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Message: <blockquote data-quote="redbeard" data-source="post: 2008157" data-attributes="member: 1583">I was looking forward to this D20 product.  I'm a big fan of the Elric series, but I'd never picked up the Elric or Stormbringer games.   So it pains me a bit to pan this book.And the worst of it is that it COULD have been so much better.So let me say a few good things first.  There is a lot of color and game information culled from the Elric books, and most of it is in good D20 format.There is also some creativity in adding new Elric-Saga-specific magic rules - in the allegiance system (Law, Balance, Chaos) and in the summoning of Demons.I think that the Allegiance system won't be usable by most DMs - it is very saga-specific.  But this is a book about the Elric saga, so that isn't a complaint.  I do have some quibbles as to the writer's interpretations of how various character actions influence their rating with the powers-that-be, but that's my own interpretation of Law/Balance/Chaos.  The ability to use (and risk) your rating by calling upon the powers is very interesting and will make even power gamers roleplay.  I like that a lot.  One of the coolest aspects of the Elric saga was the relation of wizards to the beings that they summoned.  Chaosium attempts to capture that with the allegiance system.The demon summoning  rules would be easier to fit into any campaign.  They make magic a lot more colorful and fantastic.  Nearly every magic item in the book is actually an embedded demon! But here is where my complaints begin.  I don't think that they even play tested these rules in D20.  Maybe they work well in their adaptation in the Elric rules, but from my examination, there is no way a player would use these abilities.  They simply aren't balanced.  Giving up an ability point score (wisdom) in order to have a magical item?  I think the 3E mechanic of spending exp is more suited to the system.Beyond balance, there are rules and abilities that aren't explained.  A will check is easy enough to figure out, but what is this Power stat that is mentioned?Not only did they not seem to have play tested it, it doesn't seem to have been edited very well.  This power  statistic is one of many such errors and contradictions in the text, and it is one that sticks out. I also think that the writers don't  understand the D20 system very well - skills especially.  This isn't a system where you easily add micro skills relevant only in certain situations.  Characters have only so many skill points, and if you add more skills you limit the ones that they already have.  Let me show by example:  the rouge has so many skill points (a lot) and in 3e if a rouge wants to search, disarm and set traps, there are a few skill points that she can spend on the skills disable device and search.  Now Chaosium says there is a separate skill for Trap, so a rouge would have to spend 3 skill points (ranks in disable device, search and trap)  for the same set of abilities. Perform(Oratory), Conceal Object are also examples of this (and sailing was already in the players handbook).  Could not scent/taste been done better by having bonuses to spot checks using scent/taste?  There are already skills that address this. Other D20 products, not just WoTC, understand this.  Relics and Rituals, for example, only introduced one skill.  Introduce all the feats you want - these are additional powers and you don't limit anything by adding more.  Other WoTC products introduce NEW WAYS to use old skills, thereby not ruining the skill point balance while still improving the depth of the game.I haven't tested the fumbles and crit system in play yet.  Given the errors in the rest of the book, I would test them before I would use them in my campaign.For me the editing errors and D20 inconsistencies mar the usability of the product. If you want to add Elric saga stuff to your D20 campaign, you can use this book.  Be prepared to do your own work to make things fit.  If you aren't doing a Young Kingdoms campaign, I think that there are other better D20 rules supplements.</blockquote>

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