Martial Power
Martial Power is a supplement for Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition, expanding the options of characters with a more Martial Focus. With a plethora of new Powers, Feats, Paragon Paths and Epic Destinies, this is a rules-intensive tome that players will appreciate more than Dungeon Masters (although the latter will find this useful if they create custom NPCs). The book has a specific and narrow focus – Martial characters, in this case – and features the same streamlined design and aesthetic of the Player’s Handbook.
One complaint I have about the Player’s Handbook is that it doesn’t provide a wide enough range of character options. Martial Power solves this problem, at least as far as the Martial characters are concerned. Does it completely satiate me as a player? No, there’s definitely room for further expansion and not all the bases have been covered. For the most part, the book succeeds in what it professes to be: the one tool you’ll need to further flesh out your Martial character. The book doesn’t provide new material for players looking for Arcane or Divine options, but this isn’t really the place to look for that. Again, Dungeon Master’s won’t get much mileage with this book unless they’re players themselves. Still, this is one of the must-buy Dungeons & Dragons books if you’re a player of 4th Edition.
Appearance-wise, Martial Power follows the same neat, two-column format as the rest of the books in the line, but for me personally, this one has the best layout. Everything is divided into five sections, one section for each of the Martial classes and the last section for everything else (namely the Feats and the Epic Destinies). The first four sections are identical to the Player’s Handbook pages, and each one is self-contained. For example, while the Rattling keyword is first mentioned in the Fighter section, it’s reprinted again in the Rogue section so that one doesn’t need to revert to the previous section to know the definition of the ability. If I’m a playing a Ranger character, I don’t really need to read anything else but the Ranger section. Because of this structure, unlike the other 4th Edition books, this one doesn’t really suffer from a lack of a comprehensive index because most of what you need to know is present in the Table of Contents. The only section that’s still difficult to navigate through is the Paragon Path section, as there is no master list.
As far as art is concerned, it’s competent enough and gets the job done. What I’m looking for is that they don’t get in the way of the text. If you liked the general aesthetic of the Player’s Handbook, that pretty much sums up the look and feel of this book. However, fans of 3rd Edition will find some familiar classes and artwork reprinted here, and while it doesn’t bother me, it might annoy those who aren’t in favor of recycled art. There are also sidebars scattered throughout the book, obviously space-filler so that all the pages are even. Some of these sidebars have useful content; such as elaborating how Sneak Attack or Hunter’s Quarry is something you define as a player rather than something narrow and specific. At other times, the sidebars are just story fluff that may or may not interest you. Again, this doesn’t bother me and I understand its presence as far as creating a consistent layout is concerned, but I imagine there are those who might complain about the inclusion of these “unnecessary” sidebars.
The meat of the book is that it provides lots of options for customization, to the point that not every Archer Ranger has to pick up the same Powers and Feats. While the book does expand your character options, it doesn’t do so equally. For example, only the Fighter and the Warlord get two new Class Features each. The Ranger and the Rogue only get one apiece, and the latter’s option isn’t as lucrative unless you’re really intent on playing an archetype. While the list of weapon-based Fighter powers are expanded in this book, some weapons, such as spears still get the shaft (so to speak). Similarly, the Tactical Warlord has fewer options here, at least compared to the Inspiring Warlord. On a positive note, the new class features introduced in this book get ample support.
Despite those complaints, this is really an impressive book. The book provides a wider variety of Powers to choose from, and in the case of the Rogue and the Warlord these Powers blend well with their flavor rather than simply being another attempt to do more damage. The mechanics for the Beast Companion are also well done, opening up new tactics for the Ranger. Those disappointed with the initial Multiclassing rules will also want to check out this book to see how the concept has been expanded. And ultimately, the new Paragon Paths and Epic Destinies simply give us more room for customization that was lacking in the Player’s Handbook.
While this book doesn’t restore the open-endedness of 3rd Edition, Martial Power definitely opens up the game and showcases what can be done with this edition. The concept of the book is quite straightforward and lives up to expectations. If you’re playing a Martial character, this is definitely a drool-worthy supplement.