Ratings of the Published Schools

School Idea Execution

Player's Handbook

Aldana
Although the first edition of Aldana had a mangled Apprentice ability, the state-of-emergency issue Compendium fixed that with an elegegant, yet almost too powerful, ability. The Journeyman ability is equally elegant and powerful, while the Master technique uses it's own micro-system, which I heartily approve of.
Conceptually, the thought of a Castillian dancing with fiery passion to a guitarista in his head, while slicing his intial(s) in his opponent's rump, is definitely appealing (particularly for those of us obsessed with cinematic Spain/California).
     

Ambrogia
Props to Wilson/Wicks for this rediculusly impossible school (I say that because no fencer in his right mind would put his weapon behind him, but hey, this is cinematic, not realistic). I love the way it incorporates simple fencing ideas into the basic feel of Vodacce. The mechanics, however, are something of a let down: starting characters seem to get the best of the school. The Journeyman and Master abilities may be functional (don't know, haven't playtested them), but they don't seem to have much of a spark, in my mind. I should note, however, that I think that this particular combination of Swordsman Knacks are the nastiest of any school.
     

Donovan
A standard English short sword and buckler school, Donovan was spiced up as much as could be, since it was basically required as a nod to an entire philosophy of fighting. The Swordsman knacks are a beautiful combination, and the Master ability is quite elegant: you may now Interrupt Attack. I've seen it (illegally) used, and it adds a nice touch of defensive strategy to a duel.
     

Eisenfaust
Although the picture next to Eisenfaust provides far more imagery than the discription ever could, the note about "over 70 individual moves that students learn" is nice detail. I must agree with Kevin Wilson, though, that the Drama Die expenditure is excessive, particularly givent the lack of Tagging or Double Parry. The Master ability in combination with the Apprentice ability makes them awful scary, though; almost too powerful.
     

Leegstra
Although there is little imagination put into the description (the imagery I get is little more than a big naked blond smashing and chopping), the mechanics of Leegstra make up for it. Each mastery level has an ability that goes well with the others, with the foundation being the Apprentice technique.
It seems pretty weak against brutes and swordsmen geared towards swift, deadly strikes, but I would think nearly all of those panzy fencers would want a Vesten Leegstra master around when they come across those ruin monsters.
     

Valroux
A proper Montaigne style, Valroux has both solid concept and solid execution. Although its Tagging and Double Parry knacks seem a bit redundant, the Journeyman ability is a nice strategic touch, while the Master advantage is likely the reason most characters take the school.
     

Eisen Sourcebook

Drexel
As evidenced by the five foils under "execution," I consider Drexel a (the?) prime example of what Swordsman Schools should look like. A personality, a specialty, a combination you'd never think of (Heavy Weapon and Dirty Fighting?!), and a micro-system with elegant mechanics - Drexel has almost everything (I'd add a story, but that's about it). One complaint: bonus Fear has been done before (see Rogers).
     

Gelingen
A monster-fighting school was an idea I had for some time before the Eisen book came out, and was disappointed that they presented Gelingen as the only school of its kind in Théah. Getting over that, I found the mechanics to be sufficiently simple and direct: gain bonuses to killing monsters. Not much in regards for originality, but it doesn't add extreneous rules that might distract the player.
     

Höpken

[Revision]
Lame. The Höpken school has no personality ("focuses on accuracy during fighting and speed during reloading."), reuses old material (the distance mechanincs were done in Montaigne's Rois et Reines school, and are kinda dumb in the first place), and generally fails to spark the imagination. The whole intent, it seems, was to make a "crossbow school." I feel that I did a better job with my du Ponte School, at least giving some idea to the style of combat involved. I like the idea of a custom crossbow for the school, but it does nothing but cost D&D style excessive amounts of Guilders and do extra damage. Lame.
     

Pösen
Although the description is thorough enough, Pösen seems like "just a boar spear" school to me - "we are nobles, we stick pigs with spears, so why not stick men with spears?" The Journeyman and Master abilities have been seen in various forms in other games, but they fit adequitely here. There's only so much "you do more damage" I can take, though, and so I find the Apprentice ability bland.
     

Vodacce Sourcebook

Bernoulli
[Revision]
It's arguable, but I feel that Bernoulli is possibly the worst school published. My chief complaint: the descriptions and the mechanics have absolutely nothing to do with each other! It spends the intro paragraph setting up for a Crescent-based style, then pretends as though it never mentioned anything of the sort. The main weakness is "an overly defensive approach," which is excessively broad, and translates poorly into mechanics (the only defensive knack or ability is the pathetic apprentice bonus). Although I would have to see it in action, I think the Master ability is close to worthless., since Masters probably won't ever miss. The Journeyman ability is almost a cold rehash of Leegstra's Apprentice ability, and what does a bonus point in Lunge have to do with anything?
     
Last updated: April 1, 2004
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