Couple of Questions regarding books

[malachi666]

Hey Guys,

I was just wondering if there were anything essential in the Corporeal Player's Guide, or the Ethereal Player's Guide?

I am thinking I will probably buy them, but I just wanted to know. Are they reprinted information from other sources? Do they contain "must-have" information?

I am also looking into the Reliquarium book, with the same questions above.

EDIT: I guess I should let you know the books I have:

Main (Diabolic Special Edition Cover)
Angels Players Guide
Infernal Players Guide
Revelations Cycle
Liber Castelorum
GM Screen
Superiors 1 & 3
All hard copy

Electronically I have
All the superior pdfs
GM Guide
Book of Songs

[robkelk]

The Corporeal Player's Guide substantially changes the rules for Sorcerers, and levels the playing field somewhat for humans of all types.

The Ethereal Player's Guide provides rules for creating and playing ethereals in ways that make them different from celestials. (Here's the Designers' Notes article for the EPG.)

Neither of the Player's Guides has reprinted material. Both books are optional if you're only playing angels and demons, but extremely useful if you're playing humans or ethereals.

Liber Reliquarum is all about the shiny toys. It has a small amount of information on how to make them in-game, but is otherwise a catalog of things to make, get from one's Superior, or destroy before the opposition can use them. Some of those toys are reprinted from other sources; most of them are new.

Hope this helps...

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by robkelk

Neither of the Player's Guides has reprinted material.

Not entirely true. The organizations from Night Music are reproduced in the CPG, as are some of the Advantages/Disadvantages (Blessed, Addicted and Jaded come to mind) and maybe some of the notes on Soldiers and Saints.

That said, I recommend the book highly. It is a huge help for making mortals matter in a celestially-centered game.

[robkelk]

Ah, right. My bad.

(So much of what was in Night Music was re-written for the CPG that I keep assuming all of what was in Night Music was re-written, and thus new...)

[Jason]

Personally, I'd say that the Ethereal Player's Guide is practically essential if you plan to have any ethereal PCs or plan to spend any time in the Marches. The character-creation rules for ethereal PCs are quite different from anything seen in any of the other books, and the descriptions of how the Marches work and getting around domains and dreamscapes is more exhaustive than even the book The Marches provides.

The Corporeal Player's Guide has some nice additions on sorcerers and a couple house rule suggestions that I was kind of using anyway, so I find it kind of useful, but not essential if you already have the whole Revelations Cycle.

Liber Reliquarum does note quite do for artifacts what Liber Canticorum does for Songs, as the latter is largely an expanded list. Artifacts are more varied in their function and effects, so in some ways this is more a book of story seeds than a book of "magical items." From a rules perspective, the most useful part to me has been a two-page spread that suggests point costs for artifact "features" like causing extra disturbance/no disturbance, being easily recognized as an artifact, and so on. I like the book a lot, but if you don't mind coming up with house rules for that kind of thing, ask yourself whether you'd like a few dozen rewards and story seeds around interesting MacGuffins.

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by Jason

Liber Reliquarum does note quite do for artifacts what Liber Canticorum does for Songs, as the latter is largely an expanded list.

True. On the other hand, the core rules had a good list of Songs and hardly any worked-up artifacts, so I found having more functional examples a good thing. I consider it a lower-priority buy (it was one of the last books I got) but still worth having.

[malachi666]

Thanks guys,

I am slightly obsessive about this things and will most likely buy them all anyway, but i just wanted to make sure