The first chapter of the book is best thought of as a primer for the idea of warfare in a fantasy environment. It actually goes a little beyond that in discussing ideas behind war in general and then adds to that by adding the idea of war in a fantasy campaign. The chapter discusses topics such as the supply chain and various secondary effects such as the way the war will affect those on the home front. This is a good chapter for a DM to read to decide if a war based campaign is one that they would want to run. It will also provide ideas where the war is secondary to the campaign.
Chapter two is titled War Makes Soldiers and it deals with the rules and changes connected with characters. This is the section that I have come to appreciate in the AEG books that deal with new uses for old skills, new skill and new feats. The bulk of the chapter is dedicated to new prestige classes for player use. The chapter lays out a total of fifteen new prestige classes. The range from Beast Handler to Wild Rider. Some of these seem very specialized and I am not sure players would want to use then as a prestige class. Since the book deals with War the classes are specialized in that and without running a war based campaign most of these might find limited use otherwise.
Chapter three deals with one of the more common and sometimes boring in game term concepts of war, that of the siege. The chapter is a good basic description of the various types of siege engines that one might find used. It also covers the various defensive tactics used by those who are on the defensive side of a siege. This section feature two sidebars that deal with historical uses of siege equipment. It also feature two magic items connected with sieges of which one is an artifact that though useful may not be one anyone would want to use.
War Magic is the topic of chapter number four. The chapter begins by discussing the how the various schools of magic might be used in war. It then transitions over to the discussion of deities that might be connected in some manner with the concept of war. It lays out a number of domains that are war themed and as in the past I have found these something that can be used outside the books intended topic. The chapter finishes off with new spells and magic items. These are limited in nature which was a little disappointing.
The final chapter is a little bit of a mixed bag and I found myself wondering if the topics were cut short and then all lumped together. There were even topics that I thought should have been included earlier in the book. This is not a deal breaker for the book but I just found it off. There is a section with very brief descriptions of types of was such as wars of conquest, civil wars and rebellions. The chapter then touches on the idea of a war based campaign. This section has a lot of information and makes one think about the idea at least. It goes over how each race and then class might see use in that type of campaign. It also discusses how each alignment would act in a war environment. These are of course all braod strokes but still provided some good ideas as well as insights.
Though I might not ever use the book as it was intended and of all the books I have reviewed so far this is perhaps the one that has the least amount of portable material it is still a book worth having. If the reader has not had any previous studies on military topics it is enough of an overview to serve that purpose. There are also topics such as the effects on the home front that can be utilized if war is a backdrop and not the focus. It would not be the first of the AEG books I would buy but I would say a DM would eventually want it.
Published: 2002
Pages: 144
From the Back of the Book:
This is the Tome of Champions
This sourcebook contains everything a GM or player needs for campaigns in war- torn worlds. Regular and irregular troops, closed and open formations, cavalry, infantry, and artillery are all tools at a Field Commander's disposal. Lift your banner and join you men in a glorious battle against the forces that oppose your countrymen.
Up the rebels.
Victory is at Hand:
* Rules for mass combat
* 15 prestige classes
* New gods of war
* Rules for siege engines
* New feats
* New spells and magic items
* Unit compositions and strategies
* War campaigns and more
Spell:
Eyes of a Mother
Level: Second
Range: Touch
Duration: 2 Turns + 1 Turn/Level
Area of Effect: One Creature
Components: V,S
Casting Time: 4 Segments
Saving Throw: None
When this spell is cast the magic user grants the target of the spell an extra sensory perception ability. The ability will allow the target of the spell to detect things that are going on behind them.
Though there are no actual sensory organs that will appear the spell will otherwise allow the recipient to see as if they had eyes in the back of their head. This will have the effect of making the target unable to be surprised except by invisible or similarly shielded creatures. The target of the spell will also be immune to backstab attacks while the spell is in effect. An odd side effect of this spell is that if the target is in fact a mother then the duration will be doubled.
Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.
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