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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2009882" data-attributes="member: 18387">By Steven Creech, Exec. Chairman d20 Magazine Rack Sizing Up the Target This review is for Forged in Magic, a 128-page collection of new magic items for the fantasy side of the d20 system. Published by Paradigm Concepts, creator of the Living Arcanis setting, this book retails for $19.99. With the exception of designated product identity that directly relates to the Arcanis setting, the majority of the material is classified as open game content. First Blood The book is divided into sections similar to what you find in the DMG: rings, potions, rods and wands, wondrous items monster charms, weapons of war, armor, shields, miscellaneous weapons, swords, and artifacts. Each item comes with a detailed description along with caster level, prerequisites, and market value. In addition to the specific items, there are also forty-one new weapon qualities and seventeen new armor qualities. The last eighteen pages of the book detail new spells, feats, manufacturing materials, a new prestige class (Master-Smith), and two appendices that cater specifically to Arcanis.Critical Hits The authors waste no time in pointing out one of the inherent problem areas of magic items in general; the lack of a names. All too often a player will refer to his character’s magic items in terms of their properties (ring of invisibility, +2 longsword, staff of passage, etc.) rather than giving a proper name to it (Grimtooth, the demon slayer). The lack of names means the players become less attached to their items and more prone to trade up without hesitation. Therefore, every specific item in this book has a name of sorts attached to it (for example, Wailing Stone of Lost Souls) in order to give it more uniqueness and a sense of importance. Critical Misses There isn’t much really that I can complain about with this book. Most of the faults can be considered minor. There are several items that are tailored to be Arcanis specific, which does require some work to adapt them to other settings. The weapon disadvantage table would likely come across better as options for cursed weapons rather than magical weapons with flaws. Lastly, I felt that some entries lacked the detail and depth evident in others (which is a common occurrence when a large team of writers is involved) and is most likely due to differences in style. As I said, minor complaints really. Coup de Grace Forged in Magic is an ideal resource for those looking for more options than the DMG offers. There seems to be no real game balance issues with the entries and the non-generic naming of them goes a long way towards making them seem important and a part of history. While it is 90% a GM resource tool, players could benefit in coming up with suggestions for quests that their character may embark upon to gain items from this book. This is truly a book worth having in your library. To see the graded evaluation of this product, go to Fast Tracks at <a href="http://www.d20zines.com" target="_blank">www.d20zines.com.</a></blockquote>

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