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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2009161" data-attributes="member: 9860">This is not a playtest review.Spells & Spellcraft is another in FFG's Legends & Lairs series, concentrating on extending and extrapolating on the rules presented in the Core Rulebooks.S&S is a 176-page hardcover accessory. Coming in at $24.95 this is fairly good pricing for its size and type. Though the font size is fairly large comparatively to other books, there is fairly good use of space.Artwork is very good on the whole, whilst the front cover again imitates the Core Rulebook look that has been the feature of previous releases in the Legends & Lairs series. The quality of writing is pretty standard. Editing is good.Chapter One: Spells, offers over 100 new spells for all spellcasting classes. Examples include:* The atmospheric 'Aura of Darkness', a 2nd-level evil cleric spell that creates a zone of evil power surrounding the cleric which grants effects much like a bless spell in a 10-ft. radius. * The utilitarian 'Dig' spell, which can also harm earth elementals and the like.* The potentially annoying 'Gandar's Chatterbox'(Brd 2, Sor/Wiz 3), which causes inanimate objects to chatter inanely and non-stop, interrupting spellcasting.On the whole, there is a mixed bunch of spells here - some good, some boring but useful, and some that would have been better left out.Chapter Two: The Craft Of Magic, begins with a discussion of arcane libraries. Most of the information here is common sense for mediaeval times but there are tables giving an idea of how large a library might be, the types of books to be found within, and the difficulty of tracking down a rare book. There is also a table and some discussion of the cost and content of a library developed by a PC, and a short example of an elven NPC, an expert bookhunter.The chapter continues with a detailed discussion of magical research. This covers the cost of outfitting and renting a laboratory, some tools of the trade (such as necromancer's scissors), special components for new spells (such as a griffon feather or a dragon scale), different types of experts that can be employed to aid the research process, and the uses of magical research (with costs, time, and Spellcraft DCs for creating new spells, new metamagic or item creation feats, and analysis of magic items or new materials).The next section offers up some variant rules for bards and sorcerers. These optional rules break bard's spellcasting into four styles - music, dancing, juggling and storytelling, and give some minor amendments for each style (e.g. jugglers can't use the Still Spell feat). The sorcerer optional rules define the type of blood that taints the sorcerer's veins - dragon, fey, giant, demon - and apply some advantages and disadvantages to each (e.g. +2 to Intimidate and Bluff, -2 to Handle Animal, Ride, and Animal Empathy for Dragonblood sorcerers).There are also 7 new feats (e.g. absorb spell, favored instrument), some suggestions for new uses of old skills, and a new skill: Knowledge (Psychology).  The next section deals with ceremonies and rituals. After giving some ideas of the way in which ceremonies and rituals are used, a number of examples are given for each divine spellcasting class. The ritual/ceremony requires a Spellcraft skill check, modified by its effects and the number of casters taking part. The rituals and ceremonies cover such areas as divine guidance, raising dead, curing lycanthropy, exorcism, summoning an animal companion, atonement for a fallen paladin, and purifying the land. Rituals and ceremonies are measured in terms of hours, the more complex ones taking more than 12 hours.Chapter Three: New Types Of Magic, begins by offering three new spellcasting options - Ward Magic (semi-permanent areas of magical effect created by tying Abjuration and/or Divination spells to a particular location - 50 charges only), Chaos Magic (somewhat similar to wild magic from 2e but randomly generates one of a limited selection of spells as well as a beneficial or harmful mutation, the caster has limited control over the mutation, and it requires the Chaos Magic feat), and Cooperative Magic (two casters can apply a Metamagic feat to a spell, even if they don't have that feat).  The chapter goes on to discuss religion, and focuses on 'small gods', outsiders who may grant some spells to worshippers within strict limits (restricted cleric level, restricted location of influence). There is a brief description of an Animist, a cut-down version of a shaman, who requests the aid of spirits.The chapter ends with a discussion of place magic - arcane nexuses and shrines. Arcane nexuses are natural places of power that boost specific aspects of arcane magic and limit it in other ways, whilst shrines are places of power created by a deity or a deity's clerics and followers, and affect divine magic.Chapter Four: The Mundane Made Magical, begins by focusing on Alchemy, looking at labs, courses, mishaps, alchemical items and new metal alloys. There are then some detailed rules for creating Constructs, with a useful example. A number of new magical materials are then given (new fantasy metals, wood, animal parts, plants, etc.) which are designed to add more flavour to a campaign world and/or limit the easy production of magical items by making the rare material a prerequisite in item construction. The chapter ends with a discussion of familiars - improving the power of a familiar by transferring the character's own XP to it, and giving a number of new familiars (including some new creatures).Chapter Five: Magic Items, begins with a new magic item - a glyph egg, much like a spell grenade. The next type of item dealt with is Personal Growth Items. These items come in two types - recovered-power (items that have powers that are discovered as the wielder grows in power) and customized (wielders channel powers into the item as they grow in power). The wielder can either bond with the item or research it to unleash these abilities. This process requires gold and time (for research) or XP (for bonding) as payment for awakening the powers of the item. Rules for creating, limiting and personalising these items are given, along with a few examples. The chapter also introduces another new type of magic item - relics, much like artifacts but with intelligence and purpose (often divinely influenced). The chapter and book end with a number of new magic items. There is also an index.Conclusion:This tome offers a heap of new ideas for arcane and divine magic, though the focus is on arcane. Some of the ideas were original, some of the ideas were good, whilst some were old hat or poorly delivered. The book is a perfect example of the adage 'You can't please all of the people all of the time' - there is something here for most people (I particularly liked the Personal Growth Items, the concept of ceremonies and rituals, and the uses of new magical materials) but much that will not appeal (I wasn't fired up by the sections on arcane libraries and laboratories). The most disappointing thing was the amount of exposition in the book, a feature of previous FFG releases and one which they can't seem to ditch - paragraphs or even pages stating the obvious and posing unanswered questions. However, the two or three ideas that most people will glean from the book could be inspirational enough to be worth the cost as they would bring a unique feel to magic in the campaign world. The book would have scored better had there been less exposition and more time spent expanding some of the rules sections that seemed a little bit rushed and light (such as the Animist, and nexuses and shrines).In the section on new magical materials the book states "The items introduced in this section should be integrated into an existing campaign carefully, both for reasons of verisimilitude and game balance." The same could be said of the book as a whole - it works best when a few choice ideas are carefully integrated into a campaign world. Few GMs will want to do more than this. If one thinks of Spells & Spellcraft as a pot of ideas to dip into every now and then for a choice tidbit, then it merits the score I have given it. Those expecting to find an entire book of ideas they can use will likely be disappointed.</blockquote>

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