![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
May. 6th, 2006
Books: Tome of Magic for D&D
May. 6th, 2006 09:29 am-I have a weakness for shiny D&D hardcovers . . . this one presents three alternate magic systems for D&D, "Pact Magic", "Shadow Magic", and "Truename Magic". The first is probably the most flavorful of the lot, in which PCs make deals with mysterious extraplanar entities, and get powers, but also may get physical transformations and some nasty personal habits. With relatively simple mechanics, it manages to replicate the feel of dealing with devils, and the attendant risks.
-The other two systems didn't impress me as much, since they essentially are a different set of mechanics for a different set of spells, many of which are indistinguishable from regular D&D spells. Yeah, there are different rules for how many you get per level and per day, and you acquire them along different paths, and they're called "mysteries" and "utterances" instead of "spells", but in the end they have much the same range of utility and game mechanics as spells so . . . what's the point? This is actually a fundamental problem with adding new magic systems to D&D. Since the core magic system can accomplish pretty much anything, that means that a new magic system has to either A) have a similar range, and thus be functionally no different, or B) be limited to a subset of the effects, and thus be weaker, unless it allows greater scale of effects at lower levels. Or, C), the methods of learning and casting the alternate magic have to have a sufficiently different flavor as to be new and interesting. We don't really get that here.
-There are lots of rules for integrating these new systems (singly or all together) into an existing D&D cosmology. Another lack: I would have liked to see guidelines for "What if this is the only way to do magic in your gameworld?" This would be tricky in D&D (7 of the 11 core classes cast spells, after all), but it would be worth it as an alternative.
-So, for D&D players and GMs, moderately recommended.
-The other two systems didn't impress me as much, since they essentially are a different set of mechanics for a different set of spells, many of which are indistinguishable from regular D&D spells. Yeah, there are different rules for how many you get per level and per day, and you acquire them along different paths, and they're called "mysteries" and "utterances" instead of "spells", but in the end they have much the same range of utility and game mechanics as spells so . . . what's the point? This is actually a fundamental problem with adding new magic systems to D&D. Since the core magic system can accomplish pretty much anything, that means that a new magic system has to either A) have a similar range, and thus be functionally no different, or B) be limited to a subset of the effects, and thus be weaker, unless it allows greater scale of effects at lower levels. Or, C), the methods of learning and casting the alternate magic have to have a sufficiently different flavor as to be new and interesting. We don't really get that here.
-There are lots of rules for integrating these new systems (singly or all together) into an existing D&D cosmology. Another lack: I would have liked to see guidelines for "What if this is the only way to do magic in your gameworld?" This would be tricky in D&D (7 of the 11 core classes cast spells, after all), but it would be worth it as an alternative.
-So, for D&D players and GMs, moderately recommended.