Potent Portals

[Mark]

[imager]http://www.creativemountaingames.com/images/new_releases/cmgfav/cmgpp.jpg[/imager]Looking for ways to strengthen the defenses of a stronghold, town business or dungeon area? Does your wizard, sorcerer or alchemist need a bit more privacy? Not enough challenges for those rogues in the game? Potent Portals has over one hundred archways, alcoves, doors, windows, shutters, knobs, knockers, latches, locks and other related magical items.

Available as part of the Favorites Bundle at the EN World GameStore.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Plexus, Potent Portals, takes a page from the Philip J. Reed school of creation, lots of interesting little bits that can be added whole or one at a time to a campaign.

The table of contents breaks the book up into different types of portals: Archways, Gates, Bars, Shutters, Coverings, Curtains, Doors, Trapdoors, Knobs, Knockers, Latches, Locks, Skylights and Windows.

Each entry is listed in alphabetical order with the centered name of the portal leading off into the mechanics. Each item includes the creation rules necessary, mainly a list including caster minimal level, craft wondrous item, required spells, market price and the weight. Most of the portals cast or use spells straight from the PHB, many renamed from Creative Mountain’s version of the SRD spells. Some of the items have multiple spell effects and would be best for high magic play like the Druid’s Arch, capable of granting different spells and spell effects to those who pass under it and speak a command word. Others are simply traps that have spells as the effect like Death’s Door, which triggers a Circle of Death or the Harmful Handle, that casts harm on the person touching it.

I found myself looking for things not in the book. First off, perhaps not a problem with the book but one with the d20 system is that most of these are devices that spells are hung on and left to be activated. Does that make them traps and if so, where is the trap CR, search and spot check DCs necessary to overcome them. Next up, its nice to have the market cost, but as a player of a mage, I want the creation cost, both in gold and experience points listed. Since this book is a magic item tome, I’d also like a breakdown of the portals by caster level with the other requirements listed.

The writing is solid but can be a bit wordy at times. Look at Death’s Door. “This unassuming portal looks like it is ready to fall off of its hinges, but it packs a powerful punch. Despite its harmless appearance, it is imbued with a powerful and deadly magic.” Okay, what is the second sentence telling me that the first one didn’t? The books ‘tells’ the reader too much about what its describing. Layout is standard two-columns with a simple border. Artwork is minimal but complements the product.

So what would make this product better? How about the material that doors are made of, costs and other useful information. How about a master definition and brief history of each of the subjects covered here. When were skylights first in use and what type of archways and gates are most common? Lastly, something that went a little beyond the whole ‘spell’ effect that almost all the doorways have would’ve helped give the book a unique feel. As is stands, Plexus has some good trap seeds that GMs can sprinkle into his campaign but may not be for everyone.

 

[SJ]

JoeG, good review. I also picked up this product yesterday. While I like it and will certainly use it in my games, it does have a few limits you described.

Spell Effects: while the pattern of 'spell effects tied to the portal' occurs repeatedly, it actually works pretty well. There are several instances of 'cool, I never thought of doing that'. Quite clever in their simplicity but likely great game locations.

On the flip side, though, I also kept looking for other ideas, magical or not, that made portals interesting. A tome like this doesn't have to have elaborate or complex items to be useful, just sound items to make a GM's life easier and his campaigns more flavorful.

CR's: I totally agree the biggest thing missing is some SWAG at CR's. I don't know the formulas for XP cost for the spell effects either, so that might have helped. As a DM I'd probably skip that, but as a player it would be useful. I can read the descriptions, check the spells, and get a feel for the CR, but they could have saved me the work.

Verbage: Some of the descriptions are a little forced, but I don't mind the flavor. What might have helped on some of the entries is a paragraph or so on possible uses, like an example. True, some entries have this in the description text, but a few of the ones that are a bit more difficult to visualize don't.

One of the things I liked alot about this product is that it also helps me come up with other ideas along the same line. Some of the items in Plexus made me think up similar elements, slightly modified, that can be the basis for fun encounters or even adventures. It is hard to name the criteria for a product to make you more creative with less strain, but this one did.

Good stuff.
SJ

 

[Capellan]

Potent Portals is a 25 page PDF that collects more than a hundred magical doors, windows, locks and gates for use in D20 Fantasy games. As such, it fits into a group of releases that I think of as "utility" products. By this I mean that its primary function is to give the purchaser a variety of resources that they can quickly and easily plug into their campaign. Not everyone has much use for utility products, as they generally offer little that could not be achieved by an individual DM, given sufficient time and effort. (Consider what is probably the classic utility product: "Everyone Else". At heart, it's simply a collection of NPC statistics, which any DM could - in time - have compiled). If you have the time and the inclination to generate dozens of magical doors and alcoves, or if you have little need for them in your campaign, then Potent Portals is not going to offer you very much value.

On the other hand, many DMs - myself included - find utility products extremely useful. The reasons for this can vary, but they usually come back to convenience. Perhaps a DM has a demanding work or study schedule; or perhaps they simply prefer to focus on other aspects of their campaign. Whatever the reason, the value of utility products arises from their convenience; the time and effort they save; almost as much as it does from the quality of the contents.

Make no mistake, however. The quality of the contents is as vital to a utility product as to any other. If a release like Potent Portals doesn't deliver interesting and useful resources, then it fails in its purpose.

So does Potent Portals deliver?

On the whole, yes. There are a few entries which seem to work somewhat illogically (why do so many of the magical knockers only affects people who are polite enough to use them? Surely they would be better designed to operate against those who try to break in?), and several that do little more than imbue a door or archway with fairly predictable offensive spells (a facility already offered by a glyph of warding), but many of the entries are sufficiently imaginative and distinctive that they will stick in the minds of players and DMs long after they are first used.

Often, it is the more whimsical entries that seem the most interesting, such as the Capable Coffin Lid or the Suspicious Curtains, while some of the applications found for spells are extremely inventive (I particularly liked the uses found for spells such as web and shatter), and should make memorable gaming scenes. There are also some clever variations on classical magic items: the portable hole for instance now has a couple of rather ingenious "cousins".

One odd oversight in the list was a "seeing door" - I'd fully expected that a door which allowed the owner to activate a clairvoyance effect on it would appear in the product: it's the obvious magical equivalent of modern day security cameras, after all! On the other hand, CMG have included a number of other "convenience" related doors, to round out the collection and offer something a little different from the various traps that are included, so this was obviously a direction which they were considering when writing the product.

It's also good to see that the item creation details of all the items are provided, though some of the gold piece costs seem a little 'off', to me. The Alcove of Magic Detection, for instance, appears to be 27 times as expensive as an item that provided its function would need to be. There's also an absence of details on CR, Search DC and Disable DC for the 'trap' style entries. Sure, a DM could calculate these, but it would have been nice to have them included.

In terms of the technical and presentation side of the product, the writing is generally clear, if a little wordy at times. There are a number of small proofing errors, but nothing that significantly affects the meaning of the text. The PDF only comes in portrait format, which makes it a little difficult to read on the screen, but the layout is uncluttered and easy to follow. Some line art breaks up the text without being too demanding of printer ink.

Potent Portals is a solid product, offering plenty of good resources for DMs who are looking for nefarious traps and magical "labour saving" devices to use in campaigns. It will also be useful for players who wish to have their characters build strongholds.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

By Glenn Dean, Staff Reviewer d20 Magazine Rack

Sizing up the Target
Plexus: Potent Portals is a 25-page PDF supplement written by Mark Clover and published by Creative Mountain Games. It is available as a $5 download.

First Blood
Plexus: Potent Portals is a product designed to add a bit of magical excitement to your campaign by providing a menu of over 100 magical archways, doors, windows, and other portals. These items can be used as tricks and traps by the Games Master to spice up a game, as plot elements, or even as guards or wards by players building their own strongholds.

Potent Portals is divided up into seven different sections based upon the type of portals: archways and gates; bars and shutters; coverings and curtains; doors and trapdoors; knobs and knockers; latches and locks; and skylights and windows. The various portals cover and extremely wide range of uses. There are beneficial portals like the Gateway of Healing, useful but benign portals like the Alcove of Magic Detection, and clever dungeon-delving gadgets like the Portable Window. Quite a few are useful for protecting important treasures: the Snaplock, which breaks thieves’ tools, for example, or the Latch of the Watch, which summons the local police. Still more can provide information (the Capable Coffin Lid), delay a foe (Knocker of Small Talk), or provide an extra-dimensional hiding or prison space (Drop Box; Slaver’s Hold). There are also a number of surprisingly deadly portals, everything from the Poisonous Portcullis, to the Doorway of Destruction, to the Harmful Handle and Knocker of Death. Some, like the Cursing Skylight, Window of Defenestration, or Killer View, can provide a bit of humor whilst detaining, impeding, or killing those wishing to enter.

All of the various portals are written up as standard-format magic items, with required caster level, creation feat, prerequisites, market price, and weight. Virtually all of them function in the exact same manner as the standard spell used in their creation, which makes them quite easy to drop into the campaign and employ. A file of open content spells is included with Potent Portals to provide any additional spell descriptions that might be required.

Critical Hits
Potent Portals provides a cheap and easy way to add a bit of unique spice to a campaign, particularly if you do quite a bit of castle exploring or dungeon delving. Instead of standard traps or routine treasures, these devices can provide interesting guardians and means of entrance or escape that will keep players guessing. Nothing will intrigue players like a door or other bit of dungeon dressing that doesn’t function quite the way they expect.

Critical Misses
The majority of the items in Potent Portals will find their use as traps, tricks, or encounters in a GM’s adventure. Unfortunately, much of the key information the GM needs to use these items as traps is missing. Though saving throw difficulties for spell effects are provided, the Challenge Ratings for each item are not, nor are appropriate skill difficulties to detect, avoid, or disable these portals given. That additional information would make it much simpler for the GM to decide on an appropriate item to drop into a dungeon, and adjudicate it in game – as it stands GMs will have to rely on some experience and judgment to decide when the Harmful Handle (which delivers a harm spell) is appropriate and how it might be detected and bypassed.

Coup de Grace
Plexus: Potent Portals provides most of its content, minus proper names, illustrations, and some flavor text as Open Content. The use of standard spells means the various portals comply well with the established rules set, though that also makes some of their functions a bit familiar. Though designed primarily as a GM product (that requires a bit more work due to some missing information), players designing their own strongholds might find a number of these items useful as well, and the $5 cost equates to a reasonable gaming value – just over 20 items to the dollar.

To see the graded evaluation of this product and to leave comments that the reviewer will respond to, go to Fast Tracks at www.d20zines.com.

 

[John Crichton]

by Matthew K. Glickman

Please note that this is not a playtest review.


Okay, before we get started what is a Plexus?!

Good question. This is from www.creativemountaingames.com:

A "Plexus" will look at creatures and legends specific to my own World of Revloc Campign Setting. While they were designed to fit into the overall scheme of the Revloc campaign mythos, they are easily adaptable to other settings. Whether using them as actual-case historic records or red herrings to add a mutiple or conflicting accounts to a game, they will undoubtedly add layers to a game that help in a highly desirable player immersion.

Well, there you go.

What's in Potent Portals?

It's full of *takes a deep breath* archways, gates, bars, shutters, coverings, curtains, doors, trapdoors, knobs, knockers, latches, levers, locks, skylights and windows. All of them are basically magic items that are typically stationary or attached to a previously built structure.

I found a robust selection included. My favorites were the Firm and Fu Bars, Awning of Yawning, Unwelcome Mat, Slavers’ Hold, Release of the Hounds and Window of Climate Control.

What's good?

The sheer number of items along with the well written descriptions that accompany them. This is a personal thing but I liked the odd number usage in the item descriptions that I can only assume are native to the campaign world that spawned them. There is a liberal usage of multiples of 5's and 11's (for example 50 or 110 minutes) in effect durations and the like. I do not see this as a bad thing because the times can be easily adjusted to the nearest hour or measurement.

I found the better portion of the items to be unique twists on either spells or basic magical fantasy staples. Either that or the item itself gave statistics to a concept what can serve simply as a time-saver for DMs.

What's bad?

Well, really nothing is bad. There is one notable omission which is that of CR's when using these items as traps or obstacles for PCs to overcome.

How does it look?

It has definite borders which is important for a PDF document for ease of readability. Also helps when printing it out if that is your thing. The artwork is about par and represents the material. Nothing too flashy here. The visuals are not the point of this product and do not add to the text in any way. But you are not paying for pictures here, you paying for the magic items.

Anything to add?

For a book that aspires to read like an expanded part of the magic items section of the Dungeon Masters Guide it does its job well. I found the material to have a very high inspiration factor. Inspiration is very important when reading an RPG product as a DM because of the nature of the game I run and typically play in. The writing style helps this. I would like to have seen some better pictures to accompany a few more of the items but that is a minor gripe.

Give us the bottom line, bub.

At $5, this is a solid buy. It delivers what it advertises with only the one glaring exception and is inspirational in the process. I would recommend this product to anyone looking to add some spice to any dungeon, city or lone structure.

 

[Quickbeam]

Plexus -- Potent Portals is a unique tool for Gamemasters, that provides an easy reference guide for sprucing up any adventure by tweaking the points of entry and egress from various locations. Covered within its pages are magical doors, windows, shutters, locks, knobs, handles, archways and gates. Some of the portals are simple and amusing, while others are rather vicious and cruel in their function. Overall, I found the concept very creative, and an excellent means of adding something a bit unusual to your campaign without much effort.

Product Type:
Potent Portals is a 25 page DM utility pdf, which downloads and prints quite nicely. The layout is well designed, and the Table of Contents breaks down the various items of inclusion thoroughly.

Value:
At $5.00, I don't think you can ask for a better value this side of free. The product's material can be easily integrated into any adventure, and the information provided covers each item's applications and relevant rules material quite well.

Artwork:
If this Potnent Portals has a primary weakness, it's in this area. The number of illustrations is limited, and this quality of these sketches leaves much to be desired. Although the cover art and clear separation bewteen items are nice.

Usefulness of Material:
As a DM who runs several different campaigns, I believe this product has excellent usefulness. Every campign has characters passing through (or beside) a myriad array or portals. By utilizing one of the items described in this product, you will provide a creative encounter in an otherwise run-of-the-mill situation. Any Gamemaster can immediately redirect their group's attention or alleviate routine play by reaching for this product.

The Good and the Bad
I genuinely liked how many of the spells we intimately know were put to creative use herein, as in the case of the Awning of Yawning, Unwelcome Mat and Suspicious Curtains. Perhaps even better, was the inclusion of more offbeat concepts like the Drop Box and Pompous Portal, which are creative and fun in their own right. Some items appear to lack purpose Quaint Glimpse, while others are very limited in use Arch of Imprisonment. Still, if you can get past the occasional naming pun, Potent Portals has lots to offer in a small, easy to reference package.