Spells & Magic

[Ghostwind]

Magic is a powerful force in most fantasy worlds, and many are the paths open to those who seek magical power. From the arcane to the divine, Spells & Magic provides information for both players and DMs and is easily useable in any d20 campaign world.

This is more than just a book of spells and magical items. New prestige classes focusing on new thoughts of magic also fill the book. And like all Bastion Press products, it is designed to be used with any d20 campaign world.

 

[GameWyrd]

I purchased the softback 96 paged Spells & Magic at the same time as I bought a hardback campaign world of some 250 paged. Spells & Magic was the more expensive – and not by a small margin either. Spells & Magic lives up to its name and offers a collection of new spells, magic items and magical prestige classes. The internet oozes with these three offerings. I could ask any RPG newgroup or forum board for suggestions on new spells, items and mage prestige classes and expect to be snowed under.

I would dearly love to slam this book and write it up as a complete and utter waste of money.

I can't. Spells & Magic comes out fighting. It doesn't fight dirty; it fights neatly, cleanly and professionally. Therein lies the strength of the book.

Spells & Magic is 96 pages of full colour and high density content. "High density content" in the non-RPG corrupted form of English means a small font size. Well, actually, it means a small font size without reams and reams of atmospheric text describing unfortunate adventurers, monsters and villains and not describing any new spells, items or magical prestige classes. Spells & Magic is one of those rare RPG supplements that you could wave under the nose of a non-gamer and safely claim that it's a hi-tech and sophisticated hobby.

The artwork is great, you'd expect that in a full colour book but Bastion Press has not sat back to rest on the laurels of success that you might expect would arrive with the likes of Minions and has continued to polish and perfect the eye candy. Having said that Spells and Magic is without much in the way of atmospheric text it does offer up entire pages of illustration. A quick bit of easy mental arithmetic lets me know that each of those A4 colour illustrations cost me slightly over 17p (that's ~24c in US pocket change). I suspect some artists might through up their hands in disgust at such figures.

Spells & Magic is a tight conglomerate of magically orientated enhancements for high fantasy games. The new prestige classes follow a simple but effective trick of running through a series of interesting magical foci for each prestige class. Chapter one, though, runs through the ever-present list of new feats.

The Blood Mage is a ten level prestige class. This class could have been presented as a nice way to twist vanilla spell casting rules for those GMs who wish to run a low fantasy or dangerous magic element in their campaigns. Instead though, the requirements are fairly high and the blood focus enhances already powerful spells. I suppose it offers a different approach to the low fantasy genre in that it presents some possible but dangerous short cuts to more refined magic in high fantasy games.

The chapter on dragon magic and the various dragon mages must be a highlight of the book. First of all it presents a nice and game mechanic supported reason why dragons collect treasure troves. The dragon mages, and there are different flavours of them, are nearly as nice. "Dragon" is a buzzword. There will be players and GMs the world over who'll fork out the cost of Spells & Magic just to get their mitts on a rules system which presents a nice way for their players (or favourite NPCs) to be dragony.

Faery Magic, as the law requires, remembers to pay attention to the Seelie and Unseelie aspects of the fae. Unlike the previous two chapters of prestige classes, though, the Faerier only has five levels of advancement.

Mirror magic should be a cliche by now – but it isn't. I think players all around the globe are naturally hesitant to throw their lot in with a power source that is so prone to shattering or being obscured by a simple Darkness spell. Bastion Press sallies forth with a heroic attempt to make mirrors more adventuring friendly – you'll even find mithral and adamantine classes in the mirror durability table. The mirror mage, aka the comically titled Reflecting Master, even manages to claw up to ten levels of prestige. As a GM I love the mirror magic section. As a player it's not for me.

An altogether more robust foci, if more expensive one, would be magical jewels or at least mages able to harness the innate connections between magic and otherwise run of the mill jewels. There are nine pages for the Path of the Jewel and that's an absolute mass considering that there are 12 chapters squeezed into the 96 pages. The Jewel Mage earns himself a total of ten prestige levels whereas the appealing Soul Gem Guardian manages only 5. I'm glad that Bastion Press didn't simply use the age old trick of having jewels and gems as power sources for more spells but included the association of binding and bonding creatures to gems; as a gem binds the light or, I suppose, you might encounter a genie bound to a particular gem in a fairy tale.

Rune magic is given even more pages in the tightly packed book: 14 in total. The extra print is given over to a satisfyingly long list of specific runes, each one listing the spells available through levels 0 to 9. At a glance you might think the rune casters are presented as a new core character class; you'll find up to 15 levels of advancement for the class and 20 levels for "Rune Magic Spells per Day". However, rune casters are a prestige class but with fairly mild requirements.

I'm nothing of a rules munchkin and so it's not quite clear to me if it's possible to be Shadetouched, on the Path of Shades or otherwise "all shadowy" without actually qualifying and being in the Shadetouched prestige class. The introductory page wonderfully includes mentions of unlucky children born just too close to an ancient death god's shrine and then waking up one night to find the family's dead pet sitting beside her bed but then, as if the way of prestige classes, you must have (among others) 10 ranks of Plane Knowledge in order to qualify as a Shadow Seer. That seems to rule out the poor old kid and the pet skeleton dog. In either case, pushing rule queries aside, the magic focus is a nice one although not terribly original, it's as professionally and as slickly presented in Spells & Magic as you'll have come to expect by this point.

There's spellsinging and it's wonderful for bards, as ever, but it's one of the shortest chapters of the magical prestige classes.

I liked the totem magic chapter and it's this chapter that finishes off the list of foci inspired prestige classes. Shaman or werewolf fans will be pleased to see that there are actual totems included as well as a list of associated powers.

If you're wondering whether you could write an entire encyclopaedia on any of these individual prestige classes or where the chaos or wild mage went then you might be interested to know that Sam Witt is the first author mentioned in Spells & Magic.

Having previously claimed that new spells are ten a penny on the internet I can still admit to be grudgingly impressed that they managed to squeeze 124 spells into those pages remaining after all those prestige classes. Unlike half the spells you'll end up with if you follow my suggestion and ask any old newsgroup or forum for user suggest spells, the spells contained in this book are all rather good. As ever, there are some weak links but there are some real beauties as ever. Kindly, the spells are introduced in nice class specific lists so you want a quick way to list new Ranger spells then just eye the Ranger table.

The last nine pages of this busy book are given over to magic items. As with the spells Bastion Press manages to squeeze an impressive number of new items into the page space available.

I might be ready to savage any book which attempts to swindle me out of my hard earned coin by offering nothing more than pretty pictures and common-and-garden character enhancements but I can't do it to this book. Spells & Magic is not common-and-garden. If you like slick and glossy products then you'll be used to paying the extra money and you'll not blink an eyelid at the price, otherwise you'll need to weigh up whether you want to introduce any one of these specific character classes into your game. If you do fancy one of the new prestige classes then the mass of spells and items are a bonus, if you don't like any of the prestige classes then no amount of new magical spells, items or feats can warrant the cost of the book (or, indeed, a book at half the price). The careful player might want to flick through the book in his local hobby store before buying it (and they'll probably end up being seduced and buying it) but the careful hobby store owner might insist that any player intent on flicking through Spells & Magic puts on some protective plastic gloves first.

This GameWyrd review can be found here.

 

[JoeCrow]

Well, I can answer your question about the Shadetouched bit, coz I wrote it. Yes, you can take Shadetouched feats without taking the Shadeseer prestige class. P'raps I should have differentiated between the names a bit more...

The feats are a chain, starting with Shadesight, which gives you access to both Shadehand and Shadetongue. Shadetongue is the prereq for Shadecall, and Shadehand is the prereq for Craft Necromantic Focus (along with Craft Wondrous Item).

Yes, the bit with the kid waking up to an undead family pet is a *bit* of a stretch, since she'd need three feats to do it, but the line sounded so good I stuck it in. My apologies. There was a bit I couldn't get to come together dealing with early emergence of power allowing temporary access to higher levels of power, y'know, for dramatic purposes, but it didn't work out.

The Shadeseer prestige class is a method to focus on developing the Shadetouched feats, empowering them beyond the abilities of those who simply take the feats while developing other classes.

Hope that cleared some stuff up. I'm glad you liked the book. I also wrote the Path of Jewels chapter, so if you had any questions about that part I can probably answer them too.

 

[Simon Collins]

This is not a playtest review.

Spells & Magic is one of a series of rules-orientated accessories by Bastion Press. This one offers some optional spellcasting methods, and new spells and items in Bastion's usual world-neutral format.

Spells & Magic comes in at Bastion's standard pricing of $24.95 for 96 pages in full colour. Bastion continue to improve the quality of their artwork, making the extra cost of full colour worthwhile in this accessory. The text density and general space usage is excellent with plenty of information squashed between the pages. As usual with Bastion's releases, the rules-orientated nature of the subject matter works well with the writing style of the author - no more than average when covering non-rules issues. Editing is good.

Chapter 1: Feats & Skills (3 pages), offers a range of feats related to the magic systems/prestige classes discussed later in the accessory, and the use of the Alchemy skill to disguise the worth of gems.

The next nine chapters each focus on a prestige class which has an alternative means of spellcasting as its basis:

Chapter 2: Blood Magic (2 pages), discusses a method of magic that involves sacrificing the spellcaster's own blood (in the form of hit points) in order to power spells. Those who gain power through the sacrifice of the blood of others is also discussed. Blood magic comes in the form of a feat from Chapter 1, whilst the Blood Mage prestige class which takes up the whole of this short chapter takes the concept even further by sacrificing blood to power abilities, create magical items, increase saving throw modifiers, and even sacrifice permanent hit points to gain extra spell slots. Definite potential for villains here and could make an interesting variant game world if all magic required blood sacrifice. I would have liked to see this concept developed a bit more.

Chapter 3: Dragon Magic (9 pages), introduces a way of powering magic through the collection of a trove of mundane and magical treasures. Though originally a magic used by dragons, worshippers of dragons and those who have learned the secret of dragon magic in other ways, can use the powers that siphon magic from items in their trove, attune with their items so they can use their powers remotely, improve damage reduction and gain dragon-like attacks. The Dragon Mage prestige class is split into four types - breath, scale, talon, and wings. Each type gains only some of the above advantages. Lots of interesting concepts here, although may be a bit unwieldy in real game use.

Chapter 4: Faery Magic (2 pages), offers the Faerier prestige class, a 5 level class that benefits from fey powers, with alternative options for non-good and non-evil aligned characters. It also refers to the creation of fey crossroads and backroads, though I could not find an explanation of these terms within the book. This was the worst chapter in the book, and would have been better off left out.

Chapter 5: Mirror Magic (9 pages), which details mirror construction, specifically magical mirrors that can store, reflect or absorb spells. The Reflecting Master prestige class uses his magical mirrors as the focus to his magic, finally becoming completely dependent on them for spellcasting. I found this chapter boring and overly restrictive. Might make the basis of an unusual NPC villain in a once-off adventure.

Chapter 6: Jewel Magic (8 pages), details the Jewel Mage prestige class, with information on how the jewel mage attunes gems to replace one or more spell component types (vocal, somatic, or material), store spells, or bind a soul (including their own as a means to immortality). The chapter also covers the 5-level Soul Gem Guardian prestige class, who bonds with a gem containing the soul of an immortalised Jewel Mage by fusing the gem into his forehead. A template for crystalline creatures is also given, creatures magically changed into crystalline form and usually in service to a jewel mage. There is some useful information on integrating jewel magic into your campaign, in a limited or significant way. There is also a table giving detailed descriptions of gems, altering gem values and ideas for creating jewelled items. This chapter is a bit of a diamond in the rough, if you'll excuse the pun.

Chapter 7: Rune Magic (12 pages), captures the Norse/Saxon concept of runes very well. Rune magic uses magical written symbols to harness and direct magic. Each of the 24 runes work effectively as a domain. Runecasters can attune to up to 4 runes at a time giving them access to the equivalent of a domain power for each rune plus the 'domain' spells up to the caster's level. Runes can also be used to store spells on magic items (e.g. runestaves) and enhancing the power of spells gained from 'normal' spellcasting classes. A Rune Mage prestige class is offered who can perform divinations using runes and tattoo runes on their body to increase the number of rune 'domains' he can access - all this in addition to the powers mentioned above. Each of the twenty four runes are described with their special powers, available spells, associated skill bonus and some roleplaying notes - when Runecasters attune to their runes, their personality is changed by the attunement. Runes can be attuned on the fly (using a full round action) so their personalities can change pretty quickly - a demanding roleplaying task, but sounds fun. The chapter finishes with some advice on running a rune magic-only world, such as that of the Norse/Vikings. The only odd thing about this chapter was the use of a 15-level prestige class. This was such an interesting concept, and kept fairly true to the historical/spiritual background of the runes, that I would have liked to see this as a full-blown class, especially given the suggestion of using a rune magic-only campaign.

Chapter 8: The Path Of Shades (4 pages), gives two alternative options for those spellcasters that have an innate link to the energies released by death. Those who follow The Gray Road absorb their energy from corpses, using the power to augment feats described in Chapter 1, make energy drain attacks, and acquiring undead servitors. Those who follow the Red Road gain the same powers from the moment of death, often killing sentient creatures to gain the power (dire consequences await the purveyors of this type of evil). The use of necromantic focuses such as bones and skulls that release death energies may be carried and used by these characters. A good chapter, particularly for villain NPC ideas.

Chapter 9: Spellsinging (2 pages), describes the Spellsinger prestige class, who gains a number of music-related bard-like class features, such as Pierce Silence, Greater Countersong, and Spell Shout, requiring music rather than arcane words and gestures to power them. Not a patch on Monte Cook's bard in Eldritch Might II.

Chapter 10: Totem Magic (3 pages), describes spellcasters who have attuned to a totem creature, allowing them to shapechange into that creature, gain a limited number of spells, and adding additional powers to their repertoire. Several totemic animals with their powers are given. Green Ronin and Mongoose have already been down this path with their Shaman books, and gave the space and focus this concept deserves.

Chapter 11: Spells, offers over 120 new spells for all classes. Examples include the gruesome Bloodfire, a spell which changes the spraying blood of the caster to flame (or another type of damage such as cold or electricity), The Golden Bough (which allows characters to fight an avatar of Death to recover a lost soul), and Teleporter Trace (which allows someone to follow another who has recently teleported, to their destination). On the whole, the spells are good, though a few are a bit boring and a couple weak in concept. Most of the spells enhance the prestige classes and concepts offered within the accessory.

Chapter 12: Magic Items, first discusses the creation of powerful potions, offsetting their possibly unbalancing effects with some rather nasty drawbacks (such as addiction, insanity and permanency). Various examples of these powerful potions are given (such as potion of absolute invisibility) before giving various magical items under the headings of rings, rods, staffs, and wondrous items. At the end are a couple of magic weapon and armour qualities related to the preceding prestige classes.

Conclusion:
There is a real mixed bag here. On the whole, where the prestige class/spellcasting method has been dealt with in detail, it works quite well and provides some great ideas. The shorter chapters are missing depth, focus and originality. Having said that, I liked the Blood Magic chapter and didn't care much for the Mirror Magic chapter. There are concepts here to enhance most GM's campaigns, although few will use more than one or two at the most. On this level it is similar to FFG's Spells & Spellcraft. However, where FFG concentrate more on the magic, Bastion focus in on a prestige class as the basis of the new spellcasting methods. This has its advantages and disadvantages - it is more effective when some space is given to the concept, whilst it mostly falls flat when the space issue leads to more focus on the prestige class than the magic.

 

[Messageboard Golem]

This review is for Spells and Magic from Bastion Press. Spells and Magic is a 96-page full color supplement to the d20 system that retails for $24.95. It is a book that goes into variant types of magic that can be dropped into any campaign setting and has material for both players and GMs.
After a brief section on new feats and skills, the book jumps right into the meaty stuff. Blood Magic and the blood mage prestige class is the first major section. Blood mages use their blood and the blood of others to power spells. While some players may want this class, I see it getting more use as a NPC class than anything.
Dragon magic is next in line and this is one of the cooler aspects of Spells and Magic. The concept behind dragon magic is that the coveting of treasure generates its own form of power and dragon mages may tap into it in order to cast spells. The dragon mage prestige class allows characters to make use of dragon magic and gain certain dragon-like abilities over time. Personally, I like this a whole lot better than the Dragon Disciple prestige class developed by Wizards of the Coast.
Chapter four addresses faery magic and the fey. The Faerier prestige class is for someone who continually studies fey creatures. While only a five level prestige class, a character gains access to either Seelie or Unseelie Arts. It’s a nice approach for introducing fey elements into your campaign.
Mirror magic is also an interesting chapter although the design pretty much limits the Reflecting Master prestige class to NPCs only. After all, it is rather difficult to haul around mirrors when adventuring. I wish I had this available to me when I wrote Where Dark Elves Rule.
Jewel mages use alchemy to attune gems to various magical properties allowing them to enhance and/or alter spells, absorb magical energy, and even bind the souls of living creatures. Different types of gems exhibit different types of powers in the hands of a jewel mage. Another prestige class that uses jewel magic is the Soul Gem Guardian. Soul gem guardians are the sworn protectors of jewel mages who have died but their souls remain inside a soul gem. While only a five level prestige class, the abilities granted make the character quite formidable.
Rune magic represents a way to bring more magic in a zero to low magic setting. Rune mages use their skills to inscribe runes of power onto objects that will allow them spell-like effects. Rune magic is a very strong part of this book and is written very well.
Necromantic classes seem to be a dime a dozen right now. However, the Shadetouched adds a bit of flavor that others lack. It’s not as powerful as a full-blown necromancer, but definitely more intriguing. However, unless you run an evil PC campaign, this is pretty much NPC only.
Spellsingers use song to work magic, so naturally this makes an excellent prestige class for bards. There are some really good level benefits that should tempt even the most tentative of player.
Finally Totem magic rounds out the variant forms. This part is ideal for combining with a shaman or druid. Nine different animal totems are given so there is no shortage of choices.
The remainder of the book covers new spells and magic items. The spells all appear to be balanced with several being quite original and filled with comic potential. The magic items also seem to be well developed and error free.
Overall, Spells and Magic represents the best product Bastion Press has released to date. It presents many variant rule possibilities that can easily be used in any fantasy campaign. It is a solid piece of work that is well worth the price tag. I, personally, love this book and can’t recommend it highly enough.

To see the graded evaluation of this product, go to The Critic's Corner at www.d20zines.com.