Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="arwink" data-source="post: 2010475" data-attributes="member: 2292">[Disclaimer:  Although I have done work for Natural 20 press/E.N. Publishing on a freelance basis, I've not had any contact with The Brood - the production house responsible for producing Arcane Strife for E.N.)The biggest problem with a book like Arcane Strife is working out exactly how to recommend it without glossing over its flaws.  On one level this is a book filled with great ideas and rich flavor text, lending the magic detailed within a distinctive feel that manages to seem both literary and d20 at the same time.  The historical details and descriptions given to the manifestation of spell effects make this book a pleasure to read, with the culture of Shtar serving as an entertaining backdrop to the rule-related mechanics.  I'm primarily someone who enjoys playing fighters, and who primarily uses clerics and rogues as villains when I DM, so I regard any book that makes my eyes shine with the possibilities of playing a wizard as doing something right.  The book looks good, reads well, and sparks the creative parts of the brain like few spell-books I've seen before.On another level, Arcane Strife is filled with minor annoyances and rules gaff's that make it difficult to drop into a standard d20 campaign without giving some consideration to the impact of the spells, changing some names and levels, or simply applying quick fixes to spells that seem only half-there in terms of their mechanics.  At times these irritations can be as simple as mixing genres in the flavor text, as is done with the occasionally infantile naming of spells like "Stop Hitting Yourself" or the inclusion of modern literary references with "Esprit de Sade."  In a similar vein are the inclusion of spells that delve into references to modern visuals in their description, making reference to targeting crosshairs, or the over-used repetition of the phrase "and has now passed into common usage" in the description of many spells histories.  In many respects, it is the richness and quality of many of the other spells descriptions that make these exceptions noticeable and grating on the reader - they break the tone of the book in a very abrupt way.  At its worst, the book includes spells with badly explained effects (Instant Crucifixion crucifies someone, but offers no details on what happens if someone tries to free them or they try to escape), spells that fundamentally change the nature of the campaign (Lay to rest, a 1st level spell that prevents raising a body from the dead with resurrection or reanimating magics), and a General spell list that is available to any spellcaster that includes a number of seemingly questionable choices for inclusion (I'm at a loss as to why my war-priests, sun clerics and nearly everyone other than Wizards and Bards should be getting Increase Sex Appeal).  In a lot of ways, Arcane Strife reads like a collection of spells from a long-running home campaign where the material included has seen a lot of use.  They bear the mark of spells that the people involved are familiar with and know the boundaries of, but don't solve the problem of gray areas within the descriptions that can be abused by players coming to the spells for the first time.There is more to Arcane Strife than spells, but new spells are where the bulk of this product lies.  The collection of feats in the first chapter is sound, but essentially bland after so many books of arcane feats on the market.  Similarly the new prestige classes and templates are either finicky to the point of being irritable if they were used, or they're simply not enough to grab the reader after reading through page after page of spells that display a great deal more innovations.  The concepts of Arcane Burn, True Names and Arcane Marks/Runes introduced in the beginnings of the book are interesting and offer a great deal of flavor the magic of Shtar, but ultimately suffer from a very short treatment and a lack of use to those preferring to work with DnD's traditional magic system.In truth, it's the spells where Arcane Strife shines, and even then it gleams like a diamond in the rough.  Personally, I love the product and I recommend it to any DM or Player that's looking for a horde of new, flavor intensive spells and is willing to spend the time and effort to adjust the more complicated or unbalanced mechanics.  Arcane Strife is a mine of ideas, and spellcasters who start flinging around these spells are going to shine in a way that an evoker flinging off another fireball simply isn't.  On the other hand, if you're looking for a book of spells that can be dropped into a game with no work on the DM's part and nary a ripple on the way magic is seen in the campaign, then the product doesn't hold up to scrutiny.  If you're one of the former, willing to mine for ideas, my assessment of Arcane Strife should probably be read as a 4 rather than a 3.  For everyone else it's still a worthwhile purchase, but one that must be approached with caution and consideration to separate the wheat from the chaff.</blockquote>

Verification