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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 2009809" data-attributes="member: 172">The Book of Eldritch Might III: The NexusThe book of Eldritch Might III is the second sequel to the popular Book of Eldritch Might magic resource by Malhavoc Press (the d20 imprint owned by DMG author Monte Cook.) As with the prior two volumes, The Book of Eldritch Might III: The Nexus contains many new spells and magic-items for the d20 system as well as magic-oritented prestige classes, feats, and variant rules. However, the The Book of Eldritch Might III: The Nexus is a bit different in format that the previous two. Each item and concept is packaged with an exotic location.A First LookThe Book of Eldritch Might III: The Nexus is distributed as a 98-page PDF file, including a mock front and back cover. The PDF version is available for $11 at www.RPGnow.com, though at the time of this writing, it is "on sale" for $9. At a full $11 (even at $9), printing out a copy might be of rather dubious value compared to waiting for a higher quality print version, which typically can be had for $13.The cover of The Book of Eldritch Might III: The Nexus is illustrated by Kyle Anderson and depicts a pair of adventurers back to back, facing off against some unseen opponent in some exotic, mystic setting.The interior is black-and-white and is illustrated by Kieran Yanner and Sam Wood. The interior art is generally good, and the graphic layout is attractive.A Deeper LookThe Book of Eldritch Might III: The Nexus is a departure from the way that the first two books in the series were arranged. The first two books were arranged according to the mechanics covered in each section - classes, spells, feats, magic items, etc. The Book of Eldritch Might III: The Nexus, on the other hand, is arranged according to the location. Each chapter covers an exotic location with magical properties. Mechanical elements associated with or supporting that site are included in that chapter, along with background details, NPCs, and special rules associated with that site. Each of these sites includes magic items and spells, as well as a few feats and prestige classes. In essence, each of the chapters is a bit like a miniature version of Malhavoc's "event books", providing some campaign background material along with the rules material needed to implement it.The fact that the material is scattered through the chapters vice placed in a unified list by each type may seem an inconvenience to those who wish to get this book primarily for the rules content. However, it is not as much as an inconvenience as you might think, as each section has a fairly strong theme, and if you are familiar with the theme of the chapter, it is pretty easy to guess where a given item or spell lies. For example, the first chapter, The Nexus, has a pretty strong scrying theme, and a scrying related spell or ability is likely to be found therein.The seven chapters, the regions they describe, and their themes, are as follows.The NexusThe title chapter of the book, the nexus is a network of chambers with portals to numerous other planes and places. It is this feature of the nexus that is the reason that the book is named for it; the nexus can be used as a jumping-off point for any of the other strange locations in this book, and it is convenient to do so if you cannot or do not wish to insert any of the other regions directly into your game world. The nexus superficially reminds me of the Infinite Staircase, part of the Planescape setting which Monte Cook also contributed to, including his adventure Tales of the Infinite Staircase.The nexus itself is inhabited by insectoid creatures Kallendine, as well as two other beings: a semi-divine yuan-ti magess and her full elven son. These two beings are descendants of the divine beings for whom the Nexus was created. It was originally was intended as something of a battleground, but eventually the two overcame their rivalry and created the serpent-like daughter who is the caretaker of the nexus to this day.The "theme" of the material presented in the nexus is scrying and transportation, with several logical extensions of existing spells. For example, have you ever been aggravated by the lack of the ability of scrying to view a place instead of a being? Well, window to elsewhere fills these need. Scrytalk is another example, a spell that provides the ability for two way communication via scrying, much like many b-movie fantasy flicks you have been unable to emulate. Most of the magic items are likewise scry and travel related, including an artifact-level sword that lets the wielder cut a hole in reality leading to anywhere.Bastion of the D'StradiThe Bastion of the D'Stradi is a place where rugged individuals are holding off the advances of exotic and powerful demons. D'Stradi is the name of the land/world where this occurs (though if you wish, you could drop the region in your own game world). Near the portal through which the demon invasion first issued stand two fortresses, defiant in their defense of their homeland against the darkness.The mechanical focus of this section is demonic invasion and the defense against the same. Featured NPCs are the marilith tanar'ri responsible at the head of the invasion and Kalias, the human wizard responsible for much of the vaunted magic used for defense by the people. Creatures include three new breeds of demon (the Dstradi abductor, dancer, and annihilator.)Feats focus on combat effectiveness of arcane spellcasters. One more curious example is Precise Touch, which converts an area attack spell into a touch attack spell. Unlike most metamagic spells, this feat actually reduces the level of the spell. This seems like it might have some unintended consequences, but seems like it would be balanced for most spells.Some spells are simple combat and defense spells, but some have some interesting potential. Alikaba's Gift transports an item into the target's hands, forcing them to drop what they are holding, while Alikaba's Theft, which allows you to snatch something held by an opponent. Some spells are particularly useful against outsiders, such as the Quintelemental Blast, which affects the target with the energy type to which they are most vulnerable.The Pool of GlenmasisThe Pool of Glenmasis is something of a faerie sanctuary. The pool itself is infused with the essence of a dryad queen, and for some distance away from the pool, any permanent damage is impossible; only subdual and temporary ability damage applies. In this region, many fey congregate, where they hold something of a bazaar when magic items can be bought or sold.But wait, before you balk: this is no spring trip to the mall. The fairies are tricky and make a little game of the transaction. Players wishing to trade with the fairies had best have their wits about them.The chapter's focus is minor magic and curiosities, though that doesn't make it useless. One major example is a selection of minor weapon and armor enhancement which only have a +1/2 market price modifier; fractions are rounded up when determining the final price. For a very modest price, you can have several minor enhancements, such as the ability to detect a specific type of enemy or avoid penalties to a specific skill in the enchanted armor.The spells tend toward the mischievous and would be a great source of spells for faerie folk (or the likes of the faerie dragon from the Tome of Horrors), but could still be very effective in the right situation. For example, lethally denied converts all of the real damage from the next attack that would kill an opponent into subdual damage.Vabrin's ForgeVabrin is a very odd character, an ettin sorcerer. His background is odder still. Vabrin's specialty is intelligent, living magic items. These items are something of a passion for him. He won't give such items to anyone who he thinks will mistreat an item, and will typically only trade for other items that he can bring to life.The mechanical part of this section supports the concept of living items. Many of the feats or spells support the creation and interaction with intelligent items. Extended creation rules add depth to intelligent items, and per the rules herein, items have levels. An item gains spell like abilities and feats as it gains levels, and a new selection of feats herein pertain specifically to items. If adding depth to magic items is your goal, you cannot go wrong with this chapter.Vale of the StarsThe Vale of the Stars is not so easily summed up as the prior chapters, as it has a bit more complex character and history. But to sum it up very succinctly: At the center of the vale of stars is a mysterious castle in which dragons once tutored human in the ways of exotic magic. This castle slowly became more and more isolated, and now nobody knows who, if anyone, remains within its impenetrable wall. For a time, the vale was inhabited by elves who had a special form of magic dealing with starlight. These elves where destroyed when they tried to explore the castle and unleashed some sort of powerful abjuration. However, their powerful starlight magic remains, and has seeped into the ground where powerful dao genies enslave humans as they attempt to retrieve this ancient magic. The powerful magic that courses through this land has created a breed of people who can subconsciously cast spells.The mechanics content of this chapter is split into dragon magic and starlight magic.Dragon magic is magic unique to dragons, or characters with the appropriate feat. Many dragon magic spells are most directly relevant to dragons (such as a spell that allows the dragon to share its natural armor bonus), but some spells are powerful and of general enough interest that non-dragon characters might be tempted to pick up the feat to access the spells. Starlight magic is based around a substance called liquid starlight, which can be used to help protect a character or make an object more durable. Starlight mage is a prestige class specialized in the use of liquid starlight and can achieve other effects with it. One spell essential to starlight mages is temporal venom, which creates a somewhat poison like substance that actually interferes with the victim's interface with time, making the character's ability to perform actions sporadic.Tomb of Frozen DreamsThe Tomb of Frozen Dreams is a series of glacial cavern that serves as sort of a retreat for the Hedrudal, a cadre of reclusive and elitist wizards. The Hedrudal have developed magic relating to frozen dreams, essentially the identity, essence, thoughts, or dreams of creatures trapped in ice form. When thawed, these dreams grant temporary abilities related to the nature of the dream within.The spells and feats associated with this chapter have to do with magic, entrapment, or the mind. For example, consume spell lets the caster use the energy of a countered spell to unleash another spell. There are a variety of interesting spells, such as the powerful chains of antimagic which binds the victim in chains that product a personal antimagic shell around the victim, circle of binding, which traps anyone who steps within, and suppress lesser, which prevents a target arcane spellcaster of a lower level from casting spells.City in the StormThe last locale, the City in the Storm is a classical high fantasy locale designed for high-flying epic adventures. The City in the Storm, Sanneth, is a enchanted floating city located at the eye of a powerful eternal storm called the Reavewind. Sanneth is ruled by an assortment of families with powerful bloodlines, each with their own potential. A character's bloodline powers can be awakened by spells introduced later in the chapter, giving them useful special abilities.The mechanical contents of the chapter include a few fantastical aerial creature, such as the sohr (basically magical flying whales), thunderkin (magical serpents that can take the form of electricily), and the mist creature template.The spells in this chapter relate to bloodlines and family, as well as spells for relating to the aerial creatures mentioned earlier in the chapter. Activate bloodline power gives the a character of a special bloodline a temporary ability determined by their bloodline. Kin Curse is a powerful spell that forces the character to seek out and slay their closest blood relatives.The magic items are weapons as well as items related to aerial travel, such as the air barge.Supplemental MaterialIn addition to the seven location chapter, there is a short appendix with a few useful tables. This includes tables for permanency for the spells in the Eldritch Might series to date, as well as tables adapting the spells herein to the variant classes in the Book of Eldritch Might II, an index, and spell lists for the spells.ConclusionThe Book of Eldritch Might III: The Nexus takes a different tack than the previous two books. It is not merely a mechanical sourcebook, but grounds each of the concepts in some compelling campaign ideas. This may make it a bit of a problem for those who are looking for more of the same.However, I genuinely do not think this is a big issue. The sites are strongly theme oriented. The previous Books of Eldritch Might had some of their own themes like mirror magic and DC enhancing spells and items. In this book, if I know I want to focus on scrying magic or binding magic, I simply hop to the appropriate section.The locations themselves have some interesting ideas, and make for very nice drop-in locations for high fantasy campaigns.To me, this book is a return to greatness for the Book of Eldritch Might series. I saw few spells, classes, or items that I considered unbalanced or too bizarre or too variant to use, as I did with the Book of Eldritch Might II.-Alan D. Kohler</blockquote>

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