Dwarves, Heroes of High Favor
by Benjamin Durbin
d20 sourcebook, (62 pages)
ISBN: 0-9720416-0-5
Badaxe Games, $9.95
Heroes of High Favor, Dwarves, is the first book in a series of race sourcebooks from Badaxe Games. These little books, 6” by 9“, are packed with additional tools to use with Dwarven characters.
Don’t let the size of this little booklet fool you. It is filled with extensive information for use with dwarves. The artwork is also rather well done, but does not take away from the text of the book. The book does have the usual wasted margins that most current fantasy supplements have, but not as bad as most, which is a good thing for a small booklet.
The book starts out with a short and simple introduction to dwarves, and the usual Open Game blurb. It’s then moves on to the first major part of the book, which lists 16 feats and various skills, all tailored for dwarven characters. There is even information on dwarven craftsmanship. The part that really struck my fancy in this section was the Dwarven Rune Feat, which allows characters to inscribe runes on weapons, giving them divine powers.
The main part of this book is given over to Prestige Classes, with a main focus on Multi-class dwarven characters. Every single Prestige Class in this book is Multi-class, from the Battle-Rager (Fighter/Barbarian) and Rock-Warden (Fighter-Druid), to the Tunnel-Fighter (Fighter/Rogue) and the Artificer (Fighter-Wizard). All of the Prestige classes here are well detailed, and should provide enough of a basis in developing and maximizing the abilities of any Dwarven character. It is even stated in the book that the Prestige Classes are the starting blocks for dwarves, and that the Classes should be expanded and modified as you see fit for your game.
The last part of the book contains a small section on dwarven virtues, to help players in role-playing their characters. Good stuff for any player, and it’s short, simple, and to the point.
As a whole, this book is definitely made with the Player in mind, with plenty of ideas and information on making the most of dwarven characters. There is nothing here that would overbalance any game, even though there are some cool things presented. For the price, you really can’t go wrong with this book.
(review (c) July 2003 / David Flemming)