Tales of the Valiant: Player’s Guide 2

This is a review that I should have gotten out sooner. But, I was waiting for my physical copy to arrive in the mail and unfortunately, weather delays caused it to arrive a bit late. Regardless, I’ve spent the last week pouring over my new copy of the Player’s Guide 2 for Tales of the Valiant and I’m ready to tell you everything you need to know about this new expansion to TotV and 5E.

As the name suggests, Player’s Guide 2 is a rules expansion for the Tales of the Valiant TTRPG system (and thus, is fully compatible with 2014 5E). This book is geared towards players, providing them with new class options, lineages, heritages, talents, and backgrounds. Of course, that’s not all that’s included in this book. Kobold Press also saw fit in pack in new rules regarding player strongholds (a direct challenge to 2024 D&D‘s bastion system), as well as additional guidance for running high level campaigns and other goodies as well. So without further delay, let’s jump into the meat of this book and see if it is worthy of a place at your table.

As a Kickstarter backer for this project, I’ve had the PDF version of this book for some time. But, I’m one of those people who actually likes to have a physical book in hand when I’m playing. If you’re like me, you’ll be glad to know that the Player’s Guide 2 is another high quality product from Kobold Press. The production for this book is extremely well done. The binding is tight, the pages are crisp and colorful, and I didn’t encounter any printing errors with this product. Both the layout/formatting of the book and the included artwork is superb. The art direction of this release is on par with what is found in previous TotV releases. Good stuff here as always.

The book starts off with the introduction of new class options. This includes both new entirely new base classes as well as new features/subclasses for existing options. The three new classes are as follows: Theurge, Vanguard, and Witch. Of those three, two of them might sound familiar. Both the Theurge and the Witch were released previously for 5E as part of the Deep Magic book collection. However, the versions included here have been updated with balance adjustments and include language that will be more familiar to TotV players. The Vanguard, on the other hand, is an entirely new class.

For those who are unfamiliar, the Theurge is a spellcasting class that has access to both Arcane and Divine magic. However, this comes at the cost of acquiring spells as a much slower rate. The Witch, on the other hand, only has access to spells from the Wyrd spell list. Considering that these two classes have been seen before, the real point of interest for many players is going to be the Vanguard. At first glance, this class may seem to be some variation of a Paladin or Knight, but in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. The Vanguard is a martial class, but its real power lies in the way it interacts with other melee classes. In a big way, the Vanguard is a support class. Tactics are the name of the game here. As the class levels up, players will be able to “command the battlefield”, using the Vanguard’s ability to reposition characters on the combat mat, cover allies from damage, or modify attack rolls. If you’ve played tactical RPG video games, this might sound a bit like a “warlord” class. That’s because that’s essentially what this is.

If I’m being honest, I have to say that I’m not a super big fan of these new classes. Out of the three of the them, the Theurge is the only one I might consider allowing at my table. For me, the Witch is just a little too close to the Warlock in terms of theme and color, although I will admit that hex and nature focus on magic is intriguing. Still, I can’t help but think this would make a better subclass than an entirely unique base class. Meanwhile, the Vanguard is certainly the most original addition here. But its role feels a little too much like it belongs in a video game instead of at the tabletop. Still, I’m sure some Game Masters and players will find it to be the perfect fit for them. That being said, I have to admit that I’ve not actually playtested any of these options myself. So, while they seem “meh” on paper, it’s very possible that I will develop an entirely different opinion if I were to try them out in actual play.

These new base classes also share the book with a slew of new subclasses for all of the existing class options in the game. As always with these sorts of books, some of the subclasses are absolutely wonderful, while others seem very niche or just downright odd. Big winners here for me are the Death Domain Cleric and the Summoner Wizard. I love the concept of these two. I’m not going to go in to details on every subclass and boon introduced in this book. But I will tell you that there are plenty of options – some good, some not so good.

Next up is the inclusion of new lineages. Finally, TotV has an official Dragonborn option. This alone will be a major selling point for many players. But there’s a few other interesting races included here as well; Dhampir, Elemental Scion, Gearforged, Goblin, Rachisan, Sapopva, Shade, and Tosculi. I’ll provide a summary of each race and my initial thoughts below:

Dhampir – Offspring of Vampires and Humans – This lineage seems well done and may certainly fit into some eastern-European or horror-themed campaigns.

Dragonborn – Humanoid dragons – This is a popular base species from D&D, should fit in to nearly every modern-style D&D campaign.

Elemental Scion – Element infused humanoid, offspring of elementals (usually genies) and mortals – Surprisingly well thought out. Would work well in a planar or Arabian-themed campaign.

Gearforged – Mechanical beings, golem-esque – We’ve seen options like this in other games. Could work well depending on the campaign, but may seem unusual in the majority of settings.

Goblin – Needs no introduction – This race has been playable before in a number of supplements, this is simply the official TotV take.

Rachisan – Plant humanoids – An intriguing option. Typically most plant-based races have been home-brew options. Here we have a semi-official version. Would work well in some campaigns, not so well in others.

Sapopova – Frog people – At first glance this race may seem similar to Bullywugs. However, the only relation seems to be in appearance. This race is an intriguing option, but it’s not likely to fit in most generic game worlds.

Shade – Undead player character – Reminds me a bit of the Reborn option from D&D, but with a unique twist. I find this one intriguing, but I don’t agree with a lot of the abilities. Phantasmal Force seems too overpowered for me to allow this race as written.

Tosculi – Insect people – If you’ve ever wanted to play a wasp person, this is for you. Again, this race seems extremely niche. But, it’s very well put together.

Aside from these new race options, the Player’s Guide 2 also includes a number of new sub races to explore. This includes some classics like Duergar and Drow. As well as new additions like Quillback Beastkin and Aberrant Syderean. There’s also a handful of new heritage options. All of the new lineage options, as well as the new heritage options seem pretty solid. Not a lot of throw-away junk here. Hats off to Kobold Press for not simply dialing-it-in.

The third chapter of the book includes a slew of new backgrounds and talents. As always with these types of books, some of these are really good, while others… not so much. Again, it’s often hard to make a ruling by just reading it on paper. Hands on testing is really the only way to gauge usefulness here. Still, I didn’t see anything that just popped out as completely worthless.

The fourth chapter focuses on equipment and magic items. I REALLY enjoyed the options presented here and plan on introducing a number of them in my personal game. I found the new weapons that are presented to be excellent additions. There’s even a whole section of mounts and combat animals that are pretty compelling. Of course, the big point of interest here is going to be the new magic items. For me, this is the big jewel of the whole book. I found the majority of the items here to be absolutely top notch. A handful of them seem to be variations of items I’ve seen in other publications, but the treatment they are given here is excellent.

Chapter five is when things get REALLY interesting. For as long as D&D has existed, many players have had issues with the spell slots mechanic. This has led to decades of homebrew rules and third party rules that have attempted to create a “spell points” system instead. Since TotV is based on D&D, it too adopted a spell slot system in its core rules. However, this chapter introduces an optional spell point mechanic that replaces the legacy spell slot system completely. I personally have always gone back and forth with my favor for spell slots. Years ago I tried to design my own spell point system and failed miserably. Since then I’ve researched various third-party options but always felt that they missed the mark. Until now. Kobold Press’ new spell point option is the most extensive and balanced alternative to traditional spell casting that I’ve ever seen. The only downside is that this system is much more complex than the standard spell casting rules. I have yet to put these rules into action at my table, so I can’t speak on their efficiency in practice. But they certainly seem worthy of trying out.

This chapter also includes a slew of new spells for players to add to their spellbooks. A handful of these do seem to be revisions of spells previously found in Deep Magic 1 and 2, but the majority of them are completely new. As always with splats of spells, the quality varies a little from entry to entry. But overall, I found these to be interesting and well balanced.

Chapter six provides a number of expanded rules to the core of the game. First among them is the new stronghold (base) system. I’ll be honest, I don’t really get the desire for rules like stronghold/bastion. It’s like adding a mini-game to a TTRPG. I’ve always found bases and keeps to be something that’s best handled through storytelling and roleplaying. I personally don’t understand the desire to add game mechanics to this sort of thing. That being said, this new system is radically different from the bastion system introduced in 2024 D&D. I personally like it much better and while I don’t exactly vibe with the whole “mini game” aspect of it, these new rules are an excellent reference for Game Masters who might have to answer stronghold related questions from players. If I had to choose a “base” system, I think I’d go with TotV over D&D’s rules here.

This chapter doesn’t stop there, however. It also includes a wealth information regarding potential downtime activities that players may want to engage in. Personally, I think these are excellent for reference. But I wouldn’t want to incorporate strict downtime mechanics to my game. The one thing in this chapter that really piqued my interest was the rules providing guidance with Epic Advancement (aka: character development beyond level 20). Rarely do campaigns make it this far, but when they do, most Game Masters end up flying blind or cobbling together rules from nearly two decades ago. Overall, I found the suggestions included here to be excellent options. They are measured and sensible.

Finally, the book ends with a number of random generation tables for things like names, familiars, etc. As an old school gamer, I love these tables. They are always fun and I smile every time I see them in a book.

So what’s the verdict? Well, if you are a dedicated TotV player and you’re buying into this brand as a unique ecosystem then I think this book is very worthy purchase. If you’re a D&D player who wants some expanded options, it might be worth picking up if you have a very open-minded DM. The overall quality of the product is excellent. But some of the contents are pretty fringe and might not fit in at most tables. Still, I don’t regret my purchase one bit. It’s now obvious that Kobold Press is planning to market Tales of the Valiant not just as a “Vanilla 5E” but instead, as its own unique TTRPG. These new rules options are the start of that. It wouldn’t surprise me that at some point in the future we get a Second Edition of TotV and a number of these “optional” rules become fully integrated, ultimately replacing the legacy 5E mechanics. It’s like Pathfinder all over again. And honestly, that’s not a bad thing. Baby steps…

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