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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Verequus" data-source="post: 2011253" data-attributes="member: 9135">Disclaimer: I have been a fan of EoM since the first time it has been released. I had even the opportunity to help Ryan Nock developing EoM revised, because I received a work copy from him and commented it in depth. Still I try to point out any problems, I know of.GeneralIf you want a book, which gives you more freedom with your spells, even allows free-form casting in a balanced way and if you like the revised psionics, then "Elements of Magic" won't disappoint you. EoM strips down the core magic rules, does away the distinction of arcane and divine spells (and psionics) and gives you the foundation for assembling the basic components.ContentThe casting basics: Instead of choosing single spells at level-ups, one chooses spell lists. The spell lists have one of 11 action types, consisting of Abjure/Hex, Charm, Compel, Create, Evoke, Heal, Illusion, Infuse/Drain, Move, Summon, and Transform, and one of the three effect categories. The effect categories are [Alignment], [Creature] and [Element] - consisting of Good, Evil, Law, Chaos and Balance (for Neutrality), of all 15 creature types like Animal and of 22 different elements, like the classical four, Life, Death, Nature and even Space and Time, respectively. This results in over 250 different spell lists and allows many options for spellcasters.Like the new psions the character pays for his spells with points, here named as Magic Points instead of power points. EoM has also augmentations, here called enhancements. (Despite these similarities I doubt that Bruce Cordell or Ryan Nock could have seen each others ideas - EoM revised used this system months before the new psionic system has been published.) The differences are more in the details: EoM allows the free combination of the enhancements of different spell lists and incorporates most PH metamagic feats in the system itself - Extend Spell, Widen Spell and other are available through the General list enhancements. Except a small list of so-called and predefined signature spells all spells need a two full rounds to cast instead a standard action - this prevents the slow-down of the game through ever-experimenting players.All spells have only somatic and verbal components - no material components, no foci and no XP costs. Like their arcane counterparts in the core rules every spell has a chance of spell failure if casted in armor, even if it is a Heal spell. But if you have the Armored Casting feat, the spell failure is reduced into nothing, as long you are proficient with the armor (if classes grant free proficiences, then at least three levels in this classes are required for the elimination of the spell failure). Unlike to the core rules, there are 21 spell levels from 0 to 20 MPs (0 MP-spells are simple cantrips). The caster level determines directly in 1:1 relation, how many MPs can be spent one spell. Another difference is that the damage and the range don't scale with caster level - a Evoke Fire spell which does 3d6 fire damage will do 3d6 fire damage even at 20th level. Already invented spells can be simple improved by assigning MPs to an enhancement, as long the threshold is met. This means that shortly after a level-up a Mage can and will only need to adapt his signature spells instead of hoping that he will find spellbooks or scrolls. Some other important differences: The Save DC is always affected by the Charisma score, extra signature spells are given through a high Intelligence, bonus MPs are only available through a feat, "Save-or-die"-effects aren't supported.Spells can be written down into spellbooks like normal text - so spellbook costs can be compared to normal books, depending on their content. EoM-spellcasters can memorize those spells like the AD&D wizards - after the casting the knowlegde of this particular spell is lost, if one hasn't the required spell lists. Spells from spellbooks cover furthermore the reason for having scrolls, except that casting from a book can't be done with a standard action. Through this combination of spontaneous casting and memorizing, Mages have the optimum of flexibility - if you can't cast a spell through your selection of spell lists, you have simply to find someone, who can, and pay for that spell. As a result, the focus regarding magic-users is shifted from particular spells to their knowledge focus - if you want to confront a fire-Mage, you don't know in advance, that he will use a fireball or that he will use only fire-magic.Most spell lists have many options besides their obvious use - Evoke Air is also used to create "Gust of Wind" next to a simple affliction of damage. Charm [Creature] comprises following spells: "Charm Person", "Tasha's Hideous Laughter", "Sleep", "Hold Monster" and some more, even effects where is no equivalent in the core rules like changing the attitude. Even mindless creatures immune to magic effects in the core rules are vulnerable - but I don't know, if only the type immunities vanished or even races with immunities like elves and dragons lost them. Evoke Death can create ability damage or drain or even level loss. Attacks with spells have several options: (range) touch attack with no save for the target, with the chance of a critical, or ray attacks with saves for the target. It depends on the circumstances, but most spells will be chosen to be save-based.Abjure and Hex give you boni or penalties to AC, saves, DR, SR and energy resistance and the effects of binding and protection spells. Infuse gives you bonis or penalties to abilities, skill checks and attack and damage rolls. A general design principle is, that higher boni than in the core rules are reachable, even above the used +5 limit, but that there are less bonus types, e.g. nothing to improve your natural armor (but gaining natural armor through Transform spells is possible). If I would want to list all enhancements of all lists, I would need more than another page. The most important fact is, that enhancements can be combined from all available spell lists. A nice example is spell, which teleports you away, while both creating an illusion, which shows your transformation into a bear, and summoning a bear to your former place as distraction.Furthermore there aren't only spell lists, but also magical skills: Dispel Magic, Divination, Scry and Spellcraft (Spellcraft's mundane uses are still available) are used like spells, except that for the advancement skill points have to be spent. Several very useful applications aren't available if one hasn't enough ranks in the skill regardless if one could spend the required MPs. Furthermore, the reason of having skills instead spell lists is, that in the core rules the corresponding spells already use crippled skill checks - the caster boni of the Dispel Magic spells demonstrate this clearly. The skill Dispel Magic doesn't only dispel magic, but allows counterspelling (if you know the used spell lists), antimagic applications (an ordinary anti-magic field or specialised countermeasures against specific spell lists) and even Overmaster - with that option you can take control over an ongoing spell or a spell which is being cast and decide over its parameters. Who can tell that a wizard hasn't been charmed as his spell hit his friends? ;-)Divination lets everything you do if you have questions about the future or the past, about objects or persons - even the most guardest secrets will be available to you eventually, but then you have more to worry what do with the information instead just finding them out. Another use of Divination is the translation of unknown languages. Scrying is for the present - furthermore it allows you to cast spells through the sensor, if you succeed the Scry check. It allows even Telepresence - a great spell which emulates the effect of the holographic communication in Star Wars, but you can even smell and move yourself and other objects. Spellcraft allows you quickly to check, what effects linger in your surroundings, if someone is a magic user - or a disguised monster.Now to the classes: Next to the Mage, Mageknight and Taskmage there are some specialised and more flavored spellcasters, but these are included in Lyceian Arcana, not in EoM. The Mage is the simple most general spellcaster - he excels in all things magic, but is otherwise like a wizard with a d4 hit die. Except that he doesn't get bonus feats - he gets Magical Boons, which come in minor, moderate and major variants, obviously getting more powerful. Not only some more standard permanent magical effects like low-light vision, darkvision, resistance to elements and other are available, but others more interesting choices like Animal Speak, Magical Defenses (gives you a deflection bonus to AC equal to one mental ability modifier, capped at +5), Sixth Sense (allows you to see and hear incorporal undeads and ethereal creatures), Improved Signature Spell (for one known spell list you cast spells automatically like signature spells) or Animagus (like in Harry Potter). But if you don't like these choices, you can still get a bonus feat for your Boon.Mageknights are simple spellcasting fighters - with their medium BAB and d8 hit die the best comparison seems to be the cleric without domains and undead turning (this can be simulated through Charm Undead and Evoke Life). Spontaneous casting of Cure spells is already included through the spell system. As a secondary spellcasting class the caster level is only 15 at level 20, like the Taskmage. While Mageknights focuses on combat, Taskmages seem to be the rouge/expert spellcasting class, because they improve their skill use through magic and have a d6 hit die and 8 skill points per level, which are used for their 18 class skills - while a small selection of class skills is fixed, a whopping number of 10 skills can be freely chosen at first level. This class looks more like the Arcane Trickster, but without the combat orientation and sneak attacks. For multiclassing, caster levels stack like the BAB, so there is no need for prestige classes like Mystic Theurge.The included feats are partly adapted core feats, partly inspired by core feats and partly brand new. Two new categories are introduced: Mage and Tradition feats. Mage feats are simple a group of feats suitable only for spellcasters. Tradition feats are cultural Mage feats, somewhat like the Region feats of Forgotten Realms, but except for a teaser for Lyceian Arcana no Tradition feats are included. From the metamagic core feats remain only Silent Spell, Still Spell, Intense Spell (a better Heighten Spell) and Quicken Spell. Three feats deal with the quicker and better learning of spells from spellbooks - even spells requiring more MP than your current caster level can be cast with a successful caster level check.Other feats improve your handling with schools of magic - allowing the stretch of rules like the Evoke Specialist, which improves the threat range of range attack spells to 19-20, or giving some useful perks like Divination Specialist, which warns you of impending threats once per day - if you succeed a check. Next are the three item creation feats - Craft Charged Item, Craft Wondrous Item and Craft Permanent Spell. Those cover the magic items along their function, not their form. Craft Permanent Spell makes spells permanent, resulting in magical traps or permanent Infuse spells and is needed for the use Resurrection effects of the Heal list, the effect still being instantaneous and not dispellable. The creation feats allow to many things than I could explain them here, but they look at least balanced (I couldn't try them out). A neat extra is the possibility to gain spell-like abilities, something I always missed in the core rules, albeit it looks, that this is more useful for members of non-spellcasting classes due to the "12 permanent effects for one character"-restriction.Overall, 27 feats are presented in this chapter, which emulate with the flexible spell creation system far better the effects of metamagic and experienced wizards (after my envisioning) than the core rules. The prestige class Archmage - it is practically useless in EoM, because most High Arcanas are already incorporated in EoM - Arcane Reach, which allows range touch attacks with touch spells, is in EoM only a range enhancement. Only Mastery of Elements is entirely broken in EoM because it could give you for every different action type spell list with the right elements four extra spell lists. This means, that special abilities from other products which influence magic have to be looked at closely, if they can be already emulated or if the new magic system has unwanted effects on them.The Optical PresentationI like the cover art (BTW, it follows the new guidelines for d20-products) - there is a high-resolution JPEG-image of it, taking 1.3 MB of the nearly 9 MB zip file. Unfortunately, the title text and the rest are included - I'd like to have the option of printing the image entirely seperately from the product (with a copyright, of course). The other images in the product are usually high quality and create the right feeling of mysterious magic. Only images with a too "drafty" look because of too scribbly lines aren't so much of my liking. Luckily there aren't many like the one of Weebit. Interestingly, the base color of the images is the same color of the big margins - the images are therefore so embedded in the pages, that it isn't eye-catching. The rest of the interior is similar pleasant to the eyes. The colored bars fit in perfectly, the text is good readable on-screen and so far I found some errors, but that's normal for such a kind of product. The only two thing which bothers me a little is, that the text isn't justified and that there aren't bookmarks - maybe this points can be corrected.Opinion/ConclusionI have been lucky and could see an early work copy of EoM - the rules have been only improved in the steps in the meantime. One thing I always liked is, that instead of having "all-or-nothing"-effects like save-or-die spells, EoM handles them after the motto "the better succeed, where the weak fail". An antimagic-field doesn't simply ruin the use of magic, but it allows a check like for overcoming SR, if your spell is countered or not. Or invisibility - it is now a illusion effect, so an attack doesn't dispel the spell, but only the target can see the attacker automatically, while others get only a (new) save. Or the reduction of spell resistances - EoM was the first place, where I saw such kind of spells.The biggest problem I see is, that EoM is a replacement for the core rules. While both rulesets can function simultaneously, I don't see many ways of a logical ingame-explanation of this situation. Likewise is a conversion to this system without a cosmic event improbable - Lycaian Arcana has material to cover this situation, but without knowing it I advise to start simple a new campaign with an altered and adapted campaign setting. The other big problem is, that probably not every possible spell, which is covered by the core rules and fulfills the basic assumptions of EoM, is createable. At least Chaos Magic isn't included - maybe that can be covered in Lyceian Arcana.In the end, Ryan Nock achieved to create a ruleset, which allows so much flexibility while exactly this flexibility is so shaped, that it isn't a burden or even a game (time) killer. Overall, I believe, that the 4th edition of D&D should use this magic system - at least I'll do. I've been waiting for one and a half years for this product - because EoM caters to my wishes of a basic magic system 99%, it has been worth every minute of the time.</blockquote>

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