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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JustaPlayer" data-source="post: 2008771" data-attributes="member: 17202">Sovereign Stone Campaign SourcebookFrom the mind of Larry Elmore comes a world of magic and epic battles. This is the world Margaret Wies and Tracy Hickman made famous. The third edition of the Sovereign Stone RPG happens to be done in the new D20 system.A First Look Sovereign Stone is a 223-page hardbound. The cover depicts a color picture dragon battling a dark night (most likely a Vrykyl) set behind what appears to be some kind of stone arch with statues for columns. The interior is black and white, and the artwork ranges from good to excellent.The text density is what you would expect from most non-Wizards publishers. The header, footer, and margins are not too large, with the chapter name in the footer. At a cost of $29.95, it’s again what you might expect for a product of 223 pages.A Deeper LookSovereign Stone Campaign Sourcebook is organized into 11 chapters.Chapter 1: IntroductionThis chapter gives a brief overview of the peoples and races or the campaign world of Loerem. Also contained is a passage about the Gods and what the Sovereign Stone is.Chapter 2: Races in LoeremThere are five main races described in this book.Elves: These are like elves in most campaigns with the exception that they live in cities of very large populations.Orka: This is a race of large humanoids that believe they are the first race on Loerem. They are a seafaring race that traces their ancestry back to sea monsters know as “orca.” They are also think mechanical tinkers of Loerem. With very little land of their own, they claim the seas as their homelands.Pecwae: A race of short humanoids that average four-and-a-half feet tall. They are mostly pacifistic, believed due to their diminutive size. This race seems to have filled the spot of halflings.Dwarves: Mostly a race of short, hardy horse riders who group together in clans. They believe the whole world belongs to them and don’t adhere to boundaries drawn by other races. They often raid and steal what they want from others. They live their lives on horseback and if for some reason you can’t ride a horse, you are left behind, never to be part of the clan again. These unhorsed dwarves often come together and make dwellings of their own, in order to trade with other races.Human: Humans are the most significant race on Loerem. They are divided up into six different regions. Attributes are assigned to the character based on which region you hale from.Chapter 3: Classes in LoeremThis chapter describes 11 different classes. Among them are the Fighter, Barbarian, and Rogue. These classes have been reprinted from the Players Handbook. In the chapter they state that this is done to show differences from the normal classes in those books. I myself believe this could have been done in short paragraphs instead of IMO wasting about six pages when there are not many differences.Sailor: This class was taken from The Dragon Lords of Melnibone as open game content, and changed slightly to fit the setting of the Sovereign Stone.   As you can gather from the name, this class is designed for seafaring characters. Sailors seem to be a cross between fighters and rogues.Archer: This class uses a bow with precise accuracy. The higher they advance in this class the better the proficiency with a bow. I think this class is a bit under balanced.Mounted Warrior: This class fights exceptionally well from horseback. While this class seems like a great addition at first, I have to take into account, how often is my character going to be fighting from a horse. When not on a horse it seems like a fighter, except without the feats. If I wanted to make my character a mounted warrior, I could have selected a fighter and chose feats to better fight from a horse. No need IMO to make an entire class on this concept.Noble: As you would guess with the name, you are of wealthy blood. This is one of the weakest classes in the book. You get a D8 for your hit points. As you gain in levels, you get the leadership feat, and then you add plusses to that feat as you advance. (Total of +3) Also, at certain levels you get some extra funds. WOO WEE!Soldier: This class is a fighter who is use to being a unit. They are use to close order fighting. As they gain in levels, they also gain a plus to initiative. They get an array of class features like Lightning reaction at 14th level: this gives him the ability to make two attacks of opportunity on an opponent in a round. At 18th level there is Killing Strike: once per combat as a full action a soldier can make a killing strike. The target must make a fort check against save DC equal to the soldiers attack roll. Failure means the soldier made a crit hit. There are other nifty features in this class as well. This is my favorite class in the introduced book, but I don’t know if I would play it.Stalker: This is a class of bounty hunters, trackers, and pathfinders. They gain the track feat at first level. They gain some disarm benefits as they advance, and also some sneak attack abilities.Elemental Mage: There are four classes of elemental mages. (fire, water, earth, air) Each of these classes are able to cast spells that are of the certain element. If you want to cast more than one element, you must multiclass into the second element. Also there are spells that combine two elements. The character must have a level in each of the elements to cast spells of that type. As you gain levels in a mage class, you get a spellcasting bonus of +1/level use to increase the speed at which you can cast your spells. Each race has an element that they are more suited to. I will describe this later.Void Mage: The void mages are adept at casting spells from the shadow and necromancy schools. The most notable features of this class include the ability to use hit points to make spells take effect quicker. Also, the only ways a void mage can heal wounds is either naturally, or by draining the life force for another. Spells of healing won’t affect the void mage due to the taint that affects them. Also, if you choose this class, you become less suited to the other classes.I personally think that they mage classes become to under balanced as you gain in levels. I will explain this later after I go through the chapter on magic. Chapter 4: Skills & FeatsThis is a short chapter mainly used to adapt metamagic feats to the new system of spellcasting. Other than that, there are a couple new feats to deal with archers and soldiers. Over all, I see nothing new and inspiring in this section.Chapter 5: Money & EquipmentThis chapter basically reprints equipment from the Players Handbook and sets it to the monetary unit of Loerem.Chapter 6: MagicNow we get to the real reason I picked up this book, a new system for casting magic. There are four elements of magic, five if you count void. Each race of Loerem is advantaged in a certain element. Consequently they are disadvantage in the element opposite of their advantaged element.Earth magic deals with healing, protection, and construction. The races that are advantaged in this element are the humans, and Pecwae. Air magic deals with charm, mentalism, travel, and illusion. Elves are advantaged in air magic.Fire magic deals with divination (past) and conversion. This is the magic Dwarves are advantaged in.Water magic deals with divination (present) and communication. Orka are advantaged in water magic.Void magic deals with destruction, shadow and necromancy. All races can be advantaged in void, but once they use it, they are considered tainted and therefore disadvantaged in the other elements.From combining two elements you gain the ability to cast more kinds of magic.Air/Water is weather magic. Earth/Water is plant magic. Air/Fire is electrical magic. Earth/Fire is animal magic.Now we get into casting spells. There is no limit to the number of spells a character can cast per day. Each spell in the book is given a Casting Threshold or CT. Each time a mage chooses to cast a spell he has to make a spellcasting roll that is equal to 1D20 + spellcasting bonus (from mage level) + any other special modifiers (such as pure elements used for components, or quicken spell). The mage continues to roll each round adding his spellcasting rolls together until he meets the CT of the spell, at which time the spell goes into effect. If casting dual-element spells, your spellcasting bonus is equal to the bonus received from your lowest spellcasting class. Example: 10th level fire mage/3rd level air mage is casting a spell from the Air/Fire combination, he only receives a +3 spellcasting bonus when casting the spell. A void mage may choose to sacrifice hp to complete the spell in that round. The void mage must have enough hp to complete the spell when he chooses to do this. If at any time during the casting the mage rolls a one, it is considered a botch. If the mage is advantaged or neutral the mage can attempt a concentration check. DC for this check is based of weather the mage is advantaged or neutral to the element of the spell. On a success the mage can continue casting the spell as normal. Failing means the mage must cast the spell again. A botch or a roll of a 1 in a spell the caster is disadvantaged in means the spell fails. In addition, once the caster has rolled of one, weather he regains control or not, he must make a fortitude check. The DC for this depends on if the character is advantaged (DC8 + round number), neutral (DC10 + round number), or disadvantaged (DC12 + round number) in the spell in question.   Failure of the roll means the caster takes 1d4 points of subdual damage. In the case of the void mage, this is actual damage.For some reason most of the rules stated above are printed three times in this book, once of the elemental mages, for the void mages, and in this chapter. I find it to be a little waste of space.Also the mage can know a certain number of spells as intimate, quick reference, or full reference. Intimate knowledge spells, a character can cast at any time he wishes. The number of spells the caster can know intimately depends on the level of the caster and the intelligence modifier. To get this number you take a set CT number you can know and add (intelligence modifier x 10). For example: The total CT a 4th level player with intelligence of 17 may know intimately is 40 + (3x10) or 70. He can choose any number of spells from that element he wishes as long as the total CT of the spells is 70 or less.Quick reference spells are spells must study for one round before casting, at which point he doesn’t need to study again for one hour and can cast as many times as he wishes in that time. The number of quick reference spells a mage may have again is based on the same CT system as above.Full reference spell have to be studied for a number of rounds equal to the CT of the spell divided by 25. A mage may have an unlimited number of full reference spells.There are a number of reasons that this system does not work IMO. There are no minimums in intelligence to cast any spells. 1) When casting a spell, you only receive attacks of opportunity against in the first round. I don’t know why this is when you aren’t doing anything in the other rounds except casting. 2) The only reason intelligence even comes up for mages is for what they know as intimate knowledge and quick reference. This to me means that any character can cast any spell. I see that as a major drawback. 3) I see no reason why ever player wouldn’t take at least one level in earth mage. The reason for this is that this is where healing spells come from. The spell gentle touch is a spell that heals 1d4 hp and has a CT of 12. This is can easily make in one round. If learned as intimate knowledge, a play may use this each round indefinitely. And for a slightly higher CT of 17 you can choose healer’s touch and heal 2d6 hp. Can you say no more need for healing potions? 4) As a player advances in an elemental class, the reasons to stay in that class become less. The only things gained as you advance in level are the spells known as intimate or quick reference and the spellcasting bonus. This does not compensate for the high CTs of certain spells. For example, a fire mage of 15th level is casting fireball, which has a CT of 66 and does 4d10 points of damage. At 15th level the character take an average of 3 rounds to cast this. 1d20 +15(spellcasting bonus) = 26 on an average round. Now the same spell, with the same CT and same damage. 1d20 +20(spellcasting bonus) = 31 average per round. The spell still takes 3 rounds to activate. In the mean time a fighter of equal level cut you to shreds.Chapter 7: Spell ListThere is nothing really new here. The spells have been made to conform to the new spellcasting system stated above.Chapter 8: Adventuring in LoeremThis chapter covers the various regions of Loerem. Tells about the political systems, and certain cities. There is nothing real inspiring here IMO.Chapter 9: Creatures of LoeremFor the most part I find these creatures uninspired with the exception of one. Some of the others are just pulled out of the Monster Manual with a few changes. The one that grab me are as follows:Bahk: These are huge bipedal creatures with shelled backs. They love everything magic, it’s like candy to them. They can feel it in the air when they are near and are drawn to it and must poses the magic item. Their homes are littered with magic items they have gained. They absolutely hate dragons and will attack them on sight, often choking them or breaking their necks.One thing that gets to me in this chapter is that the creatures don’t have an alignment. In fact Sovereign Stone doesn’t use alignment anywhere. Maybe this has something to do with play of the game, but I can’t figure out why they would not want to put them in. I think it can only be used to by the DM as a tool to judge whether a group should be fighting a certain creature or not, or to give a general guide as to the attitude of the creature.Chapter 10: Champions of Good and EvilThis chapter describes the Dominion Lords, good NPCs changed by the sovereign stone into a paladin like character. Then there is the Vrykyl, evil undead NPCs that have been given special abilities to fight the Dominion Lords.Once again, there are no alignment lists in the descriptions of the individuals list from each of the groups. Another thing that I thought should be done was that templates should have been made for each the Dominion Lords and Vrykyl.Note:  The entries for some of the above "creatues" have CRs set lower than the actual class levels of the NPS.  Now add on the fact that they have special abilities, and you can easily tell that the CRs are off by at least 3 or 4.Also in this chapter, there is a brief description of the Taan. Taan are a race of reptilian creatures that remind me of a certain race from Dragon Lance. The one thing that makes these creatures stand out; however, is that they are only advantaged in void magic and don’t use their essence to power this magic, but crystals imbedded in their skin.Chapter 11: Flesh & BoneThis is a short introductory adventure.ConclusionThe main reason I bought this book was to take a look at the new system for magic that other people were talking about. That being broken as I described above, there is not much of real value in this book, mainly reprinted classes and feats that have been modified to go with this broken magic system. I tend not to grade my books too much on art. That said, the only saving grace in this book was the Bahk, Dominion Lords, Vrykyl, and Taan. I may include each of these in my current campaign. But that to me doesn’t make this book worth picking up. It’s awful little usable information for 29.95.   Thus, this book gets a score of 2. If the magic system I described sounds good to you, then by all means pick it up. If not, don’t waste your money as you will find very little of use as I did.</blockquote>

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