Defenders of the Faith
A Guidebook to Clerics and Paladins
by Rich Redman and James Wyatt
Dungeon & Dragons Accessory (96 pages)
Product Code:WTC11840, ISBN: 0-7869-1840-3
Wizards of the Coast, $19.95
Defenders of the Faith is a softbound sourcebook for clerics and paladins. It presents the players and Dungeon Master with useful information on enhancing these two character classes in any campaign.
The first section of this accessory gives advice on how to play clerics and paladins more effectively. The advice range includes what type of healing spells and items to use, how to turn more efficiently, and what types of armor and weapons are best for both classes. Some of the advice is basic, but there is enough to help out even advanced players. There is also a decent amount of information on Paladin mounts, ranging from horses to dragons, which I found quite fascinating. This section is rounded out with advice on channeling and divine intervention, and new feats, gear and magical items. There are not a whole lot of extra items and such, but it's enough to enhance any D&D game.
Churches and Organizations is the second section of this book. It describes in decent detail the role of churches, from joining them to the internal structure of such. Organizations are divided into the different alignments and particular orders. I found this section to be of great interest, as the information herein would be quite helpful to any game master (or player for that part) in designing a church or organization for his player characters. They have maps and descriptions for some organizations and the characters that would populate such places. There is even some information on how to run a temple, from expenses and charity to staff and church activities. Definitely worth reading for anyone wanting to further develop their cleric or paladin beyond the basics of D&D.
Section three of the book introduces more prestige classes for player characters. There is quite a bit of variation here to satisfy most players. I have gotten tired of all the prestige classes being created lately as a whole (not just from this book), but the ones presented here are interesting, and further help to flesh out any divine characters.
The last chapter of this accessory introduces more spells for clerics and paladins. I always like more spells of any type for D&D, and the batch represented in this book is a welcome addition to any game. There's nothing like variety to spice up a gaming session, especially with new and unfamiliar spells.
Last, but not least, the artwork scattered throughout this book is of a good to excellent quality. It helps to add that extra detail to an already great product.
If you have any clerics or paladins in your game, or play such characters, you should definitely get a copy of Defenders of the Faith. You won't be dissatisfied.
(review (c) December 2001 / David Flemming)