Summary - Tales of the Valiant is based on D&D 5E, specifically the OG 5E that is the official version as of this writing. In fact, it pretty much is OG 5E, with just a few tweaks. Many of the changes, particularly in character classes, can easily be inserted into a 5E campaign as homebrew. So, why play TotV rather than 5E? I see just a couple of reasons. The first is that you campaign primarily in Kobold Press’ Midgard setting. Future setting releases will probably be tied to TotV - with 5E adaptation notes (Kobold Press doesn’t seem to hire idiots. 5E is going to be their money maker.) The second and more compelling reason is that you want to support a small business rather than a major corporation that is increasingly exhibiting a pattern of exploiting their customers.
As with the MCDM RPG and Critical Role’s Daggerfall, Tales of Valiant had its genesis in the 5E System Reference Document (SRD) crisis from January, 2023. This crisis was precipitated by Wizards of the Coast (WotC) and its parent Hasbro trying to get users of the supposedly open source information in the SRD to pay WotC for its use and also to hand over rights to the products they create with that information. After a lot of criticism, WotC did the right thing and gave the SRD a Creative Commons license, ensuring it stays open-source. In the process, however, WotC lost a lot of trust in the 5E community. Several companies started developing their own RPGs that did not rely on the SRD. Paizo has published a new version of Pathfinder which scrubbed out any and all dependencies on the SRD. MCDM and Critical Role created their own 5E-inspired RPGs.
Kobold Press, one of the major third-party publishers of 5E material, decided to do the same. I was optimistic. I like Kobold Press’ Midgard setting. Its setting source books are well written and their contents imaginative. I especially like the Empire of the Ghouls material. If Wolfgang Bauer and the other Kobolds put their minds to it, they could create something really interesting. Unfortunately, they did not.
This will be a relatively short review. As in my other RPG reviews, I’m going to highlight the differences between 5E and the system being reviewed. For TotV, there are few differences. It is so similar to 5E that many passages are taken word-for-word from the Player’s Handbook (and maybe the SRD to avoid copyright issues?). I will say that I’m covering the differences I find important or interesting. There may be (will almost certainly be) differences I don’t include.
Ability score determination: The standard array values are slightly higher than in 5E. The point buy method gives the player more points to spend and allows purchase of stats higher than 15. TotV characters will start out slightly more powerful than those in 5E.
Character classes - general: TotV has all of the standard classes, renaming the artificer to the mechanist. Each class gets a choice of powerful new effects at 10th level, which is not something 5E provides. Some get a small bonus at 1st level that isn’t in 5E. Each class has two subclasses, most of which can be traced to one of the 5E subclasses. The abilities of these subclasses are usually very similar, sometimes identical, to those in 5E. Some of them may have the levels at which a character gains these abilities switched up. Some are rearranged in some other way. For example, the bard College of Lore ability Cutting Words has been put in the base class, and the 5E base class’ Jack of All Trades has been moved to the College of Lore. Spell casting classes who get cantrips start with an extra one. Overall, Tier 1 and 2 characters will be slightly stronger than those in 5E. The 10th level boon makes the transition from Tier 2 to Tier 3 a significant one.
Barbarian: The Wild Fury subclass is analogous to 5E’s Path of the Totem Warrior. 5E has the same set of totem animals available at each of the three levels of increasing power. TotV has a different set of animals at each level. With the difference in animals, there are a different set of effects. Whether or not they are better depends on player preference and play style.
Bard: The TotV bard gets the expertise boon at both 2nd and 6th level. The 5E bard only gets it at 3rd. The Victory subclass turns the bard into a martial character, rather than its usual support role. The Victory bard only has proficiency in medium armor and a single type of martial weapon, so maybe it is a new category of “half-warrior” to go along with half-casters. This is not a subclass I find interesting or useful.
Cleric: At first level, clerics get either proficiency with heavy armor and a martial weapon or an extra cantrip. Players have to decide early whether their cleric will be a tank or a caster. The potentially aggressive nature of the cleric is reinforced by the Light Domain subclass. Most of the spells and abilities for this subclass deal damage. The 5E Light Domain seems more balanced between defensive and offensive capabilities.
Druid: The druid is one of my favorite classes, so I paid more attention to it than to others. TofV offers significant changes to the wild shape capability. Instead of transforming, the druid can expend a wild shape use to regain a spell slot. If they do transform, they have to keep the following changes in mind. At character creation, the player has to specify two beasts that they know how to turn into. In 5E, it could be any number, as long as the druid could have conceivably seen it during their life. These options are not limited to those without flying or swim speeds, though. TotV has done away with those restrictions. TotV also allows the druid to stay in this form for a number of hours equal to the druid’s proficiency bonus, twice as long as 5E. For some reason, the druid’s hit points in beast form is related to the size of the beast - a base number plus the druid’s proficiency bonus. In 5E, it is just the beast’s HP. It is unclear why Kobold Press added this rule.
The Leaf subclass may be the most unique in TotV. It doesn’t really look like any of the 5E subclasses. It is a plant-based class, rather than critter- or fungus-based. Leaf druids can talk with plants, create sacred groves, and do other neat plant-based things.
The Shifter subclass is the equivalent to 5E’s Circle of the Moon. A Shifter druid can speak in animal form, which is not possible in 5E. At 15th level, the Shifter druid can cast spells in beast form. At that point, the druid can spend 15 hours a day in beast form with few drawbacks. Isn’t that what all druids really want to do?
Fighter: The fighter has some significant changes. Fighting styles are out. Martial actions are it. Martial actions are bonus actions that fighters can take to make themselves more effective, such as aim a shot or wind up for a powerful melee hit. The Spell Blade and Weapon Master subclasses are tweaks to the Eldritch Knight and Battle Master subclasses from 5E. There are some differences in the subclasses, but each maintains the general flavor.
Mechanist: The mechanist has a somewhat different flavor than the artificer, not just because the alchemist has gone bye-bye. A mechanist infuses an object with a particular effect, rather than creating a specific object, as the alchemist does. This seems to give the mechanist more versatility and has better flavor. The Metallurgist subclass is the 5E Armorer. The Spellwright has the flavor of an Eberron magewright, someone who can enchant objects to cast spells. The mechanist is the class most different from its 5E original, but it still keeps the flavor of the 5E class.
Wizard: I find the Cantrip Adept subclass (another of the few TtoV unique subclasses) intriguing. I like the flavor of a wizard who concentrates on cantrips. However, it seems like it would be underpowered.
Lineages: Many, but not all, base 5E lineages/races are available. Unlike 5E or Pathfinder, there doesn’t seem to be a way to have a “half-” lineage.
Beastkin: This is a general way of being able to play anthropomorphic animals. 5E have added a few of these in recent years. They had never added the Midgard bearfolk, though! The TotV beastkin offers a way to skin a character as an animal folk. A significant benefit.
Syderean and smallfolk: These lineages pair two 5E races together. Sydereans are either aasimar or tieflings. Smallfolk are either gnomes or halflings. I don’t see the point of the bundling, since the player still has to choose a sub-lineage. There does not seem to be any flavor reason to group gnomes and halflings together, even if one can be crafted for aasimar and tieflings, at a stretch. This bundling is the only change in TotV that I strongly disagree with.
Heritage: There is no direct 5E counterpart to heritages. They represent the environment in which a character was raised. Mechanically, they provide skill proficiencies, languages, and a minor ability - similar to backgrounds. Heritages have good flavor. Mechanically, they represent a small boost in character power over 5E.
Talents: Talents are the 5E feats. They are divided into categories that restrict what type of characters can gain them. Otherwise, they are not much different than 5E feats.
Backgrounds: 5E has a lot of backgrounds. I find I only use a handful. TotV has focused on a relatively small number, but has made them more general. Each one also provides the character with a talent. The new Core 5E will probably have backgrounds provide feats, so this is a difference only with the OG 5E.
Vehicles: TotV provides a lot more information on playing with vehicles than 5E. Interesting, if not particularly ground-breaking.
Rituals: TotV offers a new type of spell. In 5E, rituals are lumped in with other types of spells. 5E rituals do not use a spell slot, but do have to be prepared or learned. TotV puts rituals in a separate category. Rituals do not count against spells that have to be prepared or learned. A modest boon for spellcasters.
Luck: Luck replaces inspiration. It is more reliable than inspiration. A character gains luck when failing to hit or failing a saving throw, as well as having them awarded by the GM. Luck (max. stack of 5) can be used to add to a roll. Three can be cashed in for a reroll. Strictly better than inspiration.
Death: In 5E, taking damage in a single attack that drops a character to zero and would still apply damage equal to or greater than that character’s max HP causes instant death. In TotV, a character has to take that much damage after falling to zero, no matter how many blows that takes. A subtle difference that won’t come up that much, but one that makes TotV a little bit deadlier.
Conclusion: If you like 5E, you’ll like Tales of the Valiant. They are pretty much the same thing. There are a few aspects of TofV that I find better than the 5E equivalent: the druid class, the mechanist class, maybe the wizard cantrip adept subclass, beastfolk lineages, and the luck mechanic. Where TofV does itself a disservice is that all of these things can be integrated into 5E as homebrew pretty easily. Other attempts to create an RPG as an alternative to 5E have created something all their own from the D&D base. I wish Kobold Press had done the same.
Den of the Red Wolf 