Am I the only one who thinks Incarnum is hokey?

[Andor]

I think you're coming at it backwards. The idea was not to come up with an 'over magic' and then figure out a new system for it, the idea was to come up with a new mechanical system and then explain it. The new mechanics are the key. Don't like the explanation, the 'fluff'? Change it. Maybe it's not soul energy in your campaign, maybe it's the manipulation of a magic infused fume and incarnum weilders need to burn special incense every morning to generate thier daily supply.

For what it's worth I believe there is a section of the book devoted entirely to introducing the stuff to your campaign.

Also, magic, like technology which is also "the manipulation of energies", is not static. New techniques and spells are always being developed. Perhaps some student at an arcane university just invented a ritual which allows the beneficiary to manipulate this stuff which no one had a use for before.

If you want a fictional account of the introduction of a new magic system read 'The night of Madness' by Lawrence Watt-Evans.

 

[tetsujin28]

No, moritheil, you're not the only one who thinks it's hokey. "Cheesy" would be my adjective.

 

[Grimstaff]

Sorry, but this book looks confusing and unneccessary to an extreme. I pass.

Check out "Power Gamers Guide to Wizards", from Goodman Games.
Now that's a kewl book...

 

[tetsujin28]

Check out "Power Gamers Guide to Wizards", from Goodman Games.
Now that's a kewl book...

My favourite section is under Skills: "Profession: Don't bother. Your Profession is 'adventurer'. You hire people with gold."

 

[Woas]

From what I've heard from it... which isn't too much, it sounds great. Good enough to perk my interest in it and pencil in a visit to my FLGS to check it out.

 

[Masquerade]

Since I'll be starting a new campaign soon, Incarnum could not come out at a better time. Incorporating it into my setting will give me a kick which, for the time being, is unique.

 

[Sunderstone]

Mark me down for "cheesy" and "hokey", some of these newer products just feel like a departure from the traditional D&D feel to me.
The only upcoming thing from WotC thats on my radar is the Tome of Magic, hopefully the 3.5 version of this great 2e book will live up to my expectations.

 

[Waldorf]

It's about as superfluous as it gets.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The only upcoming thing from WotC thats on my radar is the Tome of Magic, hopefully the 3.5 version of this great 2e book will live up to my expectations.

It's an almost totally different type of product this time around.

 

[moritheil]

I think you're coming at it backwards.

In which sense? I value the consistency of a synthetic reality first, and the elegance of its mechanics second. The mechanics are merely tools that enable us to model interactions within the fantasy world. I would much rather have a metaphysically consistent and clear, but mechanically lacking world - such as In Nomine - than a world that is mechanically great but wherein no one has any idea of what the true cosmic order is like. My statements are therefore made from this perspective.

In reality, I accept that WOTC is willing to do goofy things to sell more books. That's why we have this new system. I also accept that people who dislike the current mechanics may like the new ones.

In my own game, I dislike introducing sweeping new changes without making sure they metaphysically fit into the world. Therefore the metaphysics are of substantial consequence to me. I cannot see life force suddenly taking on this new importance, and superceding magic as a source of power and change, and it not being a massive cosmic upheval, just as I cannot see Fire suddenly surpassing Earth, Air, and Water in power and importance, and it not being a massive cosmic upheaval. This is not true for other DMs, or for many players, who do not worry about the sanity or coherence of their worlds.

Mechanically, what I question is the fact that they are moving away from a unified mechanical system that one learns to understand all powers - which is the virtue of the new psionics - and more into variant systems that will make it difficult for one person to understand everything with minimal reading of the rules. This does not make DMs' lives easier. Again, I understand that they are player oriented, not DM oriented, that cool things sell, and that a unified system may not be cool, but totally weird new systems are. I am stating, however, that I don't like it. It is not fundamentally aesthetically, mechanically, or metaphysically appealing to me. They came so close to making things easily understandable, and then veered off. I am the one stuck with the unenviable job of explaining this stuff to new people at the same time that they are struggling to learn the basic spellcasting system.

This is, essentially, a tradeoff that WOTC is making - coherence for cash. I recognize that their mission is principally to make money, and not to produce the most uniform or most clearly understood gaming environment possible. I cannot fault them for it, in a sense, but I do not like what they have done. The arbitrary elevation of components of the multiverse in importance, to sell books, does not strike me as helpful or intellectually honest.