Sargon of Balmora
Villager
[Optimization/Playstyle Guide] The Lesser Key of Sargon, or Thumbs on the Scales of the Universe: An Arcanist’s Handbook - "Pay What You Want"
OOC: Long-time lurker, first-time poster here! I am proud to present to you The Lesser Key of Sargon, or Thumbs on the Scales of the Universe: An Arcanist’s Handbook. This work represents the distillation of more than a decade and a half’s worth of experience in conceptualizing, designing, playing, and DMing for arcane spellcasters across various editions of Dungeons and Dragons and at all levels of play, and it is specifically focused on D&D 5e.
At more than 50,000 words and 132 pages in length, I intend the Lesser Key to serve as a comprehensive guide to the playstyle I've dubbed the "Arcanist," which I define as "A dedicated primary arcane spellcaster with a flexible set of tools and a tactical mindset that enables them to meaningfully and proactively contribute to every encounter.”
The complete manuscript is available for purchase here (it is available for free, but with a suggested "Pay What You Want" amount of $2.99): https://www.dmsguild.com/product/28...of-the-Universe-An-Arcanists-Handbook-A-Guide
I crave feedback, so if you purchase and read the Lesser Key, please let me know what you think. Thank you!
UPDATE: The Lesser Key of Sargon is now listed as "Pay What You Want." Please enjoy!
You hold in your hand or most complete effort yet at the restoration of the once-lost magnum opus of Dr. Sargon Andrastada, one of our great University’s most renowned scholars and magicians. Although the original copy was completely destroyed in the eldritch fire that consumed Prof. Andrastada’s laboratory—and most of Dobbins Hall with it—a team of the University’s most skilled chronomancers has painstakingly reached backwards in time to rescue as much of his brainchild from the flames as possible. Efforts at recovering more of the manuscript are ongoing, but, for ‘now,’ this partial volume will have to suffice.
As anyone who studied under him can attest, Prof. Andrastada was obsessed with the use of magic by what the common folk colloquially call “adventurers” and what we scholars call “murder hobos.” This should hardly come as a shock, given Prof. Andrastada’s penchant for taking lengthy sabbaticals from his University duties to assist the various “parties” of ne’er-do-wells that frequently sought to consult with “Sargon of Balmora.” Nevertheless, while some of our colleagues deemed such interests to be a waste of Prof. Andrastada’s talents, I can attest that a significant minority of my generation of mages is alive today because of his teachings. The restoration of this once-lost volume, then, is my gift to the next generation of “adventurers,” just as Prof. Andrastada’s words were a gift to mine. Remember, above all else: scientia potentia est.
Finally, in deference to Prof. Andrastada’s work, we have left his autobiographical notes (“About the Author”) unaltered. Those interested in the details of his disappearance may consult the newspapers; these pages are not the place for such unpleasantness.
–Dr. Ramses von Frankenstein, Professor of Chronomancy, University of Balmora
You hold in your hand or most complete effort yet at the restoration of the once-lost magnum opus of Dr. Sargon Andrastada, one of our great University’s most renowned scholars and magicians. Although the original copy was completely destroyed in the eldritch fire that consumed Prof. Andrastada’s laboratory—and most of Dobbins Hall with it—a team of the University’s most skilled chronomancers has painstakingly reached backwards in time to rescue as much of his brainchild from the flames as possible. Efforts at recovering more of the manuscript are ongoing, but, for ‘now,’ this partial volume will have to suffice.
As anyone who studied under him can attest, Prof. Andrastada was obsessed with the use of magic by what the common folk colloquially call “adventurers” and what we scholars call “murder hobos.” This should hardly come as a shock, given Prof. Andrastada’s penchant for taking lengthy sabbaticals from his University duties to assist the various “parties” of ne’er-do-wells that frequently sought to consult with “Sargon of Balmora.” Nevertheless, while some of our colleagues deemed such interests to be a waste of Prof. Andrastada’s talents, I can attest that a significant minority of my generation of mages is alive today because of his teachings. The restoration of this once-lost volume, then, is my gift to the next generation of “adventurers,” just as Prof. Andrastada’s words were a gift to mine. Remember, above all else: scientia potentia est.
Finally, in deference to Prof. Andrastada’s work, we have left his autobiographical notes (“About the Author”) unaltered. Those interested in the details of his disappearance may consult the newspapers; these pages are not the place for such unpleasantness.
–Dr. Ramses von Frankenstein, Professor of Chronomancy, University of Balmora
OOC: Long-time lurker, first-time poster here! I am proud to present to you The Lesser Key of Sargon, or Thumbs on the Scales of the Universe: An Arcanist’s Handbook. This work represents the distillation of more than a decade and a half’s worth of experience in conceptualizing, designing, playing, and DMing for arcane spellcasters across various editions of Dungeons and Dragons and at all levels of play, and it is specifically focused on D&D 5e.
At more than 50,000 words and 132 pages in length, I intend the Lesser Key to serve as a comprehensive guide to the playstyle I've dubbed the "Arcanist," which I define as "A dedicated primary arcane spellcaster with a flexible set of tools and a tactical mindset that enables them to meaningfully and proactively contribute to every encounter.”
The complete manuscript is available for purchase here (it is available for free, but with a suggested "Pay What You Want" amount of $2.99): https://www.dmsguild.com/product/28...of-the-Universe-An-Arcanists-Handbook-A-Guide
I crave feedback, so if you purchase and read the Lesser Key, please let me know what you think. Thank you!
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