in it--it's partially a toolkit for building your own Asian-inspired campaign or adding Asian fantasy elements to a campaign. You can pick and choose what you want to use, and how much of the Core material you want to mix with it. The other part is pushing the Rokugan campaign setting. Hard.

If you like Rokugan, you're not gonna use everything in the book. If you design your own campaign, you could use everything in the book, but it's likely you won't use everything then, either.

So don't expect it to be a Campaign Sourcebook you can just pop open and play, expect it to be a toolkit for you to play around with.
Ikyotojin
03-09-07, 09:11 PM That's what I was hoping for. I've been using the same campaign since (cough1984cough) just before I got married and now that I'm dusting off the old maps and over 18 notebooks full of cites, caves, forests, etc, I want to send the new characters into the areas I never got to kill the old pc's off in.
Ikyotojin
03-15-07, 11:41 PM GOT IT! Mint condition (the binding even made that neat little crinkle sound as it was opened for near the first time) and it has the map!

It's gonna take some time to get the beasties and classes and other goodies put into the old copy of e-tools, but it'll be worth it. Having the book for the players and the stuff I need on the laptop while playing is more than useful.

There are, of course, things that I won't be using, but several things I will. I have been teaching for years and now my youngest son wants me to teach HIM how to use kusari-gama so he can know what his CHARACTER can and can't do. Neat stuff.
Azar_of_Faerun
03-15-07, 11:46 PM Good purchase :) Mine is 'brand new' as well, but I use a PDF on my computer instead to preserve the book
heretic888
03-16-07, 09:18 AM WotC is NOT going to re-release OA for 3.5. Instead, they had Dragon #318 as the "official update"....

Yup.

.... and have retooled some of the classes and PrCs in the 3.5 Complete series (Wu Jen and Shugenja are nearly the same, but the Samurai in CW is a worthless waste of 3 pages of print IMO, stick with OA Samurai when it arrives).

Just for the record, in WotC's Character Class Index (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/class) both the CW Samurai and the OA Samurai are given separate entries. The same also goes for the OA Shugenja and Wu Jen when listed alongside their newer versions.

An interesting development is how this list has changed in recent months. The last time I looked at it, the CA/CD Shugenja/Wu Jen were considered "updates" of the OA versions, the CW Samurai was considered an "update" of Master Samurai prestige class, and the CV Ninja was considered an "update" of the Ninja of the Crescent Moon prestige class. This, however, no longer seems to be the case, since all of these classes are given their own separate entries..

That's all they're gonna do with it as far as I know.

Yup.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ikyotojin 03-09-07, 03:55 PM	I'd really like to know if WOTC are going to re-release OA for 3.5. I got a mint copy for 3 on Ebay for $25. Now it's just waiting for it to get to the house. Anyone want to give me a brief review of the book so I can have something to do other than wait? Not quotes, just what you think about the layout and content. Maybe just a table of contents would be nice.
Lord Gwydion 03-09-07, 08:11 PM	WotC is NOT going to re-release OA for 3.5. Instead, they had Dragon #318 as the "official update" and have retooled some of the classes and PrCs in the 3.5 Complete series (Wu Jen and Shugenja are nearly the same, but the Samurai in CW is a worthless waste of 3 pages of print IMO, stick with OA Samurai when it arrives). That's all they're gonna do with it as far as I know. So don't worry, they're not about to spring a new updated version of OA on you. As for what's in it--it's partially a toolkit for building your own Asian-inspired campaign or adding Asian fantasy elements to a campaign. You can pick and choose what you want to use, and how much of the Core material you want to mix with it. The other part is pushing the Rokugan campaign setting. Hard. If you like Rokugan, you're not gonna use everything in the book. If you design your own campaign, you could use everything in the book, but it's likely you won't use everything then, either. So don't expect it to be a Campaign Sourcebook you can just pop open and play, expect it to be a toolkit for you to play around with.
Ikyotojin 03-09-07, 09:11 PM	That's what I was hoping for. I've been using the same campaign since (cough1984cough) just before I got married and now that I'm dusting off the old maps and over 18 notebooks full of cites, caves, forests, etc, I want to send the new characters into the areas I never got to kill the old pc's off in.
Ikyotojin 03-15-07, 11:41 PM	GOT IT! Mint condition (the binding even made that neat little crinkle sound as it was opened for near the first time) and it has the map! It's gonna take some time to get the beasties and classes and other goodies put into the old copy of e-tools, but it'll be worth it. Having the book for the players and the stuff I need on the laptop while playing is more than useful. There are, of course, things that I won't be using, but several things I will. I have been teaching for years and now my youngest son wants me to teach HIM how to use kusari-gama so he can know what his CHARACTER can and can't do. Neat stuff.
Azar_of_Faerun 03-15-07, 11:46 PM	Good purchase :) Mine is 'brand new' as well, but I use a PDF on my computer instead to preserve the book
heretic888 03-16-07, 09:18 AM	WotC is NOT going to re-release OA for 3.5. Instead, they had Dragon #318 as the "official update".... Yup. .... and have retooled some of the classes and PrCs in the 3.5 Complete series (Wu Jen and Shugenja are nearly the same, but the Samurai in CW is a worthless waste of 3 pages of print IMO, stick with OA Samurai when it arrives). Just for the record, in WotC's Character Class Index (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/lists/class) both the CW Samurai and the OA Samurai are given separate entries. The same also goes for the OA Shugenja and Wu Jen when listed alongside their newer versions. An interesting development is how this list has changed in recent months. The last time I looked at it, the CA/CD Shugenja/Wu Jen were considered "updates" of the OA versions, the CW Samurai was considered an "update" of Master Samurai prestige class, and the CV Ninja was considered an "update" of the Ninja of the Crescent Moon prestige class. This, however, no longer seems to be the case, since all of these classes are given their own separate entries.. That's all they're gonna do with it as far as I know. Yup.