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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 2009321" data-attributes="member: 172">Pocket Grimoire DivineThe concept behind the Pocket Grimoires is simple: a collection of some of the best spells from a variety of d20 system publishers, all condensed into a small book for easy travel and reference. There are two Pocket Grimoires: the Pocket Grimoire: Arcane and Pocket Grimoire: Divine.Each Pocket Grimoire is a 256 page half-size perfect-bound book priced as $14.95 US.The Pocket Grimoires have decorative borders with a variety of arcane looking symbols, but lack any other sort of artwork. This is probably necessary to achieve the high density that the book demands to effectively encapsulate of the spells that it contains.The interior text is relatively dense. The body text is dense. The title of each spell is in a modestly larger font, but still reasonable. The spell descriptions use the same format as those in the Players Handbook.The Pocket Grimoires contain spells from the following d20 system resources (according to the copyright statement in the OGL of the book):The d20 System Reference DocumentArcana: Societies of Magic (Green Ronin)Beyond the Veil (Atlas Games)The Book of Eldritch Might (Malhavoc Press)Codex Arcanis (Paradigm Concepts)The Divine and the Defeated (Sword & Sorcery Studios)Dungeons (AEG)Evil (AEG)Freeport: City of Adventure (Green Ronin)Interludes: Brief Expeditions to Bluffside (Thunderhead Games)Relics & Rituals (Sword & Sorcery Studios)The Tide of Years (Altas)Traps & Treachery (Fantasy Flight Games)This is quite a selection of spells. Further, many of the spells thus included have errata and are edited for clarity. Unfortunately, as the WotC errata is not open content, material herein does not reflect that errata, which in some cases is substantial (e.g., polymorph self).The book has complete spell lists updated with the additional spells for all of the core divine spellcasting classes: adept, blackguard, cleric, druid, paladin, and ranger. It also contains a number of new domains and adds spells to old domains. The new domains included are:ConstructDistractionDominationDreamEntrancementFateFeyGatewaysJudgmentRainbowSecretsShadowThieveryTimeVengeanceThis is a nice selection of domains and rounds out those in the core rulebook nicely. However, as with Relics & Rituals and some other books, spells are added to each domain, but it is not discussed how the GM is supposed to handle this situation, as per the core rules, domains are only supposed to allow access to a single additional spell per level.There are some ways that I felt the presentation of the book could have been better. First, the book makes no distinction between spells from the OGC and other spells, which is a disservice to GMs who make a distinction or wish to selectively filter non-core spells. Second, the spells from Sword & Sorcery Studios' products have all been renamed due to the fact the S&SS claim the spell name as PI. Further, some of the new names aren't too obvious, compromising the utility of the book as a reference for those spells. For example, the spell Mormo's Serpent Hands has been renamed Flicker Fingers in the Grimoire. You would think that a name like "viper fingers" or something similar would have been more apparent.ConclusionI have been using the Pocket Grimoires in my games for a few weeks now, and I find it to be a dandy reference. Spells are about the most referenced item in the game, and we frequently found it to be of use. My wife is new to the game and just started playing a cleric; having the Pocker Grimoire: Divine handy has helped eliminate some of the hassle associated with giving a new player a spellcasting character.Much of the material in the Pocket Grimoires you already have as part of the PHB, and possibly other books that you have. However, in addition to being a useful reference, the Grimoires include many useful spells that you may not have seen before.-Alan D. Kohler</blockquote>

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