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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mistervimes" data-source="post: 2009399" data-attributes="member: 22467">I wanted to LOVE Mystic Warriors, I really did. I eagerly anticipated the arrival of the product and 'oohed' and 'aahed' over the cover... but somewhere between the pages it lost some of its... well, mysticism.Firstly, let us discuss what the book IS before we discuss what the book is not. Inside this 126 page soft back are:* 22 Prestige Classes* 1 New Race * 20+ New Feats* 50+ "Special Techniques"* "Special Items" (think MAGIC Items)* Sample Schools* A Guide (albeit a small one) to help you run/incorporate Mystic Warriors (and the concepts presented) into a campaign* Design rules for expanding the concepts presented.Mystic Warriors begins with the premise of introducing a new, point based, magic system, for the d20 game system, called "Vitus". Vitus is, essentially, the life force that we all possess. Every character has a Vitus point total (whether a Mystic Warrior class or no). Using the Vitus system requires the use of the Harness Vitus skill. Expending these Vitus Points power the characters "Special Techniques" (essentially spell-like abilities). Expending too much Vitus has a detrimental effect on the character (as the character is, essentially, depleting their life force). Despite the way it sounds, this introduction does exactly what the Open Gaming License intended; it expands and grows the d20 system. Does it do it well? That is up to you to decide.The drawbacks to this book start small and (unfortunately) grow. The artwork ranges from Excellent to very poor, and that is very disappointing as it is obvious that Mystic Eye Games™ has some talented artists on staff. Why they were not used in exclusion of the less polished artists is a mystery.The Artwork does have a nostalgic feel, reminiscent of 1st edition dungeons and dragons and older Hero Games™ products... but the nostalgia wasn't enough to make me enjoy the artistic presentation.The layout of the book also lacks. The pages were full of "Gutters" where the information presented could have been condensed, making the book smaller or saving space for more designer notes.The classes themselves are well designed save for the fact that the system seems to require that each class takes a series of Restrictions (examples include a weekly sacrifice of the character's most valuable material possession and never using or owning magic items.), many of these restrictions (though in many cases well conceived) ham-string the character to the point that the class would never be playable. It feels like the folks at Mystic Eye were afraid that the Classes were too powerful without these emasculating "Strictures".Fortunately, there is good news. Towards the end of the book, there is a page dedicated to using the "Special Techniques" without Vitus and even rules for eliminating the "Special Techniques" altogether (though I think this is a disservice to the designers). I believe that if the Strictures were eliminated (or at least toned down or balanced from class to class) and the Vitus system were set aside (except for those of you that want to expand to yet another Magic System) that the product is very playable.(...) With a few modifications it can also contribute a great deal to an existing campaign. If you are looking for a flawless product then pass this one by, but if you are looking for prestige classes with an inspired background that needs a bit of mechanical overhaul, I recommend that you give Mystic Warriors a try...</blockquote>

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