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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2008833" data-attributes="member: 9860">This is not a playtest review.The Sovereign Stone Campaign Sourcebook is now in its third incarnation. Its original release as its own game system brought heavy criticism and it had to be re-released to include updated information and to correct a plethora of errata. A decision was then made to switch to using the D20 system which has procuced this sourcebook.Price: $29.95Page Count: 224Price per page: About 13 cents per page - pretty good value.Format: HardcoverExternal Artwork: An excellent piece of Elmore artworkdepicting a dark-armoured knight battling a red dragon, inset into a stone-effect surround.Additional Page Use: The back page gives an overview of the campaign world. The first three pages contain contents and credits. The last page is an ad. The OGL takes up an extra two pages.Internal Artwork: The internal black and white artwork is to a very high standard, and is done by a number of other artists including Elmore.Page Layout: Margins and text density are normal, and the chunks of white space tend to be on chapter headings (which take up a whole page) and around artwork (of which there is quite a lot). Text Style: Generally clear and easy to follow, although a little bit simplistic at times in its conceptualisation. Editing is good.Whats Inside:The campaign sourcebook begins with a map of the continent of Loerem where the Sovereign Stone Campaign Setting is based. The map shows the major political boundaries and general geographic features, plus capitals, cities, and known portals. Each chapter begins with some flavour text. In Chapter One (8 pages), we are given an introduction to the campaign setting which could be used to give players an overview before running a game. The focal point of the campaign is that the nations of Loerem are about to be unpleasantly surprised by an invasion from a reptilian-like race called the Taan led by Dagnarus, Lord of the Void, who also commands undead knights. Dagnarus, believed to have been killed 200 years ago, has returned for vengeance on Loerem. An overview of the nations of Loerem is given, followed by brief information on the magical portals of Loerem, the gods, and the history of the artifact The Sovereign Stone (which may be the key to the imminent invasion). Chapter Two (17 pages) discusses the races of Loerem, of which there are eleven (including six human subraces which are effectively treated as separate races):Dunkargan - Racially prejudiced human subrace with an ancient Persian look about them.Karnuan - Militaristic irreligious slave traders, enemies of the Dunkargans, though with similar looks.Nimran - Friendly, matriarchal trading people - the art shows them to have the looks and trappings of 19th century Africa.Nimorean - North African in looks, these cousins of the Nimrans have strong connections to the elves of Loerem.Trevinici - Celtic in both manner and looks, they are barbarians with little use for magic.Vinnengaelean - Depicted as mediaeval Europeans, Vinnengaeleans are the standard race in Loerem (i.e. the only one with no ability adjustments).Pecwae - This pacifistic halfling-equivalent race live with the Trevinici, they dress Amerindian-style and have elf-like ears.Elves - Japanese-style race who tattoo their faces, with flowery speech and an over-developed sense of duty and honour.Clan Dwarves - think Mongols (well, short Mongols on ponies) who believe they are descended from wolves and that they shall reclaim all of Loerem as their own one day.Unhorsed Dwarves - dwarves who have been cast out of their clan, and now live amongst the other races of Loerem in standard dwarf style.Orks - Sea-based race with nautical and mechanical skills, as well as a strong superstitious belief in omens.The chapter also deals with languages of Loerem and character age.Chapter Three (23 pages) deals with the classes of Loerem. In addition to the three classes allowable from the Players Handbook (Barbarian, Fighter, Rogue), eight new classes are introduced: Archer, Elemental Mage, Mounted Warrior, Noble, Sailor, Soldier, Stalker, and Void Mage (destructive magic). Standard information is given for each class, including some reprinted material for the three allowable classes from the PHB.Chapter Four (7 pages) deals with Skills & Feats. Each of the classes are given their respective skill points and gives some skills that are class skills dependent on race irrelevant of which class is taken. New skills are Literacy (here separated from the Speak Language skill), Sign Language, and Spellcraft (re-hashed for the new magic system). There follows a brief discussion of the effects of metamagic feats on the new spell system and there is a more detailed explanation of individual effects in a new version of each metamagic feat, suited to the new magic system. New feats include: Cooperative Spellcasting, Dead Shot (hit targets behind cover more easily) and Subduing Strike (allows lethal weapons to be used for subdual at half normal penalty).Chapter Five (17 pages) details Money & Equipment in Loerem. Tables for starting money for the new classes, price and availability of goods, services and equipment, and spellcasting penalties due to armour are given here. The chapter is broken down usefully into 'Shops' (e.g. 'The Stables' has information and pricing on mounts and related gear).Chapter Six (19 pages) details the new Magic system, a d20 translation of the original Sovereign Stone magic system. Magic is drawn from one of the four elements (air, fire, water, earth) or a mixture of two elements. In addition, a fifth element, Void, is introduced, which deals with destruction, necromancy, and shadow. In order to cast a spell (and a mage can cast any spell in his repertoire as many times as he likes, as long as he is still conscious) the mage must reach the Casting Threshold for the spell, a set number at which the spell comes into effect. Each round, the player rolls 1d20 and adds the character's spellcasting modfier (spellcasting bonus plus any special modifiers). The player keeps rolling each round, adding his score from the previous round(s) until the total equals or exceeds the Casting Threshold of the spell. If the player rolls a 1 at any time, he 'botches' and (unless a Concentration check is made) loses the spell. Every time a spell is cast, the mage must make a Fortitude check each round, suffering 1d4 points of subdual damage if failed. The DC of the save depends on the mage's race and whether they are using an element which they are powerful or weak in using. Using the Void to cast spells creates a different set of rules, where damage from failed Fortitude saves is normal damage, and the mage becomes 'tainted by void' - the mage takes one hit point damage, and becomes weak in the casting of all other elements until they heal all their hit points back to full. Void mages can also sacrifice hit points to fuel spells. Various circumstantial modifiers are also given, and a discussion of how some of the standard descriptions of spells are altered for use with the new system. There is a discussion of the relationship of the five major races with magic, and of how spells are learnt and taught. Finally, the new system has three different levels of spell familiarity: Intimate Knowledge (spells cast direct from memory), Quick Reference (spell needs to be studied from spellbook for a round before casting) and Full Reference (spell needs to be studied from spellbook before casting, number of rounds required depends on power of spell). A few notes on spellbooks are also given.Chapter Seven (43 pages) contains the spells for the new magic system, and there is also a table listing the element(s) each spell falls under. It includes such spells as Strength Of Stone, Purify Water, Air Becomes Fist, Fire Scry, and Zombie Servants.Chapter Eight (19 pages) deals with Adventuring in Loerem. The various nations are briefly dealt with, outlining politics, culture, and geography, as well as important cities. Current affairs in Loerem are also outlined, including the imminent invasion of Dagnarus and the Taan. The chapter ends with some tips for GMs to develop their own adventures and campaigns in the world of Loerem.Chapter Nine (29 pages) introduces creatures unique to Loerem. Each creature is given a page to itself, and contains a picture of the creature along with description and stats in standard format. Creatures include standards such as Hobgoblins, Giants and Ogres (each with its own Loeremic twist), but there are plenty of new creatures such as the Blueroot (a huge worm with a poison gas attack that hides beneath marshy pools for victims), and the Skig (an undead created by a failed Void experiment, with the ability to reform after destruction). Also, two creatures - the Bahk (a magic-hungry giant) and the elemental dragons of Loerem are given slightly longer consideration.Chapter Ten (9 pages) details Champions of Good & Evil - the Dominion Lords (good knights who embody an ideal sacred to a god), and the Forces of Dagnarus, including the vampire-like Vrykyl (transformed in death by Dagnarus' unholy Dagger of the Vrykyl) and the Taan, Dagnarus' elite forces, as well as rumoured half-Taan (the result of Taan and human interbreeding).The sourcebook ends with an introductory adventure called Flesh & Bone, where the PCs must intervene in an escalating disagreement between a farming village and a hemit mage who studies Void magic in the lands close by. The PCs will encounter undead raised by the Void mage and possibly discover a magical portal in the lair of the hermit.At the back is a character sheet for the setting.The High Points: Firstly, commendations to Sovereign Press for using both sides of the OGC guidelines - both its own level of OGC and the use of other publishers OGC in the text. They designated nearly the entirety of chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 as open content (with a few minor exceptions). Having bought both previous editions of Sovereign Stone, I have to say that I think this d20 version is an improvement in terms of completeness and presentation over previous versions. The concept of the Sovereign Stone setting, whilst not immensely original, is well thought out, has potential for development and with the names and other marketing strategies behind it (e.g. the novel line) should reach a fairly wide audience. The forces of Dagnarus and the Dominion Lords present opportunities for epic storylines in a similar way to Dragonlance, although the presentation seems geared towards a slighly more mature audience.The Low Points: The main problems with this sourcebook for me was the balance of the game rules. As first stated, this is not a playtest review, but the following issues caused me some concern when assessing the rules:* Ability adjustments are not balanced for most races (as per the DMG p.24).* Humans are given ability adjustments whilst still retaining human racial features such as extra skill points. In addition, some humans gain additional access to skills normally considered cross-class.* Several classes are introduced that have a narrow focus, and will be weak in all other situations comparative to standard classes such as fighter, barbarian and rogue. These classes could sometimes have been recreated by choosing certain skills and feats as one of the standard classes.* Magic takes a long time to cast comparative to the standard D&D magic system. If the standard D&D system is balanced, then extending casting times will unbalance magic-using classes. It could be argued that the slow and risky casting of magic adds flavour - this might be true if the spells presented were achieving something vastly different to the effects of standard D&D magic, but the spell effects are mainly similar.In addition, some of the creatures, races and classes are shallow in concept and held little appeal (though some of them were inspiring and well conceptualised).  Conclusion: Despite the seeming flaws with several important aspects of the rules system, I am still keen to give Sovereign Stone a try, which speaks of its innate appeal (this has much to do with its strong central concepts and epic feel). There are certain aspects that could be removed for use in a generic campaign but there are better things on the market if thats your aim, and I don't feel the magic system is balanced enough to make it worth the $30 to buy the book for this alone. Its firstly a campiagn setting and thats where its virtues lie - whether it can be made to work with its seemingly unbalanced rules, I have my doubts.</blockquote>

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