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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2008607" data-attributes="member: 9860">Beware! This review contains major spoilers.This is not a playtest review.Price: $24.95Page Count: 174Cost Per Page: About 14 cents per pageFormat: HardcoverExternal Artwork: Very dangerously similar to the three major WotC D&D Core Rulebooks - indeed, even has the term 'Core Rulebook' on it. If anything is going to challenge the OGL guidelines, this'd do it. I still dislike the design as much as I did the WotC ones.Internal Artwork: Most of the black and white artwork, which includes a lot of diagrams of traps, is generally of good quality, with a few average pieces and a few excellent pieces. However, much of the artwork (as opposed to the diagrams) is not relevant to the text, but more to the theme.Page Use: Inside covers are blank. Three pages at the front and five pages at the back include various things such as credits, contents, ads and the OGL. There is also a 7-page preview of FFG's Myhtic Races sourcebook, a 3-page index/trap-by-CR listing. Text density and white space are slightly above average and, as noted, there is a lot of art here.Writing Quality: The text is well-written and concise.Whats Inside: The book begins with a short (1-page) introduction.Chapter One: Way of the Rogue is a mini sourcebook for thieves in and of itself. The chapter begins with a section on Trap Lore (3 pages), detailing methods of recognizing traps through the senses or well-honed experience. A section entitled The Business Of Thievery (12 pages) looks at thieves' guilds: the business of guilds (extortion, protection rackets, blackmail, corruption, banditry, smuggling, taxes and fencing - where is burglary though??), guild membership, guild organisation (guildmaster, captain, lieutenant, journeyman, enforcer, and apprentice), the guild's role, and designing a guild (purpose, organisation, name, base, leader, operations, rituals, benefits, allies and enemies, members, alignment and description). This section includes a sidebar giving a brief sample guild using the guidelines. The next section (12 pages) details four new Prestige Classes (Discreet Companion, Guildmaster, Roofrunner, and Trap Master). A new NPC class, the Thug (1 page) is covered, followed by two new skills (mimic voice and urban lore). Following (5 pages) are a host of new feats (Acrobatic, Casing Sense, Craft Magic Trap, Empathy, Eye For Detail, Fast talker, Improved Knockout, Improved Ranged Sneak Attack, Improved Sneak Attack, Improvise Thieves' Tools, Keen Vision, Knockout Attack, Mechanical Aptitude, Perfect Memory, Poison Immunity, Quickstrike, Shadow, Signature Skill, and Stealth). New equipment (1 page) includes: Acid Drops, Honey Paper, Iron Backbone, Ladder Box, Ladder Staff, Night Drops, One-handed Drill, and Shingle Pick. The next section (6 pages) deals with poisons; it begins with an introduction and overview. It then discusses Types and Effects (irritants, nerve poisons, allergens, asphyxiants, psychotropic poisons, narcotic, and stimulant) and discusses first aid for poisons. It then lists some common poisons with stats (e.g. alcohol, poison ivy, toadstool), discusses manufacturing the standard poisons from the DMG, before going on to discuss new poisons. Type, Save DC, Initial and secondary damage, special effects, and manufacturing are discussed. The adavantages of new poisons are outlined, there is a sidebar with a new feat - Brew Poison - and an example poison is given. The next section (2 pages) looks at magical toxins and splits them into supernatural (purely magical effects) or enchanted (magical and mundane effects). Nine new magical toxins are given (draught of wounding, enfeebling sting, ghastly mist, paste of pestilence, powder of paralysis, seasoning of shrinking, tasha's hideous laughing venom, touch of the unholy, and will-breaker). Several new magic items (4 pages) are offered up (e.g. ring of magic detection, sword of silence), and (4 pages) several new spells (e.g. true filch, detect traps, invisible object) as well as a new Thievery Domain (including spells such as Knock and Dimension Door, as well as some of the new spells) for multiclassed rogue/spellcasters.Chapter Two: Trap Design (14 pages) begins with a discussion of traps as challenges, security systems or dungeon special effects. Traps are classifed as either mechanical (simple/complex) or magical, and instant or extended. There is then a discussion of Trap Components (triggers, mechanisms (gravity, counterweight, spring, gear, pressure and magic), and effects (ensnarement, injury, movement, hindrance, and identification). Trap Construction looks at mechanical and magical traps separately. The next section deals with Challenge Ratings for traps, focusing on mechanical traps and linking DCs in with CR modifiers related to a baseline of CR 1. It also looks at different effects and relates these effects to different CRs. Two short sections discuss detecting and disarming traps in relation to DCs for Search and Disable Device skills. The chapter ends with a new monster, the Arkitek, an evil outsider with skills in crafting traps and poison use.Chapter Three: Mechanical Traps (45 pages) introduces 42 new mechanical traps ranging from CR 1 to CR 10. each trap is given a set of relevant stats (Trap Type, Construction Type, Activation Type, Trigger, Mechanism, Effect, Attack Bonus, Damage, Save, Search DC, Disable Device DC, Challenge Rating and Construction Time/Cost. Most traps have a full dedicated page, with a diagram of how they work, and an accompanying description. Examples of traps from the book can be downloaded free from the company website.Chapter Four: Magic Traps (22 pages) introduces 20 new magical traps again ranging from CR 1 to CR 10. The layout is exactly the same as the previous chapter, with stats, description and diagram.Chapter Five: Puzzles (19 pages) discusses different types of puzzles that a DM could introduce into an adventure. The sub-sections of the chapter give examples of Logic Puzzles, Math Puzzles, Word Puzzles, Chess Puzzles, and Challenges And Tests.High Points: Much of this book fills out roguish areas mainly untouched by the WotC core products - such as poison creation, and guild, trap and puzzle design. There is a lot in here for the DM but some useful stuff for players too (Chapter One is about 70% player-friendly). All of the information is presented in a very readable style. Despite not really quite living up to its claim as a Core Rulebook, there is enough really useful information in here to make it a significant and invaluable rules supplement.Low Points: Forget the 174 or so page count. Be aware you're only getting about 150 pages of actual material, and a fair amount of this is art and diagrams (though at 150 pages, the price per page is still only 16 cents which isn't bad). Several of the feats are nothing that you couldn't come up with yourself, particularly where they have added together two vaguely related skills (e.g. Search and Spot), given a +2 bonus to them both and given it an appropriate name (e.g. Keen Vision).  Conclusion: Despite the padding, the actual content of the book really fills a gap in the market, and does it in a very palatable way. I personally wouldn't be without it for designing adventures, purely as a guideline for creating my own traps and puzzles. Invaluable to DMs and with some good crunchy stuff for players in the first chapter.</blockquote>

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