Occult Lore is off to press!

[JohnNephew]

(Warning: Shameless Promotion Alert!)

At last! Occult Lore was actually picked up in person by our friendly printer's sales rep today, with a promise that the finished books will be delivered in about five weeks. Woo hoo! I've really been burning the candle at both ends the past couple of weeks to get this out (two weekends in a row spent full-time working...!), while Michelle and Scott have been doing the same to keep Nyambe on track. Hard to believe it's finally really truly done.

Occult Lore is the first really player- (rather than GM-) oriented book in the Penumbra line, introducing ten new approaches to magic. It's 240 pages, hardcover. We'll try to get some preview material up on the website between now and when it starts to hit the shelves -- for a start, I made a PDF of the two pages of index, which provide some good hints at the contents:

http://www.atlas-games.com/pdf_storage/pen_occultlore_index.pdf

We also put up a record sheet, for Gleaners to keep track of spiritstones and revenants. Yeah, this doesn't mean much to you now, but it will be handy when you get the book.

http://www.atlas-games.com/pdf_storage/pen_occultlore_gleaner.pdf

(Gleaners are the people who would go out to the fields after the harvest to pick over what was left. In game terms, these guys go after what's left from the Grim Reaper's harvest -- they collect revenants, traces of identity and memory left when a soul departs the body in death, and weave them into magic. Cool stuff.)

More to come. We're really psyched up about this book, and think it will prove quite popular. (It's likely to run out pretty quickly, too; I had to go really conservative on the print run, because we need to keep room for the next two hardcovers to arrive shortly on its heels -- Unknown Armies 2nd Ed. RPG [a non-D20 title] in July, and Nyambe: African Adventures in August. If it does as well as I anticipate, we'll see about getting a reprint in time for Christmas. Though, unfortunately, it will likely sport a higher price tag than the $29.95 first printing.)

 

[Nightfall]

I want to say John, I REALLY am looking forward to this alot. Both as a player and a GM, since I'm always on the look out for useful and innovative/different stuff. So where's my free copy of this? *is kidding*

 

[7thlvlDM]

John,

Can't wait to get my hands on Occult Lore! Touched by the Gods is still my favorite d20 book.

-7th

 

[JoeGKushner]

If this book does well, is there any chance of seeing another Touched by the Gods book or perhaps a .pdf expansion for some of the material already presented?

 

[JohnNephew]

If this book does well, is there any chance of seeing another Touched by the Gods book or perhaps a .pdf expansion for some of the material already presented?

At the moment, we don't have any plans for sequels or expansions. In any case, it would not hinge upon Occult Lore. (I would like to do it someday, if only so I have an impetus to finish a couple entries I was working on...)

Fundamentally, while it contained a lot of useful stuff for players, TBTG was still a basically GM-oriented book, loaded with what amount to NPC groups, adventure seeds, etc. In retrospect, while it did very well (and was our top seller in dollar sales last year), I think it would have done even better if we had explicitly aimed it more at players in addition to GMs. (Though if it were, I think it would have been a really different product, and I frankly like TBTG the way it is for what it is, even if it has a smaller market than something like Occult Lore or other publishers' books like Traps & Treachery.)

One of the fundamental design goals of Occult Lore was to make a book that players would be interested in buying for their own use, a quality that has honestly been lacking in Penumbra to date. There are a couple of TBTG-like things included (NPCs, groups that prestige classes belong to, etc.), and some sections that are a bit more GM-oriented (the Dream Magic, for example, is written more with the GM in mind, since it requires a lot of cosmological decisions about the game universe), but it's far outweighed by the real thrust of the book, which is dense crunchy bit content.

The whole concept of TBTG limits its value to players; how many of the cabals can a PC belong to? In contrast, if you buy Occult Lore, you're not only getting options in terms of new classes and prestige classes that your character might branch into, you're also getting new skills and skill rules, feats you might pick up, spells for existing classes, new adventuring environments to explore (such as dreaming minds), new kinds of equipment and useful materials (herbs, herbal concoctions, magic items), and whole new kinds of magic that might be turned to your uses. For example, even if your PC has no interest in becoming an astrologer, she may learn the value of hiring one to compute an inception horoscope for the most auspicious time to embark on a major project. Or, she may hire a geomancer to discern or create fields of amplified or suppressed magic, like feng shui, to serve her needs -- perhaps to find a magic-dampened location to build a strongholds, or an amplified location for a wizard's tower and laboratory.

 

[Nightfall]

But then that's what I liked about you guys John! I could always count on you to keep it away from my players!

Anyway, if you are serious about making more accessible but interesting things for players, besides magic, perhaps what you need is some varient rules on magic item creations feats. You know, like those for forging magic weapons using soul stuff or perhaps making staffs out of bits of planar matter. Another idea, to be different, a book of scholarly matters that helps a player learn more about their craft, like improving on skills, or better feats. I would stay away from race books, class books, and magic books. It's not that I don't think you guys can't cut it but I think you guys deserve to try new things and not get lost in the shuffle.

 

[JohnNephew]

You know, like those for forging magic weapons using soul stuff or perhaps making staffs out of bits of planar matter.

Some cool ideas...and you might like the gleaner.

Speaking of which, I'm going to try attaching a JPEG and see if it works. This is the illo of a gleaner. On his chest, you can see his Spiritstone, which is where the revenants he gathers reside and are nurtured. The revenants themselves make a sort of cloak of shadows around him.

 

[Warchild]

Hey, John. I have a couple questions about Occult Lore, iffin you don't mind.
When you guys say 10 new types of magic traditions, does that mean that they are just add ons to the existing spellcasting classes/mechanics of the Core Books? What i mean is, are they all based off of the wizard/sorcerer/cleric classes and use fire and forget spell system? For example, is the Astrology abilities based enitrely on the Astrology skill listed in your index sample (like how the Alchemist skill works...all you need is ranks in the Alchemy skill to make things happen)? Or is the book a mix?
The reason i ask is that my setting is pretty radical and doesn't use the core spellcasting rules, so i am forever on the look out for stuff that is as compatible as possible that i can insert into my games. The main magics in my setting are Alchemy, Astrology, and Spirit "touching".....so you can see why your Occult Lore interests me

My other question is.....$22!!!! Are you insane??!!........Sorry, couldn't resist!

 

[JohnNephew]

Hi, Warchild!

Some of the new fields of magic follow the traditional form -- e.g., the Elementalist, which at its core is a lot like school specializations. (It gets a bit more extreme, though, as high level elementalists can become elementals.) I think the ones that go in more radical directions might be more up your alley. (The spirit magic of gleaners might fit right in to your world, fir instance.) And yes, Astrology is a skill available to other classes.

The Arcane Healer, for one example, is an NPC class. As will be apparent, it will not really be a desirable class for PCs, due in particular to one big limitation -- spell prep time. On the surface, the class appears to be like typical spellcasters, except their prep time is really long -- prepping a spell actually consists of putting together a unique herbal or alchemical concoction that will generate the spell effect, which itself requires the use of equipment and materials. The really high level Arcane Healer actually doesn't have enough hours in the day to prepare all of his theoretically possible spells (since higher level spells take longer to prepare the ingredients); he's also inclined not to prep spells until he knows what ails his patients that day. No use to prepare a concoction for cure serious wounds, only to find you really needed remove disease. This clearly isn't adventurer material -- on the other hand, it's a great class for a "low magic" type setting, and for NPC alternatives to clerics (say, in a magocracy where clerics are banned but people still get sick!).

An example of a PC class going in an unusual direction is the Sympathetic Mage, who expends ritual points to power spell effects, often invented on the spot, using the principles of sympathetic magic and occult connections (using the hair or fingernail clippings of a target, dolls made to resemble the target, etc.). Here's an example ritual from the book:

New Ritual: Feral Spy

Effect: The user goes into a trance, transferring her consciousness into a rat or similar creature. She is capable of controlling the actions of the beast and perceives the world through its eyes and ears. This allows her to use the creature as a spy — a more subtle form of scrying, although the creature must be able to gain access to the area the caster wishes to observe. The ritual involves creating a simulacrum of the rat. The mage can use this simulacrum to reestablish contact with the creature at a later time — so if it sneaks onto a ship, the mage does not have to get onto the ship to reestablish contact with the creature.

Cost: 9 ritual points base; if the caster is reestablishing contact with a creature that is far away, she must also pay the cost of the range modifier.

Sympathies: The ritual requires three elements: a rat or similar creature to serve as a vessel for the consciousness of the caster; a representation of the creature; and a representation of the caster’s eyes and ears.

Ritual: The mage must bind the representation of herself to the simulacrum of the creature that will bear her thoughts, while speaking to the creature and requesting its services.

Saving Throw: None

I hope that gives you some ideas of what it's like! If I can find time, we'll try to get some more detailed PDF samples up on the website between now and release of the book. (Be sure to check out the art samples that Morrus put up on ENWorld's front page, too!)

 

[Warchild]

Hi, Warchild!
I think the ones that go in more radical directions might be more up your alley. (The spirit magic of gleaners might fit right in to your world, fir instance.) And yes, Astrology is a skill available to other classes.

Excellent!
That Gleaner ssems absolutely perfect for my spirit channelling magic. The Astrology system your product describing is exactly what i was envisioning as well. I'm going out to my doctor immediately, so that he can search for the mind reading device that you have obviously planted in my brain!

An example of a PC class going in an unusual direction is the Sympathetic Mage, who expends ritual points to power spell effects, often invented on the spot, using the principles of sympathetic magic and occult connections (using the hair or fingernail clippings of a target, dolls made to resemble the target, etc.).

This looks to be on target for me. I was playing around with a ritual/circle system for my setting. Seems like you beat me to it.
This definitely fits my idea of what it ritual magic should be. Self contained evocations that require work and set up.

I hope that gives you some ideas of what it's like! If I can find time, we'll try to get some more detailed PDF samples up on the website between now and release of the book. (Be sure to check out the art samples that Morrus put up on ENWorld's front page, too!)

Indeed it does. I'm looking forward to the book. I don't often drop the "must have" title on game products, but this one forces an exception it seems.