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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JohnSnow" data-source="post: 2877361" data-attributes="member: 32164">I have it. Bought it to use in my Iron Heroes games, since I didn't like the default Arcanist at all.My first impression was "WOW! It's perfect!" On further reading, I'm a bit...confused.The default magic system is basically the same as it was in the Black Company Campaign Setting, with new powers and some other things designed specifically to make it more D&D-ish. The default system is...comprehensible, if not totally comprehensive. There's a new advanced class called the "Spellcaster" and a Spellcaster advanced class for use with d20 Modern. The powers are great...although there's still a few missing.The editing is spotty. I've noticed more than a few instances of missing words, missing phrases, bad punctuation, poor math (NOT good when they're giving an example), and incomplete explanations of mechanics.Just a few examples...The Iron Heroes-specific section is an appendix. It's 5 pages and contains a new class. That new class uses a totally different method of magic balance. It's unclear how its mechanics interact with the default mechanics from the basic system. For instance, it introduces a "Fifth Magnitude" with no explanation of how it works except for one table. It says the Arcanist counts as a Dabbler, but from the tables, it seems that the Arcanist is only considered a "Dabbler" for purposes of Talent access. Mathematically speaking, the bonuses are the "Student of Wizardry" ones.Also, as I read it, the True Sorcery Arcanist gets "Mana Tokens" which work "sort of, but not exactly like" spell energy in the default system. They provide the same DR against Drain, which makes sense but can also be used to boost his spellcraft check. These tokens grant a casting bonus from +2 at Dabbler and doubling every magnitude to +64 (per token!) at 5th Magnitude. You can use 1 token +1/magnitude you have per spell!Now while at low levels, these things are more valuable as DR against drain (as the sidebar says), by mid-level, I'd be more than happy to take extra nonlethal damage in exchange for a +48 to my casting checks! However, I can't tell whether the Spellcraft bonuses from Token use count as "Spellcraft bonus" for the purpose of determining how long a spell takes to cast. Or is the casting time done away with? The system is unclear. I have to ask...did anybody playtest the Iron Heroes Arcanist in some adventures? The default system was fine. Why mess with the token thing? How was it intended to work? How did it work?But all that is Iron Heroes specific.There's muddy math all over. For example, the sample spell under flight doesn't add in the +30 to DC needed (according to the spell description) to actually switch from levitation to "Flight." So the Spellcraft DC is reported at 44, instead of 74. (ouch!) Also, the sample on how to add up DCs to determine DC is...umm...wrong. The table was cut and pasted from Black Company but the rest...I dunno where it comes from...Secondly, the rules inexplicably reintroduce D&D components which weren't used in the BCCS rules. Which just makes me wonder why, for the love of god, WHY??Some of the DC adjustments were changed from the BCCS. In most cases, they were done to make spellcasting easier (which makes sense), but there's a few where the DC was RAISED compared to the BCCS (adding damage dice and increasing burst radius come to mind).And then there's THIS quote...There's more...but you'll notice that there's an incomplete phrase...Umm...Chris...anyone? Duplicates that WHAT?Finally...would it have been so difficult to throw something into Shapeshift to allow for baleful transforms...the archetypal "witch turning someone into a toad?"So, call me happy...but bemused. Obviously, this system needs some work before I can use it in my games. I expected it would take some...but this...Sorry for ranting...but I was real happy until I started reading more closely.</blockquote>

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