I thought for what it was, a spell book, it was a 5 star product.
I even reviewed it but that review appears to have been eaten. Perhaps during the old crash. Been a while.
Spell Treasury
Written by Monte Cook and Jeffery A. Dobberpuhl
Published by Malhavoc Press
ISBN: 1-58846-940-9
WW 16132
240 black and white pages
Hardcover
$34.99
Spell Treasury is a compendium of spells drawn “from the System Reference Document, The Complete Book of Eldritch Might, and other sources, as well as all-new spells.” There are over 500 hundred spells presented here. Spells come complete with heightened and diminished effects as well as other pertinent information.
For layout, the book uses the standard easy to read format that Malhavoc is known for. This simple two column style with no borders makes it easy to print for the PDF versions and keeps it clean looking and uncluttered for the print version.
Art is handled by; Michael Komark, Eric Lofgren, Scott Purdy, Ben Wotten, Tyler Walpole and Sam Wood, a strong assembly of artists. Illustrations are all in black and white. Art is generally top notch. The only problem I have is the size and amount. A lot of the illustrations are designed in a manner that fills out a small portion of the page. There are often times areas where you can go for pages without hitting an illustration.
The art is Arcana Evolved. It uses the creatures and characters of the setting. This includes certain jackal/dog headed humanoids, as well as feline and fey based creatures. It does a good job of capturing the spells in action by the characters of that setting.
Space use is solid. Some products have the annoying habit of including lots of chapters and putting a lot of white space at the end of each chapter. Other products have huge margins that rarely have sidebars or other details in them. This book has crisp and clear margins that allow the eye not to be crowded but don’t feel like wasted space. No two inch white borders here.
Because spellcasters in Arcana Evolved are different than those in standard d20, the organization of the spells is also different. It is actually simpler. If this were a typical d20 product, spell lists would be broken down by class and spell level, with wizards and sorcerers needing an additional breakdown by school. Here, spells are broken down by level, and by type, simple, complex and exotic.
In addition to merely introducing new spells, we have new descriptors like runic and soul. The former are for Runethanes while the latter are psionic based and are similar to oaths that must be taken by the caster as serious things, not standard everyday use.
The biggest problem with these spells is that they can radically change not only the power level of spellcasters, but also the feel of the game. Many spells, like magic missile and prayer, were not included in the core Arcana Evolved rules to maintain a feel for the game. Another potential problem is that the spellcasters of these rules generally don’t learn spells like those of the core d20 system.
The introduction provides some quick ideas on how to gain these new spells including research, and acquisition. One of the best ideas is in a sidebar with a bit of history that includes a whole campaign idea where the players find the old spell stones of Nexin.
In addition to the spells, there are also a few monsters included, the mist template, feral walker, and treewarden. The monsters are useable in standard d20 campaigns as it includes the different types of damage reduction. Arcana Evolved continues to use pluses as a factor and d20 now goes with a specific type of weapon to overcome. For example, the mist template has damage reduction as either 10/magic or 10/+1.
Another useful tool for those wondering which spells here are taken from the old SRD, is the name conversions table. This table has the core rule name on one side and the Spell Treasury Name on the other side. Looking at it, you can tell that there are still numerous spells that were no converted. Most however, have a version here. For example, if you were curious about Find Traps, it’s now Hunter’s Boon. If you wanted to know about Rage, it’s now Unbridled Rage. Vampiric Touch is now Touch of the Vampire. Some of the name changes are obvious and probably didn’t need to be changed at all outside of putting an AE spin on things but others like Halt Undead, now Living Edict, are far more original and lend a good spin to it.
Looking at the actual spells, the spells start with their name, type, level, casting time, range, targets, duration, saving throw, spell resistance, and then the details of the spell. Some of these spells include descriptions of what happens as the spell is being cast. In some ways this is similar to how the Spell Compendium by WoTC handles spells. It is not separate from the main text or in italic text, but rather, a part of it.
For example, Battlespeed surrounds the target in a ghostly feline shape. If this were the Spell Compendium, it would have a separate section talking about drawing on the powers of magic and casting the spell to surround the target with the feline shape. Wasted space to me when separated from the main text and repeated in the main text, but fully appropriate when worked into the spell.
Some spells have sidebars that discuss the use of the spell in the game. For example, Disrupting Weapon, a complex 5th level spell, is very powerful in it’s heightened form and vital for crafting weapons to overcome the undead as it effects even incorporeal undead.
Other spells help add to the overall lore of the Diamond Throne setting like Contagion which includes different diseases that can be spread through the use of the spell.
Spells of all levels, from zero to 10th level, are covered. These range from the simple zero level Acid Splash to the 10th level complex spell Vengeance of Spheres, this system’s version of the old favorite, Meteor Swarm.
If you’re a GM of Arcana Evolved or a player who runs a character capable of casting spells, this book is an essential reference for you. GMs will have to look over the spells ahead of time and decide not only which spells are available, but also which ones players will have free access to and plan for those requests for spells that do not meet their approval. This is minor legwork though and in reality, has to be taken into account for all books, including the core books.
Those GMs willing to put that work into it will find that the Spell Treasury rewards their patience with numerous options, campaign suggestions, and writer notes making the spells useful not only for the mechanics they present, but for the options they allow.
