Henry
Autoexreginated
Thanks to the beneficent masters of ENWorld Publishing, I recently acquired a copy of Arcane Strife, the newest product from ENWorld Publishing.
I say the following with no malice, and utmost respect and awe:
Timothy Willard and Michael Chapin are Rat Bastards of the Highest Order in the venerated Rat Bastards club.
Arcane Strife is filled with spells, feats, and prestige classes, in the same vein as Monte Cook's excellent Books of Eldritch Might. Lest you groan and decry yet another book of the same, I highly encourage the reading of this work. Examples will be forthcoming.
The world of Shtar, glimpsed at in this book, evokes a feel reminiscent of the Scarred Lands of Sword and Sorcery Studios, but even more ingrained with the primal destruction of magic, if such were possible.
SPELLS TO PURIFY THE MIND AND DISEMBOWEL THE BODY:
In this work, EVERYBODY is in the business of new spells - Bards, Assassins, Druids, Clerics, and mages. The spells of this work have two things going for them:
1- They are innovative. Rather than being yet more spells that damage someone with fireballs and lightning bolts in different colors and shapes, combat spells instead offer viscerally evocative and creative methods to dispatch foes. Even the weakest of combat spells, powerball, offers damage coupled with magical effects that evoke the feel of the damage type (combustibility for fire, electricity gets a bonus to hit metal armor, force stuns the target, etc.).
2 - They do not exist in a vacuum. Most of the spells contain flavorful information about the spell's origin, its purpose, and where it is most likely found in use. Pliazli was a nasty son of a gun, even if he did use his amazing assassination skills on the side of humanity.
Another point to note is the power of some of these spells, and the dark humor that pervades some of them. One spell to note is the alternate Power Word Spells, some of which had my jaw dropping at first glance, but later impressed with the balance of them. Think a book of spells is boring?
How about Power Word: Eviscerate?
Or Osseus Eruptus, a 9th level spell which, if failed, RIPS the skeleton from your opponent's body, and makes it a powerful bone sword, and KEEPS YOUR OPPONENT ALIVE?
Or the "psychotic little pervert" Kaftatat of the Monkey Clan, who came up with the spell called Stop Hitting Yourself, which makes you strike yourself on a failed save? It's not all death and carnage, but some of the dark humor in this book made me laugh aloud.
It needs be noted, however, that Arcane Strife is not all about combat. Spells also exist here for creative uses of marriage ceremonies, cooking your lunch meat to perfection on the backwater trails, for laying the dead to rest permanently, and many other uses. How would YOU like to hear your lover's heartbeat at all times - not just to ensure their lives, but to also tell when they are terrfied, or when they are cheating on you?
FEAST OF FEATS:
The feats in Arcane strife are a nice change: They allow a mage to demonstrably show the true power they possess, and allow a mage the ability to surprise the heck out of an opponent. Feats such as arcane blade, or arcane shield, are actually almost IDENTICAL to class abilities I included in a homebrew prestige class a year ago, because I wanted my high-level mages to show mastery in arcane power beyond the "fire and forget" paradigm, to show that they had the ability to warp magical power beyond spells and burn it in unseen ways, almost like a super-hero in form and function, though keeping the power usage balanced.
ARCANE BURN
Arcane Burn is a concept that I find very entertaining, and one that gives combatants a reason to want to disrupt a caster's spells. If you are worried about the power that your mages possess, Arcane Burn is a great concept to incorporate in your games, as it is not as frustrating for mages as spell disruption in 2nd edition, and allows them a measure of control over their fates, but it gives blown spellcasting a penalty beyond just foiling the spell, ensuring that your mages will avoid casting spells in physically risky situations. However, the Arcane Feats will allow the mages something to do if they find themselves in those risky situations, or in a pinch when creature with high spell resistance just can't seem to be breached.
THE BAD NEWS
This Book will fail the 3.5e challenge, with flying colors. By this, I mean that the focus on 3.5e will be on reducing the "insta-kill" spells, eliminating the threat of a "save or die" situation, and only introducing effects like instant death or disintegration if it excessively damages the target.
This book perpetuates the "save or die" concept - there are some spells like Osseus Erutpus that are too cool for words, but if the 17th level Sorcerer decides to subject someone in your group to it, and you happen to be rolling "1"s that day, then it's going to take All the King's Horses and All the King's Men, to put you back together again.
SUMMARY
I have only read about 75% of it, and have not even touched on the Prestige classes, and will not know how they work unless I get to use them in play, but the spells and feats which take up most of the book, are top-notch, and take me back to the feelign I got when I read Monte's first Book of Eldritch might, in a big way. If you liked that work, and in general like magic with some PUNCH in a game, then I highly urge you to give this book a look.
If you have any questions, please post them to this thread, and I will try to answer them.
I say the following with no malice, and utmost respect and awe:
Timothy Willard and Michael Chapin are Rat Bastards of the Highest Order in the venerated Rat Bastards club.
Arcane Strife is filled with spells, feats, and prestige classes, in the same vein as Monte Cook's excellent Books of Eldritch Might. Lest you groan and decry yet another book of the same, I highly encourage the reading of this work. Examples will be forthcoming.
The world of Shtar, glimpsed at in this book, evokes a feel reminiscent of the Scarred Lands of Sword and Sorcery Studios, but even more ingrained with the primal destruction of magic, if such were possible.
SPELLS TO PURIFY THE MIND AND DISEMBOWEL THE BODY:
In this work, EVERYBODY is in the business of new spells - Bards, Assassins, Druids, Clerics, and mages. The spells of this work have two things going for them:
1- They are innovative. Rather than being yet more spells that damage someone with fireballs and lightning bolts in different colors and shapes, combat spells instead offer viscerally evocative and creative methods to dispatch foes. Even the weakest of combat spells, powerball, offers damage coupled with magical effects that evoke the feel of the damage type (combustibility for fire, electricity gets a bonus to hit metal armor, force stuns the target, etc.).
2 - They do not exist in a vacuum. Most of the spells contain flavorful information about the spell's origin, its purpose, and where it is most likely found in use. Pliazli was a nasty son of a gun, even if he did use his amazing assassination skills on the side of humanity.
Another point to note is the power of some of these spells, and the dark humor that pervades some of them. One spell to note is the alternate Power Word Spells, some of which had my jaw dropping at first glance, but later impressed with the balance of them. Think a book of spells is boring?
How about Power Word: Eviscerate?
Or Osseus Eruptus, a 9th level spell which, if failed, RIPS the skeleton from your opponent's body, and makes it a powerful bone sword, and KEEPS YOUR OPPONENT ALIVE?
Or the "psychotic little pervert" Kaftatat of the Monkey Clan, who came up with the spell called Stop Hitting Yourself, which makes you strike yourself on a failed save? It's not all death and carnage, but some of the dark humor in this book made me laugh aloud.
It needs be noted, however, that Arcane Strife is not all about combat. Spells also exist here for creative uses of marriage ceremonies, cooking your lunch meat to perfection on the backwater trails, for laying the dead to rest permanently, and many other uses. How would YOU like to hear your lover's heartbeat at all times - not just to ensure their lives, but to also tell when they are terrfied, or when they are cheating on you?
FEAST OF FEATS:
The feats in Arcane strife are a nice change: They allow a mage to demonstrably show the true power they possess, and allow a mage the ability to surprise the heck out of an opponent. Feats such as arcane blade, or arcane shield, are actually almost IDENTICAL to class abilities I included in a homebrew prestige class a year ago, because I wanted my high-level mages to show mastery in arcane power beyond the "fire and forget" paradigm, to show that they had the ability to warp magical power beyond spells and burn it in unseen ways, almost like a super-hero in form and function, though keeping the power usage balanced.
ARCANE BURN
Arcane Burn is a concept that I find very entertaining, and one that gives combatants a reason to want to disrupt a caster's spells. If you are worried about the power that your mages possess, Arcane Burn is a great concept to incorporate in your games, as it is not as frustrating for mages as spell disruption in 2nd edition, and allows them a measure of control over their fates, but it gives blown spellcasting a penalty beyond just foiling the spell, ensuring that your mages will avoid casting spells in physically risky situations. However, the Arcane Feats will allow the mages something to do if they find themselves in those risky situations, or in a pinch when creature with high spell resistance just can't seem to be breached.
THE BAD NEWS
This Book will fail the 3.5e challenge, with flying colors. By this, I mean that the focus on 3.5e will be on reducing the "insta-kill" spells, eliminating the threat of a "save or die" situation, and only introducing effects like instant death or disintegration if it excessively damages the target.
This book perpetuates the "save or die" concept - there are some spells like Osseus Erutpus that are too cool for words, but if the 17th level Sorcerer decides to subject someone in your group to it, and you happen to be rolling "1"s that day, then it's going to take All the King's Horses and All the King's Men, to put you back together again.
SUMMARY
I have only read about 75% of it, and have not even touched on the Prestige classes, and will not know how they work unless I get to use them in play, but the spells and feats which take up most of the book, are top-notch, and take me back to the feelign I got when I read Monte's first Book of Eldritch might, in a big way. If you liked that work, and in general like magic with some PUNCH in a game, then I highly urge you to give this book a look.
If you have any questions, please post them to this thread, and I will try to answer them.
