RodneyThompson
Explorer
The Game Mechanics offer up another d20 Modern Sourcebook, this time in the form of Modern Magic Volume 1. This 46-page PDF file is a complete electronic sourcebook for adding new magic elements to your d20 Modern campaign. Though Gamemasters who are not running campaigns with magic or any other FX in them may find little use for this book, those Gamemasters that have any element of the supernatural in their campaign can definitely find something to use inside. Particularly, Gamemasters running Urban Arcana games will find plenty that is both useful and creative to throw into their games. Even GMs that aren't running FX-heavy campaigns may wish to check this one out, as certain aspects of the book may provide ideas for non-magical campaign elements. Additionally, this book also marks the first sourcebook published by The Game Mechanics that is not written by one the the Mechanics themselves (JD Wiker, Stan!, Rich Redman, and Marc Schmalz), showing that the company is beginning to branch out into the larger world of game designers.
The book opens with a nice introduction from the authors detailing what the reader should expect out of the book. One neat part of this section is the insight given into the process that created the book. The authors talk of brainstorming sessions and ideas that formed the basis of the sourcebook's creation, which some readers should find interesting. While not quite as up-close and personal as the introductions by Stan! in the two volumes of the Modern Player's Companion, it is nice to have some sort of introduction to ease the reader into the book.
Chapter 1 launches the reader directly into the bread-and-butter of modern magic: spells. One of my favorite parts of the original d20 Modern game, and by extension the Urban Arcana sourcebook, is the creative uses for modern spells. Where spells like red light green light stood out as interesting application of magic in the modern world in the core rulebook, this chapter is chock full of exactly that sort of thing. Among my personal favorite spells are save to disk, which allows you to transfer a creature or item to a CD-ROM, hypnotic screensaver which can entrance the viewer (and be honest, how many of us haven't spent hours watching one screensaver or another), and bypass bystanders which prevents innocents from being hurt in a gunfight. Those three are all Arcane spells, but the Divine spells are just as interesting. Unfortunately, there are significantly fewer Divine spells than Arcane spells, along with some overlap, meaning that Divine spellcasters may feel a bit left out in this chapter. Overall, the chapter has some very creative uses for magic in the modern world. One hope I have for the second volume is that more spells will appear that are modern-only; many spells in the d20 Modern game are simply ports of D&D spells, and many of the "new" spells can easily be ported to D&D, so I'd like to see more that cannot, particularly those that depend on modern technology.
Chapter 2 focuses less on standard magic spells as roleplayers think of them and instead focuses on ritual magic and lesser incantations. First introduced in the Urban Arcana campaign setting sourcebok, incantations are magic ceremonies that any character can perform regardless of character class or background with certain supernatural effects. Most of the chapter centers around a new advanced class, the Ritualist. Like the Mage and Acolyte classes, the Ritualist is a magic-wielding character; unlike those other classes, the Ritualist focuses heavily on lesser incantations (a form of the UA incantations presented in this book) and is described as being able to cast an almost limitless variety of spells. In fact, the system they use is a combination of the incantations system in Urban Arcana as well as the old Ars Magica spellcasting system. In the end, it is intriguing but each time a character wants to cast a spell it becomes an exercise in mathematics; there are so many modifiers involved with these incantations that gameplay may be slowed down. However, once a player and Gamemaster become accustomed to the system and have the tables handy they should be able to come up with the appropriate spell DC in a relatively short amount of time. It's not nearly as fast as just using the standard spellcasting system, but allows for a much greater freedom of creativity.
Chapter 3 centers around the military and its uses for magic. This chapter is very thorough and well thought out, and seems as though it was given a good deal of consideration. Everything is laid out so that the logistics of combat and spellcasting on a massive, military scale are readily apparent to the reader. The chapter covers everything from standard issue military spellbooks (evoking an image of a Top-Secret dossier filled with spells), armor interference with spellcasting, and new FX equipment to several new feats and abilities. Each of the three campaign models (Rare and Secretive, Available and Specialized, Common as Dirt) include a new advanced class specialized to that setting. Each one should give the Gamemaster plenty of ideas on how to use the source material in their own game, even if the party doesn't have a strictly military focus. I know many players will be itching to play the Arcane Spec-Op, who is basically a covert-ops soldier with access to magical abilities.
Chapter 4 deals with general FX equipment with a non-military focus. There's not much to say on this chapter except that it is really creative and is one of the most abundant sources of new ideas in the entire sourcebook. Personal favorites include the pet rock of earth elemental summoning, the FA$TCA$H bank card, and the hood ornament of accuracy. Again, the strength of this chapter is not necessarily in providing new toys and goodies for your players to get a hold of, but rather in the creative ways magic is employed in a modern world. Sure, any player will be excited to pick up a marksman's bullet, but the first time the party encounters some strange application of magic like the police whistle of backup they're going to be awed not only by the effect but by the realization that their world is truly not as it seems.
The book concludes with a pair of appendices that outline the book's spells, modes, and elements, and another that gives stats for air and earth elementals. Overall, the book is well laid-out with no frivolous uses of white space. It seems strange to include the spells right at the beginning when most people are used to seeing spells as something if a supplemental index, but the real problem is that the spells are broken up over two chapters. Chapter 1 contains listings for many spells, while Chapter 3 contains the military spells. Unfortunately, all of the spells are listed in Chapter 1, which could lead to some confusion when searching quickly for a spell description. One positive note is that this book contains some of the best artwork so far in books by The Game Mechanics; each piece is solid and fits the tone of the sourcebook perfectly.
Overall, a solid effort that produces one creative and well-written sourcebook. Though many people might argue that the book is more magic than d20 Modern needs (with Urban Arcana already covering that aspect of the game), if The Game Mechanics continue to produce quality d20 Modern material then there will be more than enough to please all types of Gamemasters.
The book opens with a nice introduction from the authors detailing what the reader should expect out of the book. One neat part of this section is the insight given into the process that created the book. The authors talk of brainstorming sessions and ideas that formed the basis of the sourcebook's creation, which some readers should find interesting. While not quite as up-close and personal as the introductions by Stan! in the two volumes of the Modern Player's Companion, it is nice to have some sort of introduction to ease the reader into the book.
Chapter 1 launches the reader directly into the bread-and-butter of modern magic: spells. One of my favorite parts of the original d20 Modern game, and by extension the Urban Arcana sourcebook, is the creative uses for modern spells. Where spells like red light green light stood out as interesting application of magic in the modern world in the core rulebook, this chapter is chock full of exactly that sort of thing. Among my personal favorite spells are save to disk, which allows you to transfer a creature or item to a CD-ROM, hypnotic screensaver which can entrance the viewer (and be honest, how many of us haven't spent hours watching one screensaver or another), and bypass bystanders which prevents innocents from being hurt in a gunfight. Those three are all Arcane spells, but the Divine spells are just as interesting. Unfortunately, there are significantly fewer Divine spells than Arcane spells, along with some overlap, meaning that Divine spellcasters may feel a bit left out in this chapter. Overall, the chapter has some very creative uses for magic in the modern world. One hope I have for the second volume is that more spells will appear that are modern-only; many spells in the d20 Modern game are simply ports of D&D spells, and many of the "new" spells can easily be ported to D&D, so I'd like to see more that cannot, particularly those that depend on modern technology.
Chapter 2 focuses less on standard magic spells as roleplayers think of them and instead focuses on ritual magic and lesser incantations. First introduced in the Urban Arcana campaign setting sourcebok, incantations are magic ceremonies that any character can perform regardless of character class or background with certain supernatural effects. Most of the chapter centers around a new advanced class, the Ritualist. Like the Mage and Acolyte classes, the Ritualist is a magic-wielding character; unlike those other classes, the Ritualist focuses heavily on lesser incantations (a form of the UA incantations presented in this book) and is described as being able to cast an almost limitless variety of spells. In fact, the system they use is a combination of the incantations system in Urban Arcana as well as the old Ars Magica spellcasting system. In the end, it is intriguing but each time a character wants to cast a spell it becomes an exercise in mathematics; there are so many modifiers involved with these incantations that gameplay may be slowed down. However, once a player and Gamemaster become accustomed to the system and have the tables handy they should be able to come up with the appropriate spell DC in a relatively short amount of time. It's not nearly as fast as just using the standard spellcasting system, but allows for a much greater freedom of creativity.
Chapter 3 centers around the military and its uses for magic. This chapter is very thorough and well thought out, and seems as though it was given a good deal of consideration. Everything is laid out so that the logistics of combat and spellcasting on a massive, military scale are readily apparent to the reader. The chapter covers everything from standard issue military spellbooks (evoking an image of a Top-Secret dossier filled with spells), armor interference with spellcasting, and new FX equipment to several new feats and abilities. Each of the three campaign models (Rare and Secretive, Available and Specialized, Common as Dirt) include a new advanced class specialized to that setting. Each one should give the Gamemaster plenty of ideas on how to use the source material in their own game, even if the party doesn't have a strictly military focus. I know many players will be itching to play the Arcane Spec-Op, who is basically a covert-ops soldier with access to magical abilities.
Chapter 4 deals with general FX equipment with a non-military focus. There's not much to say on this chapter except that it is really creative and is one of the most abundant sources of new ideas in the entire sourcebook. Personal favorites include the pet rock of earth elemental summoning, the FA$TCA$H bank card, and the hood ornament of accuracy. Again, the strength of this chapter is not necessarily in providing new toys and goodies for your players to get a hold of, but rather in the creative ways magic is employed in a modern world. Sure, any player will be excited to pick up a marksman's bullet, but the first time the party encounters some strange application of magic like the police whistle of backup they're going to be awed not only by the effect but by the realization that their world is truly not as it seems.
The book concludes with a pair of appendices that outline the book's spells, modes, and elements, and another that gives stats for air and earth elementals. Overall, the book is well laid-out with no frivolous uses of white space. It seems strange to include the spells right at the beginning when most people are used to seeing spells as something if a supplemental index, but the real problem is that the spells are broken up over two chapters. Chapter 1 contains listings for many spells, while Chapter 3 contains the military spells. Unfortunately, all of the spells are listed in Chapter 1, which could lead to some confusion when searching quickly for a spell description. One positive note is that this book contains some of the best artwork so far in books by The Game Mechanics; each piece is solid and fits the tone of the sourcebook perfectly.
Overall, a solid effort that produces one creative and well-written sourcebook. Though many people might argue that the book is more magic than d20 Modern needs (with Urban Arcana already covering that aspect of the game), if The Game Mechanics continue to produce quality d20 Modern material then there will be more than enough to please all types of Gamemasters.
