Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2009191" data-attributes="member: 18387">This review is for Chaos Magic: Wild Sorcery. I want to thank Alex Fennell of <a href="http://www.mongoosepublishing.com" target="_blank">Mongoose Publishing</a> for his generosity in providing me with a copy. Chaos Magic is Mongoose's latest offering in the d20 sourcebook line and the third volume in their Encyclopaedia Arcane series. It is a 64-page softcover supplement that retails for $14.95.     Chaos Magic is not just another book about magic and spells. Rather, it presents a completely new and different magic system that may be incorporated into your existing campaign. It is a system that highly encourages originality and role-playing, especially among players. This is not a simple re-work of the old 2nd. edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules on wild magic, as the title may suggest, but something entirely unique.     The premise behind this book is that a mage (must be chaotic in alignment) may tap into the powers of chaos in order to cast spells. Unlike conventional spell casting, there is no limitation on the number of spells cast in a 24 hour period. However, utilization of this power poses great risk to the caster. Every spell cast invokes subdual damage upon the caster and if a failed or miscast spell occurs, it can mean dire consequences to the caster, including death. Personally, I have always believed that there should be a downside to being a magic user. It's one of the qualities I liked about Raistlin and the Dragonlance setting. Chaos Magic is exactly the kind of book that fits into this mindset. Becoming a chaos mage is not for players who are unimaginative or feint of heart or cannot bear the thought of their beloved character being subjected to very bad things...      The format of the book is structured so that player and DM alike may easily comprehend the game mechanics behind chaos magic. The book begins with an overview that leads directly into understanding how a character may become a chaos mage (the character just doesn't wake up one morning and decide to try to tap into the power of chaos). Next comes the sections detailing the actual mechanics behind casting chaos spells. There are no set spells that a player chooses to cast, but a series of elements (or choices, if you will) that lead up to the actual spell taking shape. This is where originality and imagination come into play. You get to develop and describe exactly how the spell looks, what it does, and if any kind of special effect occurs as your mage weaves the very elements of pure chaotic energy into the spell.      As I mentioned before, one big limitation is every successful spell cast deals one point of subdual damage for every 5 points in the spell's casting DC to the mage himself. Don't succeed in your casting check; the damage is real rather than subdual. Furthermore, if you roll that infamous '1' on the d20 it gets really bad. Additionally, long-term exposure to chaos energy will eventually "wreak all maner of changes upon the body and mind of the chaos mage as he begins to tread the Paths of Chaos."     The price of chaos is a costly one. Once a mage suffers a backlash of chaotic energy, he begins his journey down one of eight Paths of Chaos. Once started on this journey, the mage can never fully turn back. The eight paths listed are: Path of Beserk Growth, Path of Bloody Rage, Path of Rapid Regression, Path of SHrieking Pain, Path of Screaming Shadows, Path of Writhing Serpents, Path of Tortured Stone, and Path of Whispering Madness. These paths represent a series of mutations of one form or another that afflict the mage. Each path has ten progressive steps that culminate in the loss of the character as the forces of chaos take what is now theirs. The book rounds out with sections in skills and feats and in crafting and developing magic items (some explosive reprecussions there, let me tell you).      Overall, Chaos Magic: Wild Sorcery is fresh and innovative.  It is not for everyone, but those who want spice, originality and danger in their campaign would be well advised to get this book. It is a good investment for both players and DMs alike.To see the graded evaluation of this product, go to The Critic's Corner at <a href="http://www.d20zines.com" target="_blank">www.d20zines.com. </a></blockquote>

Verification