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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
 Posted - 19 Sep 2017 : 01:27:12
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The short and sweet. It's $14.95, so its decent money.
http://www.dmsguild.com/product/221735/Elminsters-Guide-to-Magic?src=hottest_filtered&coverSizeTest=true&filters=45469_0_0_0_0_0_0_0
I'm extremely hesitant and want to know if anyone has looked at it. However, I'm also all about getting quantity books, because it tends to mean they've put more thought into it. Has anyone looked at it? What did you think? This is what it says.
Between these covers, you will find:
Over 350 new spells, covering all schools and spellcasting classes
Over 50 new magic items
A guide for young wizards
A history of the magical factions of the Forgotten Realms
8 fantastic new faction-based archetypes
...and even more!
This book contains nearly 180 pages of content, and every page is crammed with information, both wonderful and weird.
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Adhriva
Learned Scribe
USA
147 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2017 : 01:53:19
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| I have a copy and I believe it's solid and well done. The gameplay mechanics struck me as balanced, good source of magical lore, and I really enjoyed the factions and archetypes. A lot of thought was put into it. That said, I do have a 'Special Thanks' credit in it for lore and narration/voice consulting so there is some bias. Nonetheless, I honestly believe you'll like it and enjoy it. |
Professional illustrator and comic book artist.
Portfolio |
Edited by - Adhriva on 19 Sep 2017 01:54:22 |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2017 : 13:48:38
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| thanks, I'll give it a try then. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2017 : 15:37:41
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| Anyone other than Ed who would put "Elminster's Guide" on anything is committing blasphemy. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 19 Sep 2017 17:28:42 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2017 : 16:05:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Anyone who would put "Elminster's Guide" on anything other than Ed is committing blasphemy.
So only Ed can be labeled as "Elminster's Guide"? 
(I get what you're saying, and I would prefer to see only Ed use that description -- but your wording leaves room for creative interpretation.  ) |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2017 : 17:32:27
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I reworded it.
Its the same as if I saw someone other than RAS wrote a book, Drizzt DoUrden's Guide to...
I call that 'Fake News'. 
They think they can get away with $15 price-tag because the name is misleading... they're basically doing the same thing WotC is doing, to a lesser extent (ie., Tales from the Yawning Portal, etc). It doesn't make me want to buy it, it makes me annoyed. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2017 : 17:38:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I reworded it.
Its the same as if I saw someone other than RAS wrote a book, Drizzt DoUrden's Guide to...
I call that 'Fake News'.
They think they can get away with $15 price-tag because the name is misleading... they're basically doing the same thing WotC is doing, to a lesser extent (ie., Tales from the Yawning Portal, etc). It doesn't make me want to buy it, it makes me annoyed.
That was my initial feel as well, and is why I started the topic. Until I saw the 180 page piece and 350 spells. I bought it, but haven't opened it yet. If I don't say anything more, assume I'm ok with the money spent. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2017 : 21:34:23
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I have no problem with the content, especially since I have no idea how good/bad the content mght be.
I'm just taking about my 'gut reaction' to that title. For some it might be good marketing, but not for me. I just feel it is a bit presumptuous, which has already skewed my opinion before I even looked at it.
For example, originally when I planned my 'Tour of the Realms' map project, I had planned to have my character Volarra (Volo's grandaughter) narrate the whole thing. So, despite my excellent knowledge of FR geography (and all things connected to that, like culture, geology, climate, etc.), I STILL would not feel comfortable writing an article using Volo himself as 'the Voice'. Ed IS Volo, and only Ed should WRITE Volo... and Elminster... and Mirt (I'm not sure if any others fall into that category; even though he created most of the 'big guns' in the Realms, I feel some belong to others now, like Steven Schend should do Khelben, and Elaine Cunningham should do Elaith Craulnober, etc).
And its not because Ed is ED... because I had the same knee-jerk reaction when they stuck his name on novels he DIDN'T write ("Ed Greenwood presents..."). I just feel like people who do that think the rest of us are idiots. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 19 Sep 2017 21:35:16 |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4441 Posts |
Posted - 19 Sep 2017 : 21:45:46
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| Looks intriguing. |
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader
USA
2708 Posts |
Posted - 20 Sep 2017 : 01:36:12
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| May get it for lore purposes, but I'll have to wait a bit. |
Sweet water and light laughter |
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sfdragon
Great Reader
2285 Posts |
Posted - 20 Sep 2017 : 08:01:22
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quote:
Originally posted by CorellonsDevout
May get it for lore purposes, but I'll have to wait a bit.
yeah..... I wouldnt even get it for that unless I was sure that it was not 3P
I still think it is 3p |
why is being a wizard like being a drow? both are likely to find a dagger in the back from a rival or one looking to further his own goals, fame and power
My FR fan fiction
Magister's GAmbit
http://steelfiredragon.deviantart.com/gallery/33539234 |
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MTBlack
Acolyte
40 Posts |
Posted - 27 Sep 2017 : 22:08:37
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Hi friends,
My name is M.T. Black and I am one of the creators of "Elminster's Guide to Magic". Thankyou very much for having a look at our product! We've been delighted by how well it has been received.
With regards to the use of Elminster's name, this has been a bit contentious with a small number of people, who believe only Ed should write about Elminster. Obviously I don't share that view, but I'm sympathetic to it. I will say that we worked very hard to capture Elminster's voice, and that my appreciation of the character has certaily grown through this process.
One thing you might consider. The popularity of D&D is exploding with 5E, and there are many new people entering the game now. IME, most of these people will not buy older edition products, and its also less likely that they will pick up the FR novels (as these are not being actively promoted by WOTC at the moment). Given this, it's quite possible that our product will go a little way toward introducing this new generation of players to Elminster.
Also consider that our book is currently #1 on the DMs Guild charts, which means Elminster's name is currently front and center. That's not too bad, is it?
Thanks again, and stay well!
MTB |
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader
USA
2708 Posts |
Posted - 27 Sep 2017 : 22:10:28
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People would probably read the novels if they *were* being promoted...
I will likely check this out later (currently saving up for a convention I am going to). |
Sweet water and light laughter |
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader
Colombia
2476 Posts |
Posted - 28 Sep 2017 : 00:18:55
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| I have doubts about buying this as well, but for other reasons: Is a little bit expensive (for me at least, as I have to exchange my money to dollars first), so any review would really help me. The fact that is number one in sales is a good indicator, but as I'm deciding between this and other stuff, I like to have a more detailed reference. |
Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world... |
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sfdragon
Great Reader
2285 Posts |
Posted - 28 Sep 2017 : 01:36:38
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| for all the right and wrong reasons you can step out the door, even as you feel the right of it, still doesnt make it right. -the unknown fool |
why is being a wizard like being a drow? both are likely to find a dagger in the back from a rival or one looking to further his own goals, fame and power
My FR fan fiction
Magister's GAmbit
http://steelfiredragon.deviantart.com/gallery/33539234 |
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MTBlack
Acolyte
40 Posts |
Posted - 28 Sep 2017 : 13:18:13
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quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X
I have doubts about buying this as well, but for other reasons: Is a little bit expensive (for me at least, as I have to exchange my money to dollars first), so any review would really help me. The fact that is number one in sales is a good indicator, but as I'm deciding between this and other stuff, I like to have a more detailed reference.
Hi Zeromaru, there are ratings and reviews on the product page, as well as general comments in the comments thread on the product page. You can also click on the "Preview" button there and get quite a few pages to check out. |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 29 Sep 2017 : 04:45:30
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Just a little bit of a review. The beginner stuff is really for beginners. That being said, I'm biased as hell when it comes to that stuff, as I was writing spell strategy guides 20+ years ago. I've literally glanced through the spells enough to say that there is a good breadth of them, can't judge for balance yet. That being said, this is the main reason I bought this, because this edition of D&D is sorely lacking on spells. I then went to the magic items section and perused it. I will give them, they came up with some interesting items. I wouldn't normally spend this much money, but in this instance I did.
Also, Mr. Black, it seems you may love magic as much as me. Since you have given this out, please look at my complete red book of spell strategy and let me know if there's any tweaks you would make (which by the way, I may need to upload a newer version). |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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MTBlack
Acolyte
40 Posts |
Posted - 29 Sep 2017 : 06:00:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
For example, originally when I planned my 'Tour of the Realms' map project, I had planned to have my character Volarra (Volo's grandaughter) narrate the whole thing. So, despite my excellent knowledge of FR geography (and all things connected to that, like culture, geology, climate, etc.)
What happened with that project? How far did you get? |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 29 Sep 2017 : 06:07:26
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I'm still plugging away at it, but right now I'm doing a bunch of FR city-maps for a friend's DM Guild project. However, since I have to do a regional map of that area those cities are within, I may as well combine my own project with that one, and release 2-3 Unapproachable east maps first (I had originally planned to do 2 covering Cormyr, Sembia, The Vast, and Impiltur, and the eastern most map of that part of the project will now be the westernmost map of the refined project).
The idea was to break The Realms down into 'bite-sized chunks', gazeteer-style. And I can ignore the western Heartlands for now, because WotC and Mike Schley have that covered already (eventually everything will get re-done, but it allows me to prioritize what needs doing ASAP in 5e). |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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MTBlack
Acolyte
40 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2017 : 01:03:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I'm still plugging away at it, but right now I'm doing a bunch of FR city-maps for a friend's DM Guild project. However, since I have to do a regional map of that area those cities are within, I may as well combine my own project with that one, and release 2-3 Unapproachable east maps first (I had originally planned to do 2 covering Cormyr, Sembia, The Vast, and Impiltur, and the eastern most map of that part of the project will now be the westernmost map of the refined project).
The idea was to break The Realms down into 'bite-sized chunks', gazeteer-style. And I can ignore the western Heartlands for now, because WotC and Mike Schley have that covered already (eventually everything will get re-done, but it allows me to prioritize what needs doing ASAP in 5e).
Is there anywhere someone can check out your work? |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2017 : 02:08:17
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Not any city maps yet. I did do one, but releasing that one is, ummm... weird. Its part of some maps I was doing professionally that will now never see the light of day. I'll probably repurpose the city one someday. As for larger scale maps, plenty of those. I had over fifty up on DeviantART awhile back, but I took them all down. I've slowly been replacing them with newer ones. Probably the best one to date is the unfinished Nentir Vale conversion (I really need to get back to that).
https://markustay.deviantart.com/ |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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MTBlack
Acolyte
40 Posts |
Posted - 30 Sep 2017 : 14:00:34
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| Sounds good Mark. I look forward to seeing your stuff up on the Guild! |
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froglegg
Learned Scribe
317 Posts |
Posted - 24 Oct 2017 : 19:22:09
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So this is a good work?
John |
Long live Alias and Dragonbait! Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb the Realms need you more then ever!
On my word as a sage nothing within these pages is false, but not all of it may prove to be true. - Elminster of Shadowdale
The Old Grey Box gets better with age! |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 25 Oct 2017 : 09:44:33
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quote:
Originally posted by froglegg
So this is a good work?
John
I really need to dig more into it, but other things have pulled me aside. Still, if you, like me, feel this edition is sorely lacking on spells, this is worth a look. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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LordofBones
Master of Realmslore
1536 Posts |
Posted - 30 Oct 2017 : 03:22:03
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| Are they good spells, or are they like 5e's Horrid Wilting? |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 30 Oct 2017 : 09:13:00
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some of its fairly simple, like acidic armor, and may need to be checked for balance for the rules of casting at higher levels (which, that being said, you can cast so few high level spells that it becomes questionable how much something can "throw things off"). Other things, such as anyspell, they've actually improved on where you must read the spell from a spellbook or scroll (which means a lot of DM's would be like "do you know exactly what page to turn to" if you were in the middle of combat). Granted as well, some of these spells, I had already redone, as have several others, so it comes down to "which version for your games".
There is also a conversion of the 2nd edition spell that I used heavily, imbue undead with spell ability. In 2nd edition, with the number of 6th level spell slots and/or lesser spell slots I could end up with, this was a recipe for getting things done (especially combined with the 2nd edition circle spell). In this edition maybe not so bad. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Elren_Wolfsbane
Learned Scribe
USA
111 Posts |
Posted - 31 Oct 2017 : 05:07:11
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| This is another supplement I'm currently reading. I find it balanced and informative. I'm even fjnding ways to use this in my 5e game (well, I figure you can use a lot of the old supplements in 5e |
Aa' lasser en`coialle n`natula brown.
(May the leaves of your life tree never turn brown)
-Elren Wolfsbane |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1847 Posts |
Posted - 04 Nov 2017 : 12:14:20
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| Sleyvas: please provide a review if you don't mind/when you get a chance. I'm interested in this but am leery of 3p material. Like you, I think there is a distinct lack in magic for 5e (and not just in quantity, either, but also in quality...but that's another discussion). |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2017 : 00:33:41
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my days of in-depth reviews of spells are over, but I'll take a quick stab. In the end, one must weigh the cost of this supplement versus an official one. This is only $9 or thereabouts, and has a lot more spells than what came with elemental evil. One of the chief gripes I've had with other people putting out spells as well is that they assign a level for the spell in 5e, but don't list which classes can use it. This usually happens when people are releasing their first things on DM's Guild or they're just releasing like 5 spells or less and they make the assumption that people will figure out where to put it. In other instances, such as the Zakhara supplement, the author specifically does not assign spells to classes, as he is worried about overpowering classes via having too many options open to them (a very valid concern). These people did NOT do that, which is good, but given the breadth of spells, if they had I would have been upset heavily.
But lets get to the meat
Advice for Young Wizards : Waste of MY time (but not necessarily others). Its a light fluttering to give young players an inkling of how to use spells. Still, for an audience hunting on DM's Guild, I'm not going to say you'll find many of the "untrained". Still, it is good to do this sort of thing, and sometimes they mention things (like the new spells in the SCAG) that may help a returning player just coming into 5e (for instance, someone who didn't read the rules on concentration). Also, tries to break down all spells into four types without breaking the fifth wall.... the spells that don't fit into a type.
Spell Indexes: Well laid out. I will note that one of the things I've tried to do to make the community easier to use is to make a spell list that identifies good spells in other DM's Guild Authors works (all of which other than Krash..... I don't know) and then put a symbol beside the spell to reference the resource. I've done this in my Complete Red Book of Spell Strategy. In some instances, this means picking between different versions of the same spell.... however, if I find some of these balanced with similar from other books, I may put the symbol for both to let a DM choose which version they like.
Spells
Ok, for this section I'll compare a couple spells real quick that I've already written up in my own stuff.
My lesser ironguard versus this guide's ironguard,lesser. This version allows the ability to place this spell on others, as its a touch spell. My version is self only. However, this version has a dependency on concentration, and mine does not (this was on purpose, as I consider this one of the few spells which should be "fire and forget"). In the end, this means my version is more versatile for someone like an abjurer for personal protection, and some might say more dangerous in play due to the lack of concentration. The other however has the ability to buff someone else, such that someone could make someone else able to handle dangerous situations for them. Mine has an "at higher levels" that states if an 8th level spell slot is used, then magical metals are also ignored, whereas this guide instead introduces a new spell of 7th level simply called ironguard. The level difference isn't a major thing (i.e. mine being 8th, this one 7th), BUT the creation of a whole new spell IS something I would say to lean against. This makes this a harder choice for people that have a limited number of "known" spells.
Next one, I have noted someone else created Beltyn's Burning Blood already (this one is actually common in a lot of Realms DM's Guild spell lists), so I created a variation called Beltyn's Burning Blood Blight. I will compare my Beltyn's Burning Blood Blight to this Guides Burning Blood spell. This guide's spell has a much longer range 120 ft versus my 60 ft. Also, this guide's version does not require the person affected to already have open wounds, nor does it specify that the being has to specifically have "blood" (mine specifies that undead are immune and that certain types of creatures like elementals are immune). Also, this guide's spell does more damage 1d8 v/s 1d6 of acid and fire each round. It also lasts longer (1 minute versus mine being 3 rounds), and they get a save each round and making the save does NOT end the spell (mine, if you make the save the spell ends, though the save is made with a -3 penalty). However, this guide's spell requires the spellcaster to maintain concentration. My version of the spell DOES have an added bonus, in that it can spread from the initial person hit to anyone within five feet with open wounds, so it does less damage overall but CAN be a somewhat area effect spell. Personally, since the person gets a save to cast off the effect every round, forcing concentration on this spell seems tedious. It should be fire and forget. None of this is really broken, its just a different interpretation. This spell does have something that needs to be fixed in my viewpoint however. Its the AT HIGHER LEVELS piece, wherein for every spell slot of 5th level or higher the damage increases by 1d8 (such that a 9th level burning blood on a person would do 6d8 fire AND 6d8 acid damage on the affected person each round for up to one minute). Given that spell level does not affect spell DC's this would get real nasty. My variation is more like this below, which makes it more of an area spell useful for doing minor damage to a steadily larger group that need not be in a "blast" radius.
When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 5th level or higher, the number of rounds of duration and number of initial targets infected both increase by 1 per slot level above 4th (such that at 9th level, this spell would infect 6 targets for 8 rounds each). All initial targets must be within 60 feet of each other.
(original source Forgotten Realms Adventures)
For one that I've not made an equivalent, let's look at ANYSPELL
This is very well done, and I commend them on one thing in particular. YOU MUST READ THE SPELL FROM A SCROLL OR WIZARD'S SPELLBOOK. So, this is not a spell that you can just on the fly use unless you've specifically bookmarked where to get it, have a haversack that can pull out specific pages placed in a scroll tube, etc... so any wizard that wants to use this, I would personally adjudicate to them to list out several spells that they'd be "prepped" to do on the fly. Of course, anything they could do with time wouldn't be a problem.
Now I'm going to compare two cantrips of a similar mindset, but different mechanics... but both are cantrips. The first will be my cantrip of "lifeleech blade" versus this guide's cantrip of "Astral Seal". Since I can do so without issue, I'll list my "lifeleech blade"
Lifeleech Blade
necromancy cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5 feet
Components: V, M (a weapon, special)
Duration: instantaneous
As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell's range, otherwise the spell fails. On a hit, the target suffers the attack's normal effects, plus the target takes 1d4 necrotic damage. The caster is healed by one-third the damage dealt (rounded down, so that 1 or 2 points of damage is 0 points of healing, and 3 or 4 points of damage is 1 point of healing). Spells or effects that increase this necrotic damage do not increase this amount of healing.
This spell's damage increases by 1d4 when you reach 5th level (2d4), 11th level (3d4), and 17th level (4d4), correspondingly increasing the amount of healing. It should be noted that this may be applied only to one melee weapon attack per action used.
In comparison of the above to the astral seal. The astral seal is a ranged effect (10 ft only) doing 1d6 radiant damage (and increases at 1d6). However, the next ally (stress next) to hit the target with an attack roll gains temporary hit points equal to half the radiant damage done. This is can be up to triple the hit points of the above. So, it becomes a decent cantrip for healing party members randomly (by giving them "buffer" hit points). However, it is broken in that it does not specify how long these temporary hit points last. Since temporary hit points CAN boost you above full hit point maximum, this becomes dangerous. Some cleric of Loviatar could work out something wherein they take prisoners cast repeated uses of this cantrip on the prisoner, then simply slap them.... all just to give them a few extra temporary hit points per day (at low levels, this is quite effective, since you could have the party capturing creatures like kobolds and using themselves to put extra temporary hit points throughout a whole dungeon). Also, between the two spells, astral seal is clerical only, whereas lifeleech blade is wizard, warlock, and sorcerer (so most wizards/warlocks/sorcerers won't want to be in melee combat).
Next, let's look at Imbue Undead with Spell Ability (I will note, I have a similar spell "Imbue Undead with Cantrip".... which is so vastly different that I won't compare them, but I will show it just to give the concept). I should specify first that this is a 6th level spell. Therefore, most casters will only be able to do this effect once per day. With this spell, you give an undead servant the ability to cast a spell you know (no level limit) one time before you perform a long rest, and give up a spell slot of that level. This makes for a decent "hey, guard me while I sleep" at the end of the day spell. It also makes a great assassination spell when cast say on an undead mouse sent in to infiltrate and kill. However, the one thing that most won't notice.... its also a good way to bypass the concentration rules. You give the spell to an undead mouse in your pocket just before some encounter where you want multiple powerful buffs in place.... put some buff on yourself requiring concentration and have them do the same. Also, in theory, if you can somehow get the spell slots, you can repeat this, and have each mouse raise the buffs at the same time. Another variant would be to have these mice have multiple attack spells, such that you can zip in invisibly, and have undead mice release several attack or defense spells in one round. In fact, one of my old favorites is easily performable with this spell in 5e.... have one mouse with cloudkill and another with wall of force... release both at the same time and capture a 20 foot diameter area (possibly the whole party). The mice can even lay there looking dead, such that if there are several other rat skeletons around... the party may not even realize who is concentrating on the spell. What I would highly recommend as somewhat of a fix to this is that undead not be able to be imbued with spells with concentration requirements. Another fix would be to not allow a caster to have more than one spell imbued to an undead OR ANY OTHER BEING (in case someone makes imbue construct with spell ability OR imbue familiar with spell ability, for example).
Then just for grins, presenting my somewhat variant of this (please tear it apart... everyone can always use a good critique)
Imbue Undead with Cantrip
5th-level necromancy spell
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: touch
Components: V,S,M
Duration: 8 hours
The caster of this spell can grant an undead creature the use of a particular cantrip that they are able to cast. As a result, the caster of the spell forgets temporarily how to cast the cantrip themselves. The cantrip so learned can only be one which does hit point damage, and the undead is able to attack using the caster's own spell attack bonus. However, the undead is less effective with the cantrip, treating the effects as though it was a character of half his level (rounded down) such that an 11th level caster placing this spell upon an undead would allow the undead to cast the cantrip as if it were 6th level. At the conclusion of the spell, the caster can once again cast this cantrip themselves.
Overall, I can see where these spells can use improvements, but I also did cherry pick some that "sounded" dangerous. I haven't read through the whole thing. As I glanced through it though, the biggest worries to me were the "at higher levels" pieces. Some were fine, others, not so much. So, would I tell players "yeah, you have free reign to use this"... no... would I tell players "yeah, look in there and we'll agree on changes".... most definitely. Would I import his spell lists into mine for the Complete Book of Spell Strategy.... no... but I would possibly cherry pick certain ones to basically recommend, because probably half of the spells in this don't need any work (and I say half because I've not read it all.... I want to be clear here... I haven't read all of this yet). I will also say that in my viewpoint we NEED a lot of these types of effects in the game, its just some of it may need a little work.
On to the Next Section
The Great Artifact - possibly some repeat of previous lore (non-FR) of the rod of seven parts... didn't feel like reading it... skipped it.
On to the Next Section
I'm gonna skip around in this and pick some items
Ring of Cantrips: handy item, lets you cast several cantrips per day even if you don't know them. I'll also specify here as well... it also doesn't state that they have to be on your class list. It does require attunement, which makes me retch. We do need some kind of "temporary attunement" ritual or somesuch, so that you can quickly attune an item in like ten minutes and have it attuned for say an hour and go above and beyond your attunement limit.... or come up with some rules for "lesser attunement items". I get the need, so that people don't have several of these... but the rules for attunement get hairy with minor stuff like this. It makes things "fodder" that you can't picture people making. If it were a common item instead of very rare, it might make more sense, since lesser apprentices without anything better might love these things.
ring of wizardry - perfect. I see no problems.
aquamarine of spell extending - like it
belt of naked invisibility - very funny, but since it doesn't turn clothing invisible... do you see a belt floating there?
needle of mending - tailors will love this, as will repairmen
scroll of writing - nice
overall, most of the items seem to be ones either missing from the game, or interesting spins. I liked this section.
Then there's several pages of trinkets, "magic words", names of books, etc... that may or may not be useful
Finally, and I hadn't seen this previously, they break into magical factions of the realms and give some alternate arcane traditions and such. This may be useful, and I don't have a lot of time to read through all of it right now. However, I see a section called Thayan Resurrection, so I'm intrigued to review that. That being said, let me do that in the next post and just get this "sent" before something happens and somehow I lose it all.
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 05 Nov 2017 00:36:02 |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 05 Nov 2017 : 01:11:52
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Ok, on the part where they talk about realmsian factions. So far, only looking at the Thayan Resurrection. The person who wrote this obviously loves the realms, and that's a plus in my book. He's giving good flavor that I need to get into my own work that I'm trying to do for the United Tharchs of Toril, but for lack of time am running into walls. I will also say I need some time to review some of what happened in Neverwinter and Tyranny of Dragons in the last few years, as I've been sidetracked by work.
Hmmm, so they have it that some druids... pissed off at Tam for destroying the land... are willing to aid Thayan revolutionaries to topple Tam. Believable in my book. This would be even moreso with my United Tharchs, as they return 100 years later to find their homeland destroyed while they've been improving other parts of the world. Verty interesting storyline with the Athar.
Then it presents two new class options. The first is the defier domain for clerics, which is essentially a way to make clerics that depend on intelligence and that do NOT worship gods. In fact, this cleric wants to work against gods. They can either make a pact with a powerful being (not a god) which provides them access to divine spells OR they work with the "great unknown". While mechanically, I think this works, I think thematically it needs more detail. The ability to give divine spells as a fully blown caster via pact magic, but not sourcing this from a divine source.... this source SHOULD be defined. The concept though seems ok.
Also noted a new arcane tradition of Guild Wizardry. At a glance, I really like it. Its focus is around giving a spellcaster access to a lot more spells to prepare without having to tote a spellbook that's enormous.
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1847 Posts |
Posted - 06 Nov 2017 : 02:28:46
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 I'm stunned at the level of detail in your review. I was really expecting something much simpler but THANKS. It sounds like the fluff might be worth reading but I'm not convinced on the magic itself. Still, I may go ahead and buy it.
Thanks again. |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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DM's Guild - Elminster's Guide to Magic
