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nonesensed's review
5.0
I helped Kickstart this book and I'm very glad I did - and I'm not even DMing for players who want armies! Despite that, this is easily one of my favorite D&D 5e supplements I've ever gotten my hands on. Why? Here are some reasons:
- Very easy to read through and understand. All the examples for how to implement new rules are easy to follow and the prose is both fun to read and informative. It's rare that I read item descriptions and NPC summaries purely as entertainment, but I actually read some of these out loud to my sister, simply because they were so fun and neat.
- Beautiful and plentiful artwork. My absolute favorites are the depictions of the NPCs Monarcon, the Oleander Dragon and Dominion, but it's all gorgeous.
- A system for warfare in D&D that lets you as a DM figure out how battles might go, even if your players might not want to directly engage with armies and strategies (though they can!)
- Strongholds for your party to build up and make a home in.
- Flexibility! The additional rules in this book are clear but broad enough that you as DM (or player in conversation with your DM) can implement parts of them or modified versions of them, in fun ways, without having to change your whole campaign to focus on getting a keep and defending it with armies. I've included a "smaller" version of strongholds in one of my current campaigns, and it's a huge hit with my players!
- Gemstone dragons. A new type of dragons that bring interesting new powers to the dragons of D&D.
- New magical items, some specific to strongholds but some that are at such epic levels of magic that you can use them as centers for whole campaigns.
In summary, this is a book full of fun optional rules, creatures and items to bring into your D&D games that I highly recommend even if you're not looking to implement strongholds or warfare!
- Very easy to read through and understand. All the examples for how to implement new rules are easy to follow and the prose is both fun to read and informative. It's rare that I read item descriptions and NPC summaries purely as entertainment, but I actually read some of these out loud to my sister, simply because they were so fun and neat.
- Beautiful and plentiful artwork. My absolute favorites are the depictions of the NPCs Monarcon, the Oleander Dragon and Dominion, but it's all gorgeous.
- A system for warfare in D&D that lets you as a DM figure out how battles might go, even if your players might not want to directly engage with armies and strategies (though they can!)
- Strongholds for your party to build up and make a home in.
- Flexibility! The additional rules in this book are clear but broad enough that you as DM (or player in conversation with your DM) can implement parts of them or modified versions of them, in fun ways, without having to change your whole campaign to focus on getting a keep and defending it with armies. I've included a "smaller" version of strongholds in one of my current campaigns, and it's a huge hit with my players!
- Gemstone dragons. A new type of dragons that bring interesting new powers to the dragons of D&D.
- New magical items, some specific to strongholds but some that are at such epic levels of magic that you can use them as centers for whole campaigns.
In summary, this is a book full of fun optional rules, creatures and items to bring into your D&D games that I highly recommend even if you're not looking to implement strongholds or warfare!
steven_v's review
5.0
This is an outstanding 3rd-party rules supplement for Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition. The author, Matt Colville, is a DM with decades of experience and invented custom stronghold and followers rules for his regular D&D campaign. After talking about it online, some of his fans asked him to write it up, and after a successful kickstarter, this was the product.
The book itself is absolutely gorgeous. The artwork is incredible. The quality of the hardcover book is exceptional -- better, in my opinion, than the Wizards of the Coast official D&D books. Those official books, a lot of them, after hardly any use, are starting to separate at the spine. Not so Strongholds and Followers -- that thing is tightly bound and has withstood a lot more page-turning than most of the official books. Additionally, the paper quality of the pages is top-notch. My advice is, if you are going to buy this from Colville's website, spring for the extra and get the hardcover with the PDF rather than just the PDF. It is well worth the price.
The writing is breezy and understandable. Colville uses examples to illustrate the rules. They also seem easy to implement, although I am not DMing right now so I have not used these rules yet. However, if I ever DM in the future, I am going to offer the option to my players to, as their characters get to higher level, participate in the stronghold-building game.
The content is reminiscent of the old AD&D rules about building keeps, temples, and other such structures. There is a type of structure for every class, and rules about having multiple structures in the same stronghold (i.e., a castle with a Keep, a Tower, a Temple and a Tavern inside its walls). There are also class-specific variants like different types of towers for sorcerers vs. warlocks vs. wizards. The followers section details tons of followers and shows how to create "units" of followers that can be used in combat. Very simple rules for warfare are also included, although there is an upcoming sequel book, Kingdoms and Warfare, which will go into more depth on this.
Along with all this great content, Colville added his own mythological beings, demons, and devils, his own variant brand of orcs, a bunch of NPCs, and a host of cool new magic items. And finally, as a stretch goal of the kickstarter, they included a sample adventure based on Colville's own campaign that he presented in his Campaign Diaries on YouTube. In the adventure you get to conquer a keep from some orcs, renovate it, take ownership, hire followers, and then fight a battle.
The whole kit and caboodle of PDF + hardcover book + shipping cost me around $40, which is not too different from the cost of buying an official campaign book from Wizards. In my opinion, they're 40 of the best dollars I have ever spent on a D&D product. I will absolutely buy Kingdoms and Warfare when it comes out, and anything else Matt Colville and his group see fit to produce. If you are looking for an outstanding rules supplement to D&D, look no farther. And if you are a DM wondering what to do with your high level party of adventurers now that they have a hundred thousand gold and have beaten every individual foe they have faced -- this is a good supplement for you. Building a stronghold and leveling it up and taming the countryside and fighting enemy armies will give them plenty of challenges.
The book itself is absolutely gorgeous. The artwork is incredible. The quality of the hardcover book is exceptional -- better, in my opinion, than the Wizards of the Coast official D&D books. Those official books, a lot of them, after hardly any use, are starting to separate at the spine. Not so Strongholds and Followers -- that thing is tightly bound and has withstood a lot more page-turning than most of the official books. Additionally, the paper quality of the pages is top-notch. My advice is, if you are going to buy this from Colville's website, spring for the extra and get the hardcover with the PDF rather than just the PDF. It is well worth the price.
The writing is breezy and understandable. Colville uses examples to illustrate the rules. They also seem easy to implement, although I am not DMing right now so I have not used these rules yet. However, if I ever DM in the future, I am going to offer the option to my players to, as their characters get to higher level, participate in the stronghold-building game.
The content is reminiscent of the old AD&D rules about building keeps, temples, and other such structures. There is a type of structure for every class, and rules about having multiple structures in the same stronghold (i.e., a castle with a Keep, a Tower, a Temple and a Tavern inside its walls). There are also class-specific variants like different types of towers for sorcerers vs. warlocks vs. wizards. The followers section details tons of followers and shows how to create "units" of followers that can be used in combat. Very simple rules for warfare are also included, although there is an upcoming sequel book, Kingdoms and Warfare, which will go into more depth on this.
Along with all this great content, Colville added his own mythological beings, demons, and devils, his own variant brand of orcs, a bunch of NPCs, and a host of cool new magic items. And finally, as a stretch goal of the kickstarter, they included a sample adventure based on Colville's own campaign that he presented in his Campaign Diaries on YouTube. In the adventure you get to conquer a keep from some orcs, renovate it, take ownership, hire followers, and then fight a battle.
The whole kit and caboodle of PDF + hardcover book + shipping cost me around $40, which is not too different from the cost of buying an official campaign book from Wizards. In my opinion, they're 40 of the best dollars I have ever spent on a D&D product. I will absolutely buy Kingdoms and Warfare when it comes out, and anything else Matt Colville and his group see fit to produce. If you are looking for an outstanding rules supplement to D&D, look no farther. And if you are a DM wondering what to do with your high level party of adventurers now that they have a hundred thousand gold and have beaten every individual foe they have faced -- this is a good supplement for you. Building a stronghold and leveling it up and taming the countryside and fighting enemy armies will give them plenty of challenges.
arthurbdd's review
4.0
Solid attempt to put back into 5E D&D a variety of play which Wizards consistently fails to support. Full review: https://refereeingandreflection.wordpress.com/2020/04/21/kickstopper-strongholds-streaming/
jvan's review
4.0
Solid book with a broad range of material. There's strongholds and followers (as listed) but they're very neat, very customized to different classes and situations. There's monsters aplenty, neat helpful NPC types, plenty of magic items, an entire brief psionic system for gem dragons, and more. Also the art is great, and the angels are super messed up looking just as they should be.
rita_pereira's review
5.0
Disclaimer: I am, by no means, an expert on D&D rules or someone interested in game balance.
That being said, what I do love about fantasy and about D&D is all over this book: interesting and complex concepts, a campaign sample, units and a whole theory of war, coupled with incredible illustrations and some flavor insights into Matthew Colville's own fantasy world. Reading it was like watching one of his videos, and the experience was worth it.
I wouldn't change anything about the book, as you can take something out of it even if you're not particularly interested in running strongholds and followers in your campaign.
That being said, what I do love about fantasy and about D&D is all over this book: interesting and complex concepts, a campaign sample, units and a whole theory of war, coupled with incredible illustrations and some flavor insights into Matthew Colville's own fantasy world. Reading it was like watching one of his videos, and the experience was worth it.
I wouldn't change anything about the book, as you can take something out of it even if you're not particularly interested in running strongholds and followers in your campaign.
nejohnson's review
3.0
As the guy who always wants to make their characters stronghold this isn't what I'm looking for. I don't do it because I want my character to have a few more bonuses and buffs I do it because I love the fantasy of making my own magical medieval dream house. And this is not that.
This has a few really cool ideas almost as an aside, I found the authors personal worldbuilding and take on the multiverse fascinating, but everything the book was about didn't do anything for me.
This has a few really cool ideas almost as an aside, I found the authors personal worldbuilding and take on the multiverse fascinating, but everything the book was about didn't do anything for me.
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