Necromancer Games' Eldritch Sorcery

[Gez]

I don't remember having seen this discussed here previously, and Search yielded no related results. (Sorry for using the "Reviews" category, as it's not a review, but it's the most appropriate I found.)

Here's the blurb about that product:

Eldritch Sorcery™

Unleash Forgotten Power!
Unearth forgotten spells, lost lore, and hidden artifacts possessing the power of ages await those brave enough to search them out or create them. Highlight your campaign with new treasures or develop your character through the use of new spells and feats.

New Spells and Magic Items!
This small collection of balanced spells and feats can be used to enhance any player character or campaign. These new spells and magic items come from the same people that brought you the Tome of Horrors™. Guidelines provided within this tome should help adjust any of the feats and spells to your own game world. Necromancers, and the clerics that battle them, can find new powers here, if they dare to release them.

• New spells and feats designed to help enhance characters and game play.
• Guidelines are provided for creating campaign-specific arcane or divine prestige classes.
• Supplies new magic items, relics, and artifacts for characters to seek out or for DMs to build adventures around.
• Provides players with new spells and powers they'll love, without breaking the balance of the game and ruining it for others.
• Supplies new magic items and artifacts that can be used as a source for a DM to construct an entire campaign.
• Unlike most books of spells, the spells here fit with v3.5 rules and are balanced by the same people that brought you award-winning books in the past.

Estimated Retail Price: To be announced
Estimated Page Count: 144
Authors: Patrick Lawinger and David Mannes, developed by Bill Webb
Scheduled Release: October 2005​

I must admit that, by reading "from the same people that brought you the Tome of Horrors" I expected it to be written by Scott and Erica.

I don't particularly appreciate the blurb about "unlike our competitors, our stuff is balanced, we have awards to prove it" -- it lacks class, I think.

But other than this, it seems really interesting.

Of course, if you want to sell me a book, all you need to do is to give it a title like "Magic of Sumthin'" or "Da Big Book of Eldritch Whatevah"...

 

[Turjan]

Looks like a book in the vein of 'Spells & Magic' (a very good book) and 'Spells & Spellcraft' (a not quite as good book) to me. And as the title somehow tries to hint at the 'Book of Eldritch Might', is this the book of spells that is not balanced in comparison ?

I'll probably wait and see what they will come up with. The description doesn't really tell that much about what is in the book, except (as example for a substantial hint in that blurb) lots of magic items and rules how to design them.

 

[Psion]

And as the title somehow tries to hint at the 'Book of Eldritch Might', is this the book of spells that is not balanced in comparison ?

Um, I rather think that it hints at the OD&D "Eldritch Wizardry" meselfs.

And as that book is where 1e psionics were born, I'm not too sure the title suggests "balanced" to me.

 

[BOZ]

some of this content might be familiar to long-time players, if i'm not mistaken, IYKWIMAITYD.

 

[Gez]

some of this content might be familiar to long-time players, if i'm not mistaken, IYKWIMAITYD.

So you're saying that this book is unearthing arcana?

 

[BOZ]

sort of. if it is what i think it is, and you remember all those good old spells (and magic items?) from 1E/2E that didn't make the cut into 3E, i think you might want to check out this product.

that's all i know, and then i don't even really know that for sure.

 

[Treebore]

A fair number of the spells and items were submitted by regulars at the Necromancer boards. Since the ToH monsters, a good number of them anyway, started out the same way, that is why they are created by the same people who did the ToH's. Especially ToH 2 and soon to be 3. Plus what Scott and Erica created straight from their own minds.

So the spells, items, and other ideas were submitted by a number of board members and then edited/modified by the authors of the book, plus a fair amount of their own ideas thrown in there. That is how the book was created.

How balanced is it? I am sure it will fit the definition of balanced for Necromancer fans, which usually means deadly.

 

[Nightfall]

Treebore,

Deadly, yes but still WAY fun.

 

[Treebore]

That is Necromancer in a nutshell. Deadly encounters that you try to win despite the odds and have fun surviving it or going down in glorious flames of heroism! Laughing all the way, of course!

 

[BOZ]

so then... it doesn't have conversions of old spells in it?