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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 2009391" data-attributes="member: 172">Chronomancy: The Power of TimeChronamancy: The Power of Time is part of the Encyclopaedia Arcane series of magic-related supplements by Mongoose Publishing. Chronomancy introduces time related magic as a new option for spellcasters in d20 system games.A First LookChronomancy shares the same format as other books in the Encyclopaedia Arcane series: a 64 page perfect bound book priced at $14.95 US. The text density is moderate, and the layout is also typical of books in this series, with large header fonts and spaces between paragraphs. In some places, the writing style is not up to the task of handling the confusing topic of time travel, and there are some other confusing passages as well.The cover art is a recycled Larry Elmore piece, depicting a mounted woman rider facing a wizard, with an otherworldly gate in the background.The interior art is black and white. The art is sort of hum-drum for books in this series. Danillo Moretti has a few good pictures, but generally the art is not up to the caliber he has delivered in previous Mongoose books.A Deeper LookThe use of chronomancy revolves around the chronomancer feat. The feat has some steep skill requirements (which will mostly limit the feat to wizards or prestige classes with open knowledge skill access.) Having this feat offers the character several benefits. First, the character has an has an easier time researching chronomancy spells. Second, it allows access to a number of feats called paradox feats. Third, the character gains the time sense ability and the ability to perform ritual chronomancy, a means of "time travel" that cannot be achieved via spells.The chronomancy spells are all spells that manipulate or influence time. The book designates several core spells and spells from other Mongoose books as chronomancy spells, as well as a number of new spells introduced in this book. Most spells are fairly simple manipulations related to time. For example, new chronomancy spells that can be used to gain an initiative advantage over an opponent, age an opponent, or to send a foe into the future.Chronomancy introduces a few new general feats as well as a new type of feat called paradox feats. Paradox feats provide powerful spell like abilities. Alacrity boost?s the character?s speed as the expeditious retreat spell, and Oracle allows the character to invoke augury or divination spell effects. This is a fairly powerful boon. However, every time that the character invokes a paradox feat, the character aquires a point of paradox, a quality that is used to limit chonomancy abilities.Ritual Chronomancy is the central tool of the chronomancer, however. Ritual chronomancy allows the chronomancer to reach into a plane (the book says its not a ?plane?, but we know better) called the continuum in which time has no meaning. The chronomancer can store things in the continuum (including living things) or retrieve things from the continuum. Since time has no meaning, the chronomancer can pull things from the future or past.Ritual chronomancy requires checks against the character?s time magic score; the more complex and powerful the use of the ritual is, the higher the DC. All characters with the chronomancer feat have a time magic score. Spellcasters can improve their time magic score only by sacrificing spell slots permanently. Additionally, some effects inflict paradox upon the chronomancer as a cost.In addition to the effects of paradox, there are some hitches directly built in to the ritual chronomancy rules. First off, when an object or creature is pulled from the continuum, it essentially isn?t real. To make it real, the chronomancer must stabilize it. To do so with objects requires either the current version of the object or the chronomancer can use craft skills to fill in the missing details. However living beings require a current version of the living being; the only way around this is a special item called a pattern scroll. This is an important point; the characteristics (level, class, xp, etc.) of the creature you pulled from the continuum will match the current version, which helps prevent some of the stickier problems with time travel in a game.However, the character pulled from the continuum in this way can retain some future knowledge at the GM?s option. Alternately, the chronomancer may merely pull a figment from the continuum and question it, likewise gain future knowledge. There are two limitations here. Again, this situation incurs paradox. Second, this information always only represents a possible future.Paradox is handled much like an ability score. Normal creature and items all have an inherent paradox of 10. Other types of paradox add to this. There are various types of paradox. Paradox cannot be eliminated when the condition that created it still persists. However, as soon as the condition is corrected, paradox slowly fades away. Paradox accumulates quickly in moments where there is a paradoxical conflict. For example, if two of the exact same item exist simultaneously, both rapidly accumulate paradox until one or the other disappears.When a living being accumulates paradox, they take damage, and they acquire a penalty to certain rolls equal to the ?modified? derived from the total paradox as if it was an ability score. For example, if a normal character (who starts with 10 innate paradox) gains 10 points of paradox (for a total of 20), the character suffers a ?5 to initiative, attacks, damage, time sense checks, and various skill rolls. Much like items, characters can also be banished from reality if they accumulate paradox.Sometimes chronomancers gain permanent paradox. This can only be eliminated by spending XP and taking on quirks. The quirks are determined randomly, and range from a mere nuisance to totally debilitating.In addition to these central elements of the book, there are a number of supporting elements, such as rules for fortune telling and creatures from the continuum. An interesting aspect of the paradox rules with respect to fortune telling is that a creature gains paradox if the meaning of the fortune is clear. However, if the fortune is described cryptically, the character does not suffer the penalties of paradox. This is sort of an in-game explanation for why fortunes are often cryptic.There are two prestige classes concerned with chronomancy. The enlightened gives up all spellcasting in exchange for a number of chronomancy-related special abilities. Unfortunately, this seems to be a poor choice for chronomancers, as this leaves them with no way to improve their time magic score. The temporal defender is a more martial class with impugned spellcasting advancement. The temporal defender is sworn to prevent abuses of chronomancy.ConclusionI am not a big fan of the idea of time travel in fantasy games. This book is an example of why: the book limits the capabilities of chronomancy, no doubt due to the difficulty of using time travel in RPGs. The GM does not strictly control the flow of a game, so weaving compelling stories around a time travel theme is more difficult in an RPG than it is in literature. To its credit, Chronomancy recognizes this fact and pushes that envelope as much as it can and tries to make the concept as compelling as possible while still dealing with the issues associated with time travel in a non-deterministic game. It does as well as it could be expected to, but I suspect that many time travel fans will feel that the system doesn?t achieve what they were hoping for. Indeed, the system couldn?t really be used to explain time-travel dependant plots like that of the Malhavoc Press adventure Demon God's Fane without a good deal of tweaking.Other than taste issues and the inherent stickiness of time travel in RPGs, the only major problem I had was with the explanations of the chronomancy ritual. The intent of the text is a little hard to follow, and some examples would have gone a long way in making the section understandable.-Alan D. Kohler</blockquote>

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