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The opening fiction tells a tale of a couple of mages chasing around... their minds? Spaces other than the real world, anyway, yet real enough to those venturing there. It's all a bit confusing, compounded by a heavy background with shadowy images that makes it hard to read in places.
The Introduction tries to explain further, that being Awakened opens access to many worlds that are contained within each individual's soul. Dreamquests and astal voyages are needed to tap their potential... and one hopes that somewhere along their training, lucid dreaming techniques are included. Others can participate in these trips inwards, and secrets can be discovered. The scope of such dreamquests is immense and limited only by the imagination, and it is intended that they should play a part in the chronicles you tell. The theme is that of introspection, reaching truths that are otherwise inaccessible... but they are not safe to travel, either.
First, Chapter 1: Shaping the Mists takes a look at astral magic - how does a mage's magic work there at all, and what spells and rotes will give practical help. As you might imagine, magic doesn't work the same way it does in the real world, and the results might surprise you. For a start the laws of astral space are quite different from the physical laws we are used to, here they become mutable and changeable - sometimes so much so that the term 'law' doesn't really apply any more! Fortunately magic does follow some rules, at least sometimes. Astral space is all about symbols and meaning, so if you can figure those out you have a starting point from which to start manipulating the world around you, however odd it might appear.
Then Chapter 2: Mapping the Impossible provides a guide to the three levels of Astral Space: Oneiros, Temenos and the Anima Mundi. It talks about finding your way around, and describes the wonders to be found. To start off, getting there involves going inwards, deep into your own soul, through there to your dreamspace and deeper still into shared realms. It always feels like a journey, however you get there and whatever you want to do once you arrive. It all begins with a mental exercise, likely different for every mage who makes the attempt. Crossing from your own dreamspace into the shared spaces that are the astral realms takes you outwith your own control and mental discipline.
Next, Chapter 3: Denizens and Things gets down and dirty with what might be found there. Needless to say, not all are friendly and some might be quite surprising! Even in the bits you might think are 'yours' there many be intruders and once you venture forth into shared space, it's likely to be crawling. So here we learn about daimons - constructs that mimic the dreamer and can manipulate dreamspace towards their purpose, which it to 'improve' the dreamer, generally in some ethical or ideological direction. However it may seem at the time of an interaction with your daimon, its intentions are benign, helpful even. Handled with respect, they can be useful guides. There are plenty of examples to give you ideas, but each daimon has to be custom-built for each individual mage. Naturally there are less friendly entities out there, and plenty of detail is provided on them as well.
Chapter 4: Dreamquests contains Storyteller resources with ideas and advice as to when and how you might introduced events involving the astral realms into your game. Basically, you can put whatever you want in there, a blessing and a curse at the same time... for in such complete freedom there lies the difficulty in nailing down precisely what you do want in order to tell the story you want to tell. There is a wealth of ideas here about the sort of stories you might prepare and how to go about it, retaining the weirdness and strangeness yet maintaining some kind of internal consistency that reflects the plot that will unfold. There's masses here to help you plan and run sessions involving a visit to astral space, essential reading if you are even contemplating going there. Finally, Chapter 5: Realms presents some actual places all detailed out and ready to visit... if you dare!
This sort of adventuring may not be for everyone - you may even find that not all of your group wish to engage in astral travel whilst some revel in it. It can however be powerful and thought-provoking, perhaps something to be used sparingly with reluctant travellers, characters who may only visit the astral planes once or twice in their entire lives; but which can be more frequently visited by those who enjoy the experience. It might also be useful when not everyone is available for a game session - those who are there engage in some astral travel, whilst time stands still for the absentees. Other groups may decide to avoid it altogether or make it a regular part of their mages' development and explorations of their own selves. Whatever you decide, here are the tools you will need.
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Do you pay any attention to prophecy? One says there's a white dragon poised to attack, another says nothing but an icy grave awaits those who visit its lair...
Said lair is located in a high mountain range, the sort where the snow and ice never really goes away. Locals call it Krikk’s Range, to the rest of the world it's the Cloudtouch Mountains (or, of course, any suitable mountain range in your own campaign world). The map for the lair itself first appeared as part of the October 2001 offering in the Map-of-the-Week series on the Wizards of the Coast website (as of the day of writing, it's still there if you use the link in the PDF, but the bits you'll need are also included in the PDF in case they've gone by the time you look for it).
Now, Krikk the white dragon is a remarkable beast, she limits the area over which she holds sway and although she takes tribute in return for not eating the locals she doesn't ask for more than they can afford and has even been known to help protect them from barbarian raiders. Local lordlings have been unsuccessful in ousting her: heroes never return and mercenaries are bought off. Still, a nearby king alarmed by the prophecies he's heard, is now looking for adventurers... and that's just one of the hooks provided to get the party up there. There's also some information for parties inclined to gather it (or to access bardic knowledge, if a bard is around).
Although a map is supplied, only one chamber in the lair is described in any detail. Krikk is presented in great detail, not just a stat block but loads of information about what she'll do... and an impressive amount of material to assist you if the party is willing to enter into negotiation with her. There are also notes on her current projects and plans, her assistant and more, including a new magic item and a new spell.
It's a nice straightforward adventure for high-level characters, with the considerable support for those characters who want to try talking to Krikk a bonus. If it does come to a fight, though, there's ample material on how she will give battle too!
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The backstory tells of a township living in harmony with a gold dragon, seeing to her needs in return from genuine protection (as in, actually defending them rather than running a protection racket!) until a marauding black dragon with evil intent came along... now the town is victimised by the black dragon and their gold defender is nowhere to be found! In this high-level adventure, it's up to the party to sort things out however they can.
Several hooks are provided to help you catch the party's attention and get them to the town, Silversands by name. This can be located anywhere suitable in your campaign world, you need somewhere vaguely coastal - anything from the seaside to a large river will do - that's near a mountain range and which has a nearby marsh as well.
The adventure itself is primarily site-based, the sites being Silversands itself and two detailed encounter areas. There's a reasonable amount of information provided about Silversands, but plenty of scope for you to develop it further. There's plenty of information to be had there if the party asks around a bit. If the party heads up into the mountains, random encounters - with monsters and people - are provided. Some of these will present quite a challenge in terms of combat, even for such a high-level party. Likewise, the nearby marshes have several random encounters for those who wish to visit them.
Both dragons - the gold and the black interloper - have established lairs which have been described although there's only a map supplied for one of them. There are also copious amounts of information about both dragons, to facilitate the characters meeting with them.
It's all fairly open-ended, the party can decide how to deal with the situation, which is not quite as straightforward as it appears. Some suggestions are provided for follow-on adventures, but it really depends how they handled this situation! It should make for an interesting challenge for a high-level party, possibly even a final fling before they settle down...
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Part of the Dungeon of Terror series, this presents just part of the quarters of a so-called 'mad mage', Infidus the Black, who drove out the creators of this underground complex - a bunch of dwarves - and made his home here, conducting all manner of magical experiments... until an assassin sneaked in and put an end to him! Various other opportunists have moved in since (and nobody's quite sure what happened to the assassin) and the place is ripe for exploration. The part dealt with in this product is part of Infidus' personal quarters, and nobody has breached it... until now. This is despite this area including one of the main entrances to the underground complex.
This area consists of some 27 chambers presented as an overview and then as separate 'tiles' you can print out and use with minatures or other markers. Whilst the plans show all manner of intriguing things - from strange and cryptic markings on the floor to abandoned barrels - it's up to you to decide what they are (or were) and what their significance might be. But there's plenty to conjure with!
0one Games display their usual mastery of PDF technology, allowing you to customise your maps before printing by choosing various options like square/hex/no grid, grey or black fill, whether or not you want doors or furniture and so on. You can also pick which tiles to print from the overview, or just go to have a closer look before deciding.
If actually drawing dungeon floorplans is the bit you find difficult, all the work has been done for you. You just need to decide who lives there...
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The opening story combines the intense political manoeuvering of the Silver Ladder with action, negotiation, power plays and high drama, a riveting read in its own right. The Introduction then draws out the main theme that concerns this book: scanctums. Even Sleepers have homes, places in which they feel safe. A mage's sanctum in so much more, a place to study as well as somewhere to rest, recharge his energies and far more. But in such places you find the bedrock of mage society, individuals and cabals. From there the greater assemblies arise, but the cabal is the core bastion against the Abyss and other threats, and the central point around which Awakened politics revolve. Assembkies and other groupings are made up of cabals, not divided into them. The cabal and the scanctum it uses is the mage's refuge, shelter, the place to return to when the work is done... or when something nasty is chasing you. Sanctum and Sigil, then, starts with the permutations of Awakened politics, from the inception of a cabal and the inter-cabal politics of a Consilium right to the mage's home - the sanctum. It provides details on the inimical opponents that move to hinder such institutions and the magical resources that are used to protect a sanctum.
First up, Chapter 1: The Polity explores core concepts about how a cabal is set up - will it consist of mages from but one order or the more modern pattern where individuals of several traditions join together. It looks at a cabal's protocols, the rules that govern members and the oaths that bind them and the sigil that is their symbol. Then it moves on to the Consilium, the forum where inter-cabal politics play out, and also the 'Lex Magica', the laws that govern mages and their use of magic.
Then, Chapter 2: Pride of Place looks in detail at the physical - and magical - construction of a sanctum. Essential reading when your cabal comes to set down roots. There's also plenty of information about Hallows, ley lines and Demesnes too.
Next, Chapter 3: Pylons and Cults examines how the opposition organises itself. Banishers of course, but also Seers, those lost souls that seek far past Watchtowers into the far depths of mystery - but what do they do and why are they a threat?
Finally Chapter 4: Storytelling explores how to actually run all those political machinations and make them really come to life for your players, get them to care about the outcome. There are also ways to get your cabal into trouble (if they don't manage to find it for themselves) and three sample cabals you can drop into your own chronicles: a Pentacle cabal, a Seer pylon and a Banisher cult. Ready-made rivals, opposition, threats...
This book makes for a fascinating read, but you do need to be well-embedded into Magic: The Awakening traditions and terminology to make the most of it. The material herein will aid you in building a deep, rich, vibrant world for your mages, one in which there is plenty going on and with opportunities for them to get involved (whether they like it or not) at every turn. Drag the more bookish mages out of their studies, make the muscular ones stop and think about the consequences of their actions, devise and run the local power structures of mage society with a sure hand... well worth reading if you want to scale the heights (and plumb the depths) of a living world and make your mages far more that mere spellchuckers but part of a real community that exists just out of reach of everyday Sleeper life.
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Opening with some evocative fiction that tells the tale of a lonely girl on a nasty cold and wet evening, who finds strange people down back alleys she hasn't explored before and the promise of something more, then the Introduction lays out the nature of this work: a setting sourcebook for what is intended as the home and setting of Mage: The Awakening, the city of Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Even if you know Boston well, this is not quite the Boston you know. Building on the information provided in the core rulebook about the city, this book looks behind the scenes at the intrigues of the Awakened world and provides inspiration for many a chronicle, with plot ideas a-plenty. It is a place replete with history and rife with secrets… just the sort of place in which mages can flourish - or perish.
Chapter 1: Maps and Legends takes a look around, but it's not the sort of guidebook that a tourist would find useful. Starting with the local Native Americans, it's naturally a good place for those who would work magic, with ley lines in profusion and other features which any willworker might appreciate. Even once colonists arrived from Europe, there were those who picked up on the local characteristics and began to build their power. But sometimes the landscape itself fought back, and sometimes malign spirits were summoned by accident or intent, not all was well. Yet these early days were exciting ones and many seeds were set and organisations founded and alliances forged that began to shape the landscape of today.
Next, Chapter 2: Cabals presents some of the better-known groups of mages to be found in Boston, along with the politics and enmities that provide for alliances and rivalries. It's a place full of history, with several hundred years of cooperation and conflict setting the scene for today's Bostonian mages. Just as regular Boston society tends to the stiffly formal, so does that of the Awakened. A local mage may navigate this uptight society with ease, but a newcomer will find it difficult, baffling even. Mages who Awaken in Boston are welcomed and nurtured, shown around and properly welcomed by exisiting mages - whilst this is a benefit, it can drag a fledgling mage into local politics before he's really ready or has even had a chance to decide where he stands. There's plenty of detail here, with many groups for mages to join or to oppose, people to ingratiate themselves with, who might become trusted friends and mentors or bitter enemies. Absolute heaven for those who want to play a social game jam-packed with intrigue and political manoeuvering.
Then Chapter 3: Renegade Mages takes a look at some local inhabitants who do not fit into regular arcane society. There are quite a few Banishers - perhaps stemming from the city's Puritan past - who are presented in considerable detail ready to come after your mages. Story ideas are littered through this book, and there's a delightful one here: an old Chinese mage who rarely practises magic these days has just realised that a young relative has not only Awakened but taken up with the Banishers, so to whom will he turn for help? There are other individuals and groups here too. The Scelesti use their magic to their own unsavoury ends, and others follow their own agendas as well. And then there are the Sleepers. Some of them can prove problematic too - there's an overly-curious journalist, for example... be cautious how you deal with her!
This is followed by Chapter 4: Off the Map which explores local spirit realms and other places of mystery. As you can imagine from such a historical place, there are plenty of locations that resonate, and this chapter provides even more plot ideas - overt sidebar 'story hooks' and those that spring to mind as you read over the entries here.
Finally, Chapter 5: Beast of Burden provides some plot to get your adventures in Boston off to a flying start. It's aimed at a young cabal yet to establish themselves (but could be run with more experienced mages if you beef the antagonists up a bit), with a Tibetan student asking for help in combating a monster he says ate his master when an experiment went wrong. Taking the action from the docks and through the streets of the city, there's plenty of mythology to explore as well as fights to be had - a good adventure to get the cabal involved in Boston society as they aren't the only ones interested...
Boston makes a good base for those who want a political game, yet there is plenty of scope for people who prefer more direct action and even those who wish to pursue a scholarly approach to their magic. Indeed, there's something for everyone here... all rooted in the fascinating city that is Boston.
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The city of Porthaven has grown and prospered over the past three hundred years, with a reputation for being peaceful, a safe harbour from storms and with a temperate climate. It wasn't always like that... the place where it was built was originally unstable both geologically and meterologically (perhaps not the best place to found a settlement?), and the way in which it reached its present serenity has been lost over the years to all but a few... and they don't really understatnd it.
The DM's backstory explains all, and as soon as a bunch of high-level adventurers like the party turns up they will be shown the mysterious 'machine' built by a traveller through the planes called Khyber Mercane and some creatures called modrons - noted for a love of order matched only by a thirst for knowledge - that he encountered in his travels. For a while, modrons came each year to service the machine, but they have not been back for a long time and, according to the leading priestess of Wee Jas - who has been studying ancient texts in an attempt to find out what's wrong - it has run out of fuel. So trips to the four elemental planes are required to obtain what the machine needs.
Some hooks are provided to help you get the party to Porthaven, once there they find that there is a massive storm raging and then a nearby volcano erupts... amidst the chaos the party will be shown the machine and the priestess explains what she has discovered so far. The rest of the adventure consists of visits to the elemental planes with brawls with the inhabitants and occasional chances to talk to a few of them as the party collects the material that they need.
It is a fairly straightforward adventure which may be a bit simple for parties accustomed to planar travel - and perhaps a bit hard for those who have never attempted it before. There are a couple of vague ideas for follow-on adventures, and a neat new monster which is encountered for the first time on one of the planes, and that's it.
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Treason, plots, conspiracies, networks of power, political manoeuvering - the opening fiction sets the scene for the essence of Silver Ladder belief: that it is a duty for those blessed with magic to seek power and wield it responsibly, using both other mages and sleepers as tools to achieve their goals. Power and influence make them tick, and all those studies are but means to an end rather than a route to personal enlightenment.
Chapter 1: Hand Over Hand discusses the history of the Silver Ladder, starting with chaos and the establishment of order - by people working together, by individuals of wisdom and power taking the lead and directing the others. The dream of an ordered cooperative society draws members of the Silver Ladder on, a dream that has them at the pinnacle of society, of course, wielding power. Many legends and stories are told to reinforce this concept, that those who rule must be the ones who are most fit to rule... but who decides? That's where it gets interesting!
Next, Chapter 2: The Silver Dream examines the internal culture of the Silver Ladder, their philosophical approach and the way in which they organise and regulate themselves. At its core, the Silver Ladder regards every member as a prince in search of a kingdom to rule and seeks to equip him to take his place at the head of the Awakened, for if only those mages would just work together under proper leadership, just think of what they could accomplish! Their entire philosophy is wound around this concept.
Then Chapter 3: An Enlightened Crusade takes matters further, looking at Silver Ladder society and practices, and even their rituals. They see themselves as leaders and moral guides to the rest of the Awakened and work towards getting themselves into positions where they can exert influence and control. They don't see themselves as aristocracy despite their conviction that they ought to be the people in charge. This chapter looks at how they select and recruit new members, and at what said new recruits find once they are inducted into the order. It also talks at their controversial use of Sleepers.
This is followed by Chapter 4: Factions and Legacies, which looks at the various groups that all vie for power within the order. Unity of purpose does not mean a shared view of the methods or even the goals that should be pursued, and so this is perhaps the most politically active of orders with different groups vying to push their ideas - by debate, by subterfuge, by brute force... it doesn't really matter at times. Tread carefully through this morass, pick your way through the myriad groups... plenty of scope for those who like lots of intrigue and political manoeuvering in their game.
Finally, Chapter 5: Magic explores the resources at the Silver Ladder's disposal, including spells and artefacts. Their techniques tend to the traditional, conservative even, but this gives their style the weight of history, and of course the methods they employ are tried and tested ones, none of this experimental stuff, these magical fads. Very much the Establishment in a wizard's gown!
The Silver Ladder is an intriguing organisation, power-hungry yet with purpose beyond just being top dog or amassing power and the wealth that often goes with it just for its own sake. If your players like intrigue and politics a chronicle built around this order might work well, but nobody is safe from being caught up in their machinations - mages can get involved whoever they might be, as pawns or standing up in opposition to what they view as an abuse of power or a wrong-headed idea. Even if they don't play a big role in your game, they ought to be muttering along somewhere in the background...
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Opening with some fiction, a disparate tale about strange killers (which would be improved with a clear font and a less-heavy background, a combination which makes it hard to read), this work deals with the Banishers, those who have Awakened but become twisted, turning against other mages and magic itself. They are a varied bunch, their hatred of what they are making it difficult to build up much of a body of tradition, indeed many turn against their magic soon after they Awaken and so are self-taught in what they use... for even whilst eager to rid the world of magic, or at least other mages, they continue to use their powers to their twisted ends. They tend towards violent ignorance, driven perhaps by a fear of powers they do not understand, a fear that turns to hatred.
Chapter 1: The Purpose looks at how Banishers arise in the first place. Known as the 'Timori' or fearful ones, their origins are unknown although a matter for some speculation by the other Traditions who'd quite like to see the back of them so study them closely... yet some accuse those who study them of being secret sympathisers to their views. Nobody knows their origins for sure - and this includes the authors of this book, who leave it up to each Storyteller to decide for themselves what is really going on! What is known is that they can turn up everywhere and anywhere. Some hide as cults, others study magic more openly, others appear not to study it at all, at least not in public. Some see it as almost a disease, some claim that people with particular attitudes towards matters mystical are predisposed to become Banishers if they Awaken. Lots of speculation, no real conclusions. Do Banishers choose their path? If they don't it changes them from villains to victims - it's up to you! Some Banishers only become such later on in their magical career, having previously developed as normal. There are, of course, many theories as to how that happens as well. This chapter also provides templates and rules for creating Banisher characters and the sorts of organisations they might join and beliefs they might hold. These are clearly intended for NPCs, but there's potential for a twisted chronicle that focusses on a group of Banishers if that's what you want.
In Chapter 2: Weapons, we get down to detail: spells used by Banishers when about their deadly (well, if you are a mage anyway) work. It's quite a copious collection, and reading through them spawns quite a few ideas about how Banishers could cause problems to your mages. There are also artefacts - including a neat 'Permit' which appears as if it gives appropriate authority to the Banisher wielding it (similar to Doctor Who's psychic paper), sonething any mage might find handy - and imbued items available for their use.
Next, Chapter 3: Cults and Cabals presents some sample organisations for Banishers to join, groups which may make trouble for your mages as they go about their normal business. They are all developed in considerable detail and one or more can easily be infiltrated into wherever your mages live, possibly innocuous-sounding until they make a move against them. This chapter includes fully-developed individual Banishers, complete with game statistics, ready for use or as examples when developing your own. Ideas for using them, possibly spawning an entire chronicle or just an adventure or two, are scattered throughout. Excellent reading if you are contemplating adding Banishers to the mix in your game.
Finally, Chapter 4: Wielding the Witch-Hammer looks in more detail at how you can use Banishers in your chronicles, based on their view that magic is a curse, and mages are the perpetrators. They are definitely not good guys, if only because of their unwillingness to accept that others hold different views from their own. But it also addresses the challenges of actually playing a Banisher, and goes into more detail about creating Banisher characters, this time with an eye towards player-characters rather than NPCs.
This book raises some interesting ethical questions, ones that can be used to make a group stop and think - Mage: The Awakening is quite a contemplative game anyway, but analysing this quirk of opposition from within is thought-provoking. It's interesting to speculate about the reasons why a Banisher is the way he is - even if you are running like the clappers to get away from his latest murderous assault at the time! For of course this is not a purely philosophical standpoint, it's an all-out war on mages fought from within their ranks, quite different from the squabbles that arise between more ordinary mages jockeying for position or defending a pet theory. There's scope for excitement, real danger... and above all, epic storytelling.
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Opening as usual with a note to a student working his way through the Aubergrave Academy of Magecraft (how long is the course? He's been there six years now, maybe he's doing a PhD!), apparently the poor lad lost his mentor in rather tragic (if unspecified) circumstances and has had to apprentice to somebody else. It also appears that he now has to start assisting with teaching more junior students (all the more likely that he's doing a PhD as you often get a teaching assistant role at that point). Mention is also made of a new area of study, psychic magic, which is touched on within this tome. In a rare formatting error, the two pages of the letter are superimposed on what appears to be the Credits and Table of Contents pages, which fortunately appear in their own right, the Credits before the letter and the Table of Contents on the following page, so you do get to read them!
Next comes the Foreword by the compiler of the tome, Kabaz Anvitz, who is full of excitement at the discovery of an entire new branch of magic, the psychic magic mentioned in the letter. In previous volumes he's explored and questioned conventional magic, and here the study of psychic magic has led him on to examine spell components in detail. The theme of Advanced Arcana I was the 'cost' of a spell, so returning to that approach, can material components - and indeed the caster's gestures and words - also form part of the 'cost' of casting a spell? An interesting thought that leads him to the concept that it might be possible to cast a spell without the required material components by casting it at a higher level (i.e. using up more magical energy) than normal. Or increase the spell's effects by adding extra components... exciting stuff indeed!
We then move on to more detailed game mechanics to support these ideas. Psychic magic was introduced in Paizo Publishing's Occult Adventures rulebook for the Pathfinder RPG, where the concept of thought and emotion components joined the familiar verbal, somatic and material ones. It's all about the drama and excitement of spell-casting, words and gestures and other elements combining to bring about the effect the caster intends. So here we have intricate components - words or gestures so complex that skill checks are needed to get them right - and other components based on energy, alignment, sacrifice or even terrain. There's a lot to play with here! Detailed game mechanics are provided to help you get to grips with the ideas presented here and translate them into spellcasting within your game.
The actual spells themselves are presented first as spell lists by caster type and level, and then in an alphabetical collection of full descriptions of each one. Read, enjoy, imagine... some of these spells, however, are quite dark, evil even - after all, sacrifice of a sentient being merely to power a spell is rightly deemed an evil act, most of the time.
The appendices present new feats designed to aid interaction with the new game mechanics introduced in this book, new archetypes which mix up the way in which different types of spellcaster engage with their magic, a collection of new (sometimes bizarre) familiars, and finally biographic notes and game statistics of some of the legendary spellcasters who aided Kabaz Anvitz in researching this book - along with a further note from him about the process.
What can I say? These books just get better and better, casting new and interesting light on the study and practice of magic. Particularly appealing if you like to take an academic approach to magic, there is plenty for the more practical spellcaster too.
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Opening, as with the other books in this series, with a letter to a now-quite-senior student at the Aubergrave Academy of Magecraft, where he is about to enter his fifth year and now needs to choose a senior mage to whom he will apprentice. In stressing the importance of choosing a mentor wisely, there's an interesting glimpse into mage society - it's quite like the real-world academic society that I inhabit! The author also warns that some of the spells in this volume are 'unruly' if not downright dangerous.
Next we hear from Kabaz Anvitz, putative author of this tome. He states that magic is a tricky subject, that for every answer you get two more questions arise, that even after a lifetime of study there are things that still elude him totally. He then raises the question: is magic in some way alive? An idea that is widely discredited in academic circles yet... he cites research that suggests otherwise. Certainly a matter which could be disputed at length within academia, and perhaps by scholarly mages in your campaign world too.
Next, stepping out of character, the introduction identifies the core question of this volume as being "What would a spell with a mind of its own look like?" Magic is generally represented as either a scientific process, cause and effect studied and understood, or as a primal force that is cajoled and manipulated, with the first being more common in role-playing games as it's easier to write rules for! But a lot of the... well, MAGIC is lost if you get too scientific in your approach. The spells herein are an attempt to regain some of the feeling of wonder about spell-casting, even if they still abide by the rules. There are various different methods employed, including Patron spells (for those whose magic comes from an outside source, clerics and the like), Automatic spells (which go off apparently at random without the caster having much control), Capricious spells with random effects based on a Spellcraft check made when they are cast, Interactive spells which the caster can attempt to modify after he's cast them, and Unsafe spells - which have a tendency to get out of hand. Plenty to conjure with here!
After outlining and explaining the rules mechanics necessary for these new spells to operate within the game and notes on various ways of handling an influx of new spells into your campaign, we move on to spell lists (by caster type) and the detailed spell descriptions of over an hundred new spells. As always, just reading through them spawns plenty of ideas for their use... and they make for fun reading as well.
After the spells, there are four appendices. To start with, some new feats designed to be used by those who would cast the spells presented in this tome. Next come familiar traits, a new mechanic for giving your familiar assorted beneficial, mixed or awkward traits - each has a points value and the sum of your picks must equal zero. Then come notes on sentient spells - neutral outsiders whose abilities and personalities are based on a specific spell, literally a spell come to life. Wierd... but with potential. Finally there are biographical details (and game statistics) for various luminaries of the magical world - who knows, maybe one of these will turn up to discuss the nature of magic with your party wizard.
Overall, another collection of thought-provoking spells, these ones with considerable potential to cause havoc on your tabletop. Enjoy...
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A remote hunting lodge is enveloped in a never-ending blizard... and it's spreading, threatening settlements nearby.
The background for the DM explains just what is going on there and why, and a series of hooks are provided to help you pique the party's curiousity. Getting them there, and providing any information before they go, is left to you - what is presented here is a pure site-based adventure with the lodge described in detail. The map comes from the Map-a-Week feature on the Wizards of the Coast website, it is presented here and the link in the PDF still works at the time of writing if you want the original.
In some ways the place is quite disappointing. There's not much there for parties who live to loot, nor are there any NPCs or monsters to talk to... just ghosts, and grumpy ones at that, which will attack. Every one is provided with statistics for meeting them on the material plane or the ethereal one, and violence appears to be the only way to deal with them, they cannot be laid to rest by discovering secrets or righting wrongs.
An interesting basic concept which has rather fallen down in execution and development, alas. I'd recommend adding your own enhancements to make it a bit more interesting.
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Black rain is a strange phenomenon, mercifully rare, that either causes or marks a short period when all divine spellcasters are cut off from the deities. During one such event some rotten swine saw fit to attack a temple dedicated to St. Cuthbert - just when the clerics there cannot do much about it Can the party help?
The suggestion is made that you use a temple in a large town/city in your campaign world, preferably one in which the party has a good reputation already. A suitable floorplan is provided, modified from one in the September 2001 edition of the Map-a-Week feature on the Wizards of the Coast website (the original link in the PDF works at the time of writing), but if you have already established a layout for the temple you wish to use it should proved relatively simple to adapt the descriptions to suit your own temple.
There is a brief DM's background and several hooks to get the party involved. Basically, one day the city awakes to find this nasty black rain falling and then the alarm is raised at the St. Cuthbert temple. The party can get some information from the town watch commander or by gathering information, and then they will have to figure out how to get into the temple as there is a strange energy barrier around it!
Once they do find the way in (you may have to steer them a little, as only one method is apparently possible), they will have to fight the invaders - with any clerics or other divine spellcasters operating at a bit of a disadvantage as their magic won't work. Best to stock up on healing potions! The intruders will have to be defeated - they are not willing to negotiate - but if they are, the local bishop will really owe the party one!
It's an exciting mission with twists that should make the party - especially the clerics - think about what they are doing.
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Like previous volumes in the series, Arcane Arcana IV takes an aspect of magic that you might not even have thought about before and, by presenting a series of innovative spells around that theme, turn whatever you did know - or thought you knew - about it on its head. This time it's all about the concept of 'schools' of magic. The opening letter, addressed to a student who is embarking on his fourth year of study at Aubergrave Academy of Magecraft, points out that it is at this point in his training that he needs to select which (if any) school he will specialise in, and introduces this book as containing spells that challenge the classification of spells by school. The foreword by the compiler of the collection, the academic mage Kabaz Anvitz, is on similar lines complete with references to other (sadly imaginary) works in true academic style.
The introduction explains, out-of-character, a little more. For many players, a spell's school doesn't really matter, it is just a handy classification and based on the sort of effect that spell produces. This book attempts to make schools more meaningful. It includes dual-school spells, whose effects cross the boundaries between schools, alternate-school spells, which have a core action and additional effects based on how they are cast, and alternate-list spells where the effect is mostly the same whoever casts it, but with variations depending on whether the caster is a wizard, a druid, a witch or whatever. There are also more fountain spells (which enable the caster to regain spells already cast as well as having their own effects) and of course other spells that are just here because they sound interesting...
The detailed spell mechanics for the new types of spell are explained, but they make more sense once you've had a look at a few of the spells in question. So, on to the spell lists offered as usual by caster type, followed by the full descriptions of each spell. It's here that you find details of how the dual-school, alternate-list and alternate-school spells actually work in practice. Plenty of interesting ideas here, just reading through them starts ideas flowing...
The first appendix presentes the elite arcanist, a new base class of spell caster who is limited in the number of spells that he can cast, but extremely potent with those that he does know. He has access to any and all spell lists, never mind schools of magic. Fundamentally, they believe that the true path to magical power is the ability to master the best of everything that magic has to offer, rather than simply specializing in one small corner of all that is magical. They focus on understanding the underlying principles behind magic, which allows them to unlock the potential of every spellcasting class, and also gives them the ability to perform a number of stupendous feats of spellcasting, including casting two spells at once, copying spells that they have been targeted with, and casting spells that they don't even know. Yet they are active adventurers, not academics who do not venture out. There are certainly potentials here, although they do tend to want to 'talk shop' with wizards and sorcerers whenever they get the chance - and can be a bit aloof and dismissive of those who do not use magic (or even are not as obsessed by it as they are!).
The second appendix talks about places of power. If you have ever wondered if a mage gets any benefit from being in his own sanctum, this will give you your answer with some optional rules that allow the party wizard - or, of course, some evil fellow the party is opposing - to set up their magically-honed base of operations, based around arcane rituals that bind the location to the mage whose sanctum it is. All manner of equipment and decorative features are available and actually provide game mechanical effects as well. The third appendix looks at spell mastery, providing a way for a spellcaster to specialise in a particular spell and cast it to better effect rather than the standard model where - apart from metamagic effects - a spell is as potent when cast by a lowly first-level wizard as it is by an experience one of far higher level. Good if a mage wishes to develop a 'signature' spell or just demonstrate the benefits of all that hard work spent studying his craft. Examples - using spells from the Pathfinder RPG core rules - are given, but it should not prove too hard to come up with similar effects for your favourite spells if they're not listed here.
The final two appedices deal with wish and miracle spells - possibly the most powerful spells in any spellbook and certainly ones where your imagination can run riot - and biographical details (and full game statistics) for some legendary spellcasters, many of them providers of the spells in this book. They're quite entertaining and bring their magics to life.
So, more thought-provoking ideas and spells to conjure with, continuing the academic approach to magic that fits well with the image of the bookish wizard - more gloriously-imaginative spells to delight any mage and ideas to chat about whenever mages gather together.
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Set in and around the village of Three Forks, you can place this adventure in any remote section of your campaign world that is a few days' ride from a city. The area you select should feature nearby forested regions and be able to accommodate an abandoned village and a nearby manor house as well. The adventure is best run during the winter, but can be run at whatever time of the year suits your campaign best.
An extensive background for the DM reveals a bitter tale of lost love and vengeance and undeath some two hundred years old. Now a descendant of the former lord of the manor seeks to regain his domain...
Several hooks are supplied or you can merely have the party hired to rid the old manor of an infestation of undead. Ideally, even if you have attracted their attention through one or more of the hooks, they need to meet with the aspiring lord of the manor before getting involved as this will give them a better idea of the underlying history behind the events that are about to unfold.
The adventure proper begins once the party arrives in Three Forks, the deserted village. A map is provided and the adventure starts with location-based encounters as they explore. Eventually they will reach the manor house itself and will need to explore it and deal with the evils therein. Although most of the opposition is undead, there's a very live band of mercenaries around as well - they, at least, might be open to conversation, most else of what is encountered will need to be engaged in combat. However, the Big Bad Guy at the centre of the adventure is likely to engage in negotiations with the party, undead he may be but he retains a lively mind and a thirst for vengeance.
Notes for follow-up adventures encompass several outcomes and draw rather neatly on the backstory. Overall this is a well-crafted adventure with a certain melancholy that should live on in your group's memories.
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