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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2009886" data-attributes="member: 18387">By Bruce Boughner, Staff Reviewer d20 Magazine Rack, and Co-host of Mortality RadioSizing Up the TargetChronomancy is a 68-page soft cover accessory published by Mongoose Publishing. Robin Duke is the author in the next of Mongoose’s line of Encyclopedia Arcane. The cover is done by long time D&D favorite Larry Elmore, interior work is by a number of artists and retails for $14.95.First BloodThis product has been on the shelves for a while and we didn’t have to wait nearly 15 years for someone to cover the topic. The first article I ever saw about chronomancy was in Dragon Magazine back in 1982 about the chronomancer NPC class and then TSR waited until 1996 or 97 to put out a chronomancy accessory supplement. Obviously someone takes the chronomancy magic system seriously enough to make it the ninth book in their arcane series, which has also included topics like Necromancy, Battle Magic and Faerie Magic. This book was designed for ease of reference. There are quick reference lists in the inside front cover and a Chronomancer spell list on the inside back cover, cross referenced with the appropriate spells from the Player’s Handbook, Necromancy: Beyond the Grave, and Seas of Blood: Fantasy on the High Seas. This would make playing this alternative wizard/sorcerer class an easy alternative to the come-see come-saw spell tosser. Even weird Uncle Rufus has to admit this makes it easy if he doesn’t have to flip through a lot of pages to get what he needs. A brief introduction to Chronomancy opens the book with a flavor text opening, followed by a review of the Encyclopedia Arcane series and then a meta review of what chronomancy is an what the tome could be used for. This book then begins with a text overview where the philosophical mechanics of chronomancy are reviewed detailing how the world is held together by the paradox of belief and the incredible strain of knowing this fact takes on a wielder of time magic. The nature of such a class as a Chronomancer and the needs, racial requirements, motives and quirks of such a mage takes the next section of introduction. The very nature and effects of this kind of spellcasting follows with a section on the wide-ranging effects on the paradox of time casting and it’s effects on the continuum. The next section is called the Acolytes of Time and deals with the actual mechanics of a chronomancer character. A couple of feats synonymous to the class are listed such as Time Sense and Resist Paradox. Prestige Classes follow, as is usual with a Mongoose work, these are usually well thought out and fit a niche with this highly specialized field such as the Enlightened and the Temporal Defender. As with any book about a mage class, the typical purchaser of such a book is going to want spells specific to the topic. Chronomancy provides a good deal of crunchy bits in this part. As one would expect, a good deal of the spells deal in Chronomancy, Transmutation, Divination and Necromancy with a few Evocation, Shadow and Illusion thrown in. Spells like Detect Paradox and Banish to Future are typical of this. Most all of them deal in moving things through or changing the effect of history. A more in-depth look at Feats is the topic of the next chapter. Mongoose excels at developing good feats to fit the classes they create. The Feats build upon one another, as they should to make growth potential for your character. A discussion on the most powerful aspect of the Chronomancer is next, Ritual Chronomancy. From overturning bad outcomes to immortality, the steps required to perform the most powerful effects of time magic are laid out. The applications of these rituals are then applied in the next chapter to the drab pursuit of Fortune Telling for fun and profit. Using Tarocchi cards, an oracle feat tea leaves etc are described for this use. The power and use of paradox are then discussed with its effects on the person of the chronomancer in the form of quirks. These quirks can be as annoying as Insomnia to more devastating things as Major Spell Loss and Temporal Dysjunction. And with any publication of Magic, there are magic items to be had, staves, robes, and crystal balls, of course, along with unique things like Temporal Orbus as well as magic foci. Up to this point, the book focused on crunchy bit for the player, the next part goes out to the DM. How to make a time effecting character work and function without greatly disrupting the flow of the game is incredibly important and the tome performs well in this respect. The book closes with a few monsters local to the time stream like the Destiny Haunt and the Warp Ravager. A few closing remarks from the author on design notes wraps up this very useful tool.Critical HitsI have always had a hankering to run a time traveling campaign, or even having a meta-character that could force the move from a standard D&D Medieval world to a D20 Modern or Deadlands Weird West setting even to Fast Forward’s Metamorphosis Alpha. This character could be wonky enough to be that ‘human’ bridge. As with any Mongoose production I have had concerning classes, this book is well thought out and field-tested. The classes have room for growth and enough space is given for your own addition to this field. The artwork of the book is in keeping with the genre. It doesn’t have that anime slick feel that I find out of place in this kind of work and doesn’t look too amateurish. Critical MissesAs with any strange work, the Chronomancer has the potential to really screw with your campaign, great care needs to be taken and exceptional care in the handling of the character must be made by the DM to prevent this from happening. This class has the potential to drop an Elminster or Gandalf level character into your party of mid level players.Coup de GraceChronomany isn’t for everyone, but it could be an incredible way to spice up a campaign, give a major NPC that recurs for good or bad, like Dr Who or Kang the Conqueror to your game. Someone with knowledge of the ways things were, or might become, to right a past injustice or carve an empire among primitives. If you are seeking a change from the same ole, same ole, this could be it for you. A little work on your part and this world can be the biggest rat’s maze your players could ever face.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>

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