E.N. Spellcraft - Elements of Magic - Mythic Earth

[Crothian]

Elements of Magic — Mythic Earth gives you the rules to create magic as it is seen in the myths that are alive in every setting, ancient or modern. Mythic Earth presents rules compatible with both Fantasy d20 and Modern d20, and is an update of the flexible spell creation system of Elements of Magic. Additionally, whether you want to explore the myths of the real world, or you want to play in a fantasy world of your own creation, this book will help you understand the role myths play in history and society, and will aid you in composing adventures with mythic resonance.

Mythic Earth will help you bring the grandeur of myths and the intricacies of superstition and folklore to life in your games. From street magicians and voodoo priests to Chinese sorcerers and the various stripes of witches, all the magical beliefs of humanity and the infinite worlds of fantasy are yours to wield as you explore the mysteries of Mythic Earth.

Over twenty magical traditions are presented, drawn from the magical beliefs of our own world, though other traditions are easily possible for other worlds. Each magical traditions has some types of magic it is good or bad at, so Christian miracle workers are more likely to be skilled at healing, and Aztec blood mages will be most adept at attack spells. Characters of any class can learn magic, though only those who devote themselves to it will become truly powerful.

Chapter One: Myths introduces some of the common mythic motifs, and discusses how to create games with different styles and interactions of myths.

Chapter Two: Spellcasting and Magical Traditions explains the rules for gaining access to magic and casting spells, and details twenty-three magical traditions from the beliefs of the real world.

Chapter Three: The Magic of HIGH FANTASY provides setting-specific information and rules for magic-users in the HIGH FANTASY campaign, including a new Mage advanced class and sample characters.

Chapter Four: Spells spells out everything you can do with magic.

Appendix One: Mythic Fantasy d20 details how to use the rules in this book in a fantasy game, not a modern game.

 

[noffham]

Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth

Author: Ryan Nock
Publisher: E.N. Publishing
System: D20 Modern (with Fantasy D20 conversion appendix)
Pages: 56
Format: Fully bookmarked PDF
Price: $8.95
What you get: The 56 page PDF and front and back cover color jpg files; also a readme file for using layers in the PDF. Interior art is black & white.

Disclaimer: I received this as a free review copy. The product contains 56 pages with one used for the table of contents and one for the OGL. The cover and much of the interior art is by J.L. Jones and is uniformly flavorful and sets the tone quite well. Other illustrations are by Susan Knowles and Jen Starling and both suit the book. Much of the art is anime-inspired and fits the “High Fantasy” setting described in the book.

I was immediately impressed with the use of PDF functionality in this product. Using the layers tab, you can turn color background, page framing lines and even the illustrations on or off. You therefore have great control over how ink-intensive this is to print out. This obviates the need for a color and b&w version. The bookmarks allow easy navigation throughout.

The author starts out explaining that Mythic Earth was meant to bring the Elements of Magic system to the D20 modern game. As the work progressed however, he realized that D20 Fantasy players would also be interested and so the Fantasy D20 applications became a second design goal. Both of these goals have been admirably met.

Chapter One: Myths, dives into the subject of Mythic Themes and their application to gaming. The author starts by discussing mythic structure and how they add both depth and context to the game world. Then, with a nod to Joseph Campbell, he looks at the heroic “Monomyth” elements common to all human cultures (Hero leaves home, adventures while learning about himself and returns home a changed person); and how they can apply to a game campaign. The author does a good job of both explaining the structure of the myth and how to incorporate that structure into a game. He also describers a “twist” on the classic structure called the Fellowship Cycle that focuses on the group experience rather than just one primary participant, and so is better suited to a band of adventurers.

Chapter Two: Spellcasting and Magical Traditions gets to the meat of the matter explaining the spellcasting mechanic for spontaneous and ritual casting. Both methods involve a “spellcasting check”, for ritual spells it is a Knowledge check to translate and complete the written ritual and for spontaneous spells it is a skill check. Spontaneous spell casting uses various magic skills such as Charm, Defend, Cure, and Summon. Briefly, spells are constructed on the fly as some base effect difficulty modified by enhancements for range, duration, area of effect, etc. The total of the effect and enhancement levels are the final spell level. Casting in this fashion will take two full rounds. (There is also provision made for “signature spells”, pre-made familiar spells that can be cast as a standard action.) Casters can normally cast spells of a level equal to their skill ranks in the appropriate magical skill. Casters may cast overpowered spells of up to five levels higher than their normal limit by temporarily “burning” strength points (which can heal through rest but not magic) or avoid the burn by spending an action point. The degree of success or failure on the casting check determines if the spell works as expected, works but imposes a penalty on future casting checks, or fails and possibly causing a spell mishap.

The rest of the chapter goes over various magic feats and spellcasting options (such as communal casting, magical “fonts” or batteries and so on) and creating magic items using this system. There are also two starting D20 Modern occupations, the adept (for startin characters who are aware of magic) and the arcantrepeneur (those who apply magic to thier business). Of primary importance, however, are the Magical Tradition feats. These feats help to define the magical heritage the caster follows, Animism, Blood Magic, Voodoo, Wicca, etc. Each tradition defines the “flavor” of the magic, which magical skills are class skills for the mage, any special benefits for the tradition (such as a plus or minus adjustment to casting checks for particular races, magic skill types, or targets. Each tradition provides the GM with guidance for the type of mishaps likely to occur when a spell check of that tradition is failed. The traditions presented (23) pretty much cover every magical flavor you could want in a campaign and there are rules for mixing/blending traditions to craft a specific feel for your mage. Admittedly, there are a few “odd” traditions here, such as Anime-ism (casting anime-inspired spells) and another one that must be an inside-joke related to tree-dwelling rodents. ‘nuff said.

Chapter Three: The Magic of High Fantasy, is an example setting for a modern, magical campaign steeped in mythic themes. In the authors’ words “The world of High Fantasy is split in two- Terra, the world we all know and Gaia, the world of the magical races.” Briefly, this is a world in which magic functions and where the otherworldly denizens of Gaia often intrude, violating treaty forged in the age of King Arthur, on Terra. Two secret organizations police the world, one the descendants of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table and the other being the inheritors of the Knights Templar mantle who keep knowledge of magic away from the mundane populace. The Mage advanced class is detailed along with a number of example characters statted out and magic items described. The setting seems solidly built and is at least as interesting as the D20 Modern Urban Arcana campaign setting.

Chapter Four: Spells, details the magical skills and the enhancements used to create spells. For example, an attack spell that does 5d6 direct fire damage in a 20’ radius at short range would be described as an Attack 5/Gen 3 spell. (5 points in attack for 5d6 damage, +1 for short range (a general or G enhancement) and +2 (G) for 20’ radius. The total “level” of the spell is 8, (the total of attack level and enhancements) the check DC would be 18 (10 + spell level) and rolled against the Mages’ Attack magic skill. It would take two full rounds to cast, unless it was a “signature” spell for this mage who would then be able to cast it as a standard action. The various skill enhancements increase the difficulty of the spell and some (curative spells) require craft points to use. (Which can be gained by using action points or on a level rise). I would have liked a few more example spells, but I found that I could generate plenty of different spell effects that seemed to be fairly well balanced, (as compared to "standard" spells).

Finally, there is an appendix that discusses using this system in a D20 fantasy game rather than D20 Modern. (Replacing craft points with XP and so forth.) The author also details a new Mage base class built around the magic-as-skill paradigm. I found the ideas fairly straightforward and all-in-all I would be happy to run this system in my D&D game. The flexibility to craft the magical effects more than makes up for the small amount of added time it takes to pre-generate signature spells or to cast completely spontaneous spells. My players took a little time to digest the system in a test game one-shot, but they were generally positive about how it worked, at least in a fantasy genre.

Whew! This is far more rambling than I intended, but there really is a great deal of information in this book. The Elements of Magic system here is streamlined somewhat from its’ namesake book, skill checks rather than Magic Points specifically, but that is a good thing IMHO. While I have not had the chance to play much D20 Modern, the system looks like a good fit. If you are looking for something different in a spellcasting system for Modern or Fantasy D20, you would be well advised to pick this up.

 

[Muad'dib Pendragon]

Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth

Review: Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth by Ryan Nock

Disclaimer: I received a review copy

Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth (EoM:ME) is a d20/Modern d20 magic supplement published by EN Publishing. Built on EN Publishing’s previous work, the Elements of Magic Revised, EoM:ME is billed as a streamlined version of Elements of Magic built for D20 Modern, but wholly compatible with fantasy d20. It is a 58-page PDF consisting of four chapters and an appendix, as well as the Open Game License. It retails at EN World Shop for $8.95.

Appearance

EoM:ME comes in a 13.2 megabyte zip file with a well bookmarked minimal color version that lends itself well to onscreen or print use, and both a separate cover graphic and back cover graphic suitable for printing. EoM:ME uses the typical two-column style layout on a white background, with black and white pencil sketch artwork interspersed conservatively throughout the PDF. The cover artwork, by J. L. Jones, depicts a set of hands finger painting mythical figures on a wall, and is reminiscent of ancient cave paintings. It does well to provide the reader with a feel for the nature of the work. In addition, interior black and white artwork by Jones, Susan Knowles, and Jen Starling, while not spectacular, are used to good effect throughout in an attempt to complement the text. More importantly, the artwork does not overpower the text, and is used in a minimal way to place more emphasis on the text. While no editors are specifically listed, Eric Life-Putnam’s layout works well. The writing is well done, and grammar and typographical errors are almost nonexistent. Finally, the PDF dedicates one page to credits, a page to the table of contents; a page detailing a preface, what has changed from the Elements of Magic Revised, and an overview of what’s inside; and a page to the Open Game License; providing players with 54 actual pages of magic system material.

Contents

Chapter one, entitled Myths, discusses what one needs to know to make a mythic setting work in one’s game. It categorizes and discusses myths in broad terms: myths (world explanation, creation, morality, etc), legends (famous stories that reflect cultural beliefs), folk tales (small scale stories addressing fantastic inhabitants) and superstitions (minor beliefs and social taboos). Going further, the chapter discusses myths in a roleplaying context and how to incorporate groups in mythic roleplaying. In addition, it dives into the concept of the monomyth and how it may be used in a roleplaying campaign. Finally, the chapter discusses mythos creation and mythic themes.

This is a great primer on myth in general and mythic roleplaying specifically. While providing no rules crunch, it does well as an in-depth introduction and guide to mythic concepts and roleplaying. It provides the DM with a springboard for expanding a pre-existing campaign or starting an entirely new mythical one. It speaks in broad terms, without limiting itself to a typical fantasy or modern setting.

Chapter two, entitled Spellcasting and Magical Traditions, explains the rules for casting spells. It starts from the basic tenet of ten magical skills – Attack, Charm, Create, Cure, Defend, Divine, Illusion, Summon, and Transform. It further defines spell power (in level terms from 1 to 20), the concepts of ritual spells and spontaneous spells, and introduces the spellcasting check for both ritual and spontaneous spellcasting (Take 10 rule does not apply to either check).

Ritual spells require ten successful Knowledge (arcane lore) checks, one per round are based in a magical tradition and may require other feats to work (with a +5 DC modifier for each lacking feat). Rituals may be assisted, using Aid Another rules. Failed rituals cause a mishap, and incur a -1 spellcasting check penalty for the rest of the day. The default mishap is damage to all casters involved equal to the spell’s level, with suggested mishaps detailed with appropriate magic tradition feats. Ritual spell is briefly discussed, with one sample ritual (Exorcise Spirit) provided.

Spontaneous spells require ranks in the appropriate magical skill, and take two full rounds to cast. Only one spellcasting check against the appropriate magical skill (DC 10 + spell level) is required. Spells may still succeed on failed checks (fail 1-5 on check), although the caster incurs 1 spellcasting check penalty for the rest of the day. Increased failure (6-10) indicates a failed spell and penalty, while dramatic failures (11+) incur a spell mishap. In addition, the concepts of signature spells (specific premade spell requiring only a standard action to cast) and overpowered spells (up to 5 levels over skill ranks with Strength ability penalties) are introduced.

General spellcasting rules are detailed, including preparation (components and precasting), Saving Throw DC, and armored spellcasting (per core D20 Modern rules). In addition, expanded spellcasting options are detailed, including long spells (improving ritual and spontaneous spell success chance by taking more time), swift rituals (reducing required time with a DC penalty), communal spells (increasing spell scope and power with spellcasting group size), and magical fonts (magical power sources, including batteries (items) and locations (loci)). Finally, the concept of grim magic is briefly detailed.

New starting occupations are provided. The Adept is a student of the arcane arts, while the Arcantrepeneur utilizes magical knowledge in business pursuits. In addition, two magical skills are defined (trained only, cross-class skills with no associated ability scores), Concentration and Spellcraft.

Forty-two magical feats are defined, including four general, 23 tradition and 15 mage feats. Tradition feats (how a character gains access to spellcasting), include Animism, Feng Shui, and Technomancy among others. Mage feats (how a character casts a certain type of magic) include Arcane Skills, Elemental Focus, and Spell Focus, to name a few.

Finally, magic items are discussed at length. Rules regarding item creation are defined, including activated items, continuous items, the use of permanent spells, and the concept of Mana batteries. Alternative rules for magic costs are provided, including action points, hit points, ability scores, skill knowledge, and monetary offerings.

This chapter, clearly the heart of the work, is jam-packed with a wholly new streamlined skill-based magic system flexible enough to work in any setting. It discards the concept of magic points from the original Elements of Magic, and presents a much more streamlined system from that original work. The rules are well thought out and presented, and provide a great framework from which any type of spellcaster may work. The feats are well conceived and provide limitless possibilities, injecting more of a freeform flow to magic.

Chapter three, entitled The Mage of High Fantasy, introduces EN Publishing’s new High Fantasy setting utilizing EoM:ME rules. The world of High Fantasy consists of Terra, the world we know, and Gaia, the world of magic, monsters and the Unseen. Two major organizations are fleshed out: the Bureau for the Management of Magic (modern magical peacekeepers) and the Knights of the Round (devoted to enforcing the treaty the fey had agreed to). Gaia geography is detailed, highlighting its similarities to Terra. It is almost unknown to the typical Terran.

In addition, the Mage Advanced class is presented as an alternative to both the Mage in Elements of Magic Revised and D20 Modern rules. High Fantasy-specific magic items, including keys and agent weapons, are detailed. Five sample characters with signature spells are provided. Finally, the importance to the High Fantasy setting of ghosts and spirits, and magi and dragons is discussed.

This chapter, while the least helpful, does provide d20 Modern roleplayers with a startup setting to delve into. The overall setting and organizations presented are interesting, and could be reworked to fit in with a more traditional fantasy d20 game with little effort. The same holds true for the magic items presented.

Chapter four, entitled Spells, provides rules for creating spells, including general enhancements such as range and contingency. An advanced spellcasting sidebar provides details on combining spells, additional effects, and restricted or improved spells. Dispelling magic is also detailed, including standard dispelling (standard action), counterspelling (readied dispel action) and magical skill dispelling. Each of the ten magical skills are detailed with various enhancements.

This chapter is a testament to the system’s flexibility. With a myriad of enhancements to choose from, the idea of freeform magic and d20 roleplaying (Modern or traditional fantasy) comes to fruition. Spell enhancements allow for a few spells to be shaped and molded into whatever the player envisions.

The Appendix, entitled Mythic Fantasy d20, provides fantasy d20 conversions and details the Mage Basic class in fantasy d20 terms. In addition, sample tradition feats are provided. Al details are extremely useful in utilizing EoM:ME in a fantasy d20 game. That said, it would be fairly easy to integrate the system without it.

Impression

This is an incredible work! Designed to provide d20 Modern with a flexible magic system and streamline the spell creation system of the original Elements of Magic, EoM:ME succeeds admirably. The system goes far to provide a flexible system within the framework of the d20 Modern rules. Using magic as a skill rather than utilizing magic points goes far to simplify things, while the freeform style helps the system maintain a complexity determined by the player. Those d20 Modern players looking for a more flexible magic system need look no further. If you’re only interested in traditional fantasy d20, don’t let this mislead you. The rules, while seemingly focused on d20 Modern, were purposely written from a d20 Modern standpoint, though not overly so, with the fantasy d20 conversions in the appendix. The conversions are straightforward and simple (encompassed in just two pages). Even without them, the system as presented could easily be integrated into a traditional d20 game, fully taking the place of the core magic rules.

If you’re looking for a great magic system alternative, Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth is for you!

5 Stars

 

[Pinotage]

Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth

Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth is a pdf product from E.N.Publishing. It's written by Ryan Nock and details spellcasting in a d20 Modern world using an elegant spellcasting system based on magical skills and traditions, and is easily adapted to a fantasy settings using details provided in an appendix. The pdf has a page count of 64 pages, 59 of which are devoted to the content of describing a mythical earth and its spellcasting system. Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth normally retails for $8.95.

Initial Impressions:

I'm not familiar with the elements of magic system, so this was my first dive into a system that I've heard a lot of good things about. Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth comes as a single pdf file, but is well put together and offers the viewer a lot of options. Readers can change the appearance of the pdf, by, for example, removing the header bars, or by replacing the color bars with greyscale ones. So instead of providing a black and white version for printing as a separate file, this pdf provides an all in one solution. Layout is very well done, writing is clear and there is some good art in the pdf by J.L. Jones, Susan Knowles and Jen Starling. The pdf also makes good use of sidebars to offer additional material or explanation.

As this was my first look into the elements of magic system, I was surprised by how simple and elegant it was. Using magical traditions of a mythical earth (essentially our earth with myths, legends and superstitions come to life) characters can gain access to magical skills that allow them to cast spells. The system provides a tremendous amount of flexibility, allowing characters to design their own spells using well-defined building blocks to do so. While the system is elegant and flexible, it also requires some work in designing spells, and, as a new magical system, takes time to get used to and use.

The Details:

Mythic Earth is divided into several chapters that delve into the various ways to expand a d20 Modern game into a mythical game where folk tales and legends come to life. It includes an appendix that provides all the information, and several examples, to use the magical system provided in a d20 fantasy setting. All of this information is contained within the High Fantasy setting, a mythical earth-like world, consisting of a magical world with magical races, Gaia, and a non-magical world, the one we know, Terra.

Chapter 1 - Myths: The first chapter delves into the world of myths, explaining the role of myths in culture, their nature in the everyday world, and how to create your own mythos based on mythical themes. Myths can take on many forms, such as the many Greek myths, the legends of the power of the Egyptians, or King Arthur of Britain. The chapters gives flavorful background explaining the use of myths and typical elements of myths. Myths explain the mysteries of the world, and this is often a compelling aspect of any game world, making the mythical world particularly rich.

The author goes on to explain the monomyth - a story common to all cultures where a hero departs, does great and mythical deeds and then returns with newfound power - and expands on the monomyth to develop a Fellowship Cycle which makes room for a group of adventurers in a mythical world. It offers good explanatory advice on how to make the most use of myths for single or multiple heroes. The last section of the chapter details numerous mythical themes that can aid in the designing of your own mythos. Examples include the Afterlife, myths related to gaining dominion over the afterlife or avoiding death, and Guardians, such as the minotaur or other famous guardian beasts. The chapter sets the scene for the spellcasting system development, and does so in style.

Chapter 2 - Spellcasting and Magical Traditions: This chapter explains the magical system and how spellcasting works. It provides all the details required to rule on spellcasting, and includes magical feats, magical tradition feats, creating magic items and lots of other information. The spellcasting system is based on magical skills, that are granted through acquiring magical tradition feats. Succeeding at a magical skill check allows the character to cast a spell. Two types of spells are described - ritual spells that can be cast by non-magical humans from ritual texts and requires no magical skill, and spontaneous spells, which require magical skills and tradition feats. Spontaneous spells can be cast on the fly, which takes longer, or they can be specific signature spells associated with a magical tradition which take a standard action to cast. Characters can even cast spells that are above their magical ability by overpowering the spells, suffering harmful consequences as a result. Numerous other options are included, such as long spells (gaining a bonus to a magical skill check if you take longer to cast a spell) or assisted rituals where more people are involved in ritual spellcasting.

A large portion of the chapter is devoted to the magic feats, either mage or tradition feats. Tradition feats give you access to magical skills required to cast spells, while mage feats affect how characters cast certain spells. The mage feat Command Undead, for example, allows characters to use charm magic to affect undead creatures, while Armored Casting reduces the penalties for casting in armor. Tradition feats are the meat of the chapter, detailing numerous mythical traditions and their related and associated magical skills. Tradition feats include Classic Fey tradition, Christian Healer tradition, Feng Shui tradition, Voodoo and numerous others. The last section of the chapter is devoted to crafting and creating magic items, and provides several examples of magical items such as the infinite ammo clip. Some sample ritual spells are also provided, while the majority of chapter 4 is devoted to detailing the creation of spontaneous spells.

This chapter transforms the mythical world into a mythical spellcasting world and mechanically succeeds very well. It covers a lot of ground and numerous mythical traditions, and provides a flexible and elegant framework for a magical setting in a mythical earth-like world. It's not something that can be learnt on a single read, and so requires some effort to come to grips with the intricacies of the system. However, once that is achieved, it makes for a smooth and flowing system of mythical magic.

Chapter 3 - The Magic of High Fantasy: This chapter provides details on the High Fantasy setting, a setting of two worlds - Terra, the world as we know it, and Gaia, the world of the magical races. There are two organisations in this world to look after magic and assist human, the Bureau (peacekeepers of the magical world) and the Knights of the Round (devoted to protecting society from magical threats). Both are described in sufficient detail, including history and typical tasks of said organisations. The chapter continues with a description of Gaia, the magical world, and its geography, including cities of note and their Terra counterparts, and other structures of note.

The remainder of the chapter is devoted to a new advanced class, the mage, a spellcasting advanced class for d20 Modern characters, several new magical items found in the High Fantasy setting, and four sample NPCs. The most valuable part of the NPCs, though well detailed and interesting, are the signature spells, as these give some examples of ready to use spells that are otherwise missing from this pdf, and will provide some ideas along the lines of how to develop spells. I found this to be an interesting chapter, although perhaps somewhat sketchy on the details of Gaia, and the NPCs provided a welcome look at the application of the mechanics of the system.

Chapter 4 - Spells: The last chapter is all about creating spells. Each of the ten magical skills is described as well as how to create spells from that particular magical skill. Enhancements can be applied to each skill to change to standard spell template, such as increasing range or duration. Details are also provided on dispelling magic.

The ten magical skills are: attack, charm, create, cure, defend, divine, illusion, move, summon, and transform. Each of these magical skills allows the creation of various spells, and they can be combined to create more interesting spells and provide extensive flexibility. I was drawn to the system because of its potential, flexibility, simplicity and elegance, and it's overall well suited to a d20 Modern world. A very nice piece of work, overall.

Appendix - Mythic Fantasy d20: The appendix provides all the details required on how to use the Mythic Earth material in a d20 fantasy setting. It also provides a number of fantasy tradition feats, such as magefire or wild spellcraft. The adaptation is reasonably straightforward, but given the sheer volume of spells available using the core spellcasting system, it strikes me as a daunting task to apply an entirely new magical system to replace something already so well developed, despite the apparent benefits. The spellcasting system allows unlimited spellcasting of any spell associated with a tradition feat, and DMs will need to be prepared to handle spells created on the fly by players who are spontaneously casting rather than using their limited signature spells.

Conclusions:

Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth provides a complete spellcasting system for creating spellcasting of mythical proportions. It's elegant and flexible, provides all the required details for the magical system, and is particularly suited for the d20 Modern world, where I'd definitely be inclined to use and explore the potential of this product. I'm in two minds as to its use in a fantasy setting, and whether it can replace the core spellcasting system, or whether it can be used in addition to it. However, despite the learning curve to come to terns with the system, and the additional work required to create spells and expand on the system provided, it's a very good, very flexible, elegant, versatile and creative system, for which I'd give it four and a half stars, rounding down to four stars.

 

[Verequus]

I don't see in your review, why you have rated EoMME only with four stars. Could you please explain your decision?

 

[Verequus]

I'd like to add a few comments. EoMME is a streamlined version of EoM Revised. There have been a few spell effects dropped (they fall into the 5% of effects, which aren't necessary for a basic gmae, but they can be readded) and some have been changed in costs or actual effects and the spell lists have been transformed to and merged with magical skills, not to mention, that you have to succeed a check instead spending a certain amount of Magic Points.

Then for spells is http://www.arcanearcade.com/wiki/index.php/HighArcana/HighArcana a wiki, although it is for EoMR. There are some spell threads in the EN Publishing forum, too. Creating new magic items is actually simple - the most difficult thing is to create the appropriate spell. For some other info, look into this thread. http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=146947

EoMME can replace the core magic system, but it can be used in addition to it. Being myself a purist, I would choose the former. It may have a steeper learning curve, as you don't pick simply spells, but an archetype, from which you build the spells, but I think that is more rewarding.

 

[Pinotage]

Thanks! That's useful information for those thinking of using the product (like me!).

 

[mythusmage]

Utility

First, let me say that Lulu.com does a good job printing and binding.

Can't add much to the other reviews. I will say that Elements of Magic: Mythic Earth is a good source of ideas. For the most part the writing is clear and the instructions easy to follow. Though I would've liked some sample d20 SRD spells converted to signature spells.

For that matter, adapting Ars Magica's formulaic spells to EoM: ME would've been a good idea. That way one could have the d20 SRD spells presented as EoM: ME Formulaic spells. Then again, that could've doubled the page count.

The book is very much a d20 Modern tome. Written with a modern sensibility and intended for a modern day game. The Traditions and those signature spells presented are quite modern in application. Still, it is adaptable to a fantasy or fantasy-historical setting.

The system also raises questions about the use and presence of magic in a world. Were the High Fantasy setting not modeled after Urban Arcana you would expect the place to be crawling with magical spells, devices, etc.

Then again, in a modern, scientific society how magic is approached would be very different than in the typical fantasy or modern fantasy game.

Overall, it's a good book. Somethings missing I would've liked to have scene, but it is something you could use in any new campaign world you might be thinking of starting up.