Post by Trailfoot on Mar 20, 2006 3:42:17 GMT -5
So I bought the Tome of Magic, Wizards's latest offering to those of us who occasionally sit down at a table and roll dice. Want to know what I think?
1. What's this book about?
Basically, it's three really short but pretty complete books stuck together and marketed as one. It contains three new spellcasting models - pact magic, shadow magic, and truename magic - each with a base class, spell list, set of feats, set of associated prestige classes, and the requisite fluff of a new D&D release. Everything you need to add these into a D&D campagin, as well as (for me, at least) a bunch of info that will likely never be used. More on that later. So, what do I think about each section?
2. Pact Magic
This is, honestly, the best part of the book. A solid base class, a solid underlying system (pacts and vestiges) that works both extremely well and in a way that's remarkably fresh, and neat feats and prestige classes.
The new base class for Pact Magic, the Binder, is a guy who summons these extraplanar, amoral (outside the comprehension of 'normal' beings, and thus exempt from their morality) beings called Vestiges. Vestiges come from realities where there is no sensation, no experience, and have been driven to something that would, were they not ineffable, be described as both madness and desperation by this lack of stimulation. They want experience, and thus welcome the opportunity to be summoned and bound to the souls of mortals. Every attempt to summon them succeeds, though a binding check (modified by Charisma, class level, and feats) still must be made. Success at the check means that you suffer no ill effects from the binding and can even choose to disguise the vestige's physical sign of the binding. Failure means that the vestige gains a degree of control over you, not enough to compel you to action but enough to punish you for violations of its innate nature. You can change vestiges once a day, and gain access to both more powerful vestiges and the ability to bind more than one at a time as you gain levels.
Each vestige grants a set of abilities, usually three to five. These abilities are considered supernatural, and are often the sorts of things normally delegated to monsters, such as breath weapons. The variety of the vestiges makes the Binder an effective hybrid class, though not in the way of the Bard, Ranger and Druid (and Mystic Theurge and Psychic Warrior, to a point) in their ability to switch easily from one role to another in the middle of a fight. Instead, the Binder chooses his vestiges at the beginning of the day, setting his abilities for the day in place. Party going to need an extra tank? Grab the vestige Ayn, and get medium armor proficiency, no loss of movement in medium or heavy armor, and a flaming aura that damages those who attack you in melee. What about a nuke? There's a few vestiges for that, depending on your preferences.
I'll post more later. I'm sleepy now.
1. What's this book about?
Basically, it's three really short but pretty complete books stuck together and marketed as one. It contains three new spellcasting models - pact magic, shadow magic, and truename magic - each with a base class, spell list, set of feats, set of associated prestige classes, and the requisite fluff of a new D&D release. Everything you need to add these into a D&D campagin, as well as (for me, at least) a bunch of info that will likely never be used. More on that later. So, what do I think about each section?
2. Pact Magic
This is, honestly, the best part of the book. A solid base class, a solid underlying system (pacts and vestiges) that works both extremely well and in a way that's remarkably fresh, and neat feats and prestige classes.
The new base class for Pact Magic, the Binder, is a guy who summons these extraplanar, amoral (outside the comprehension of 'normal' beings, and thus exempt from their morality) beings called Vestiges. Vestiges come from realities where there is no sensation, no experience, and have been driven to something that would, were they not ineffable, be described as both madness and desperation by this lack of stimulation. They want experience, and thus welcome the opportunity to be summoned and bound to the souls of mortals. Every attempt to summon them succeeds, though a binding check (modified by Charisma, class level, and feats) still must be made. Success at the check means that you suffer no ill effects from the binding and can even choose to disguise the vestige's physical sign of the binding. Failure means that the vestige gains a degree of control over you, not enough to compel you to action but enough to punish you for violations of its innate nature. You can change vestiges once a day, and gain access to both more powerful vestiges and the ability to bind more than one at a time as you gain levels.
Each vestige grants a set of abilities, usually three to five. These abilities are considered supernatural, and are often the sorts of things normally delegated to monsters, such as breath weapons. The variety of the vestiges makes the Binder an effective hybrid class, though not in the way of the Bard, Ranger and Druid (and Mystic Theurge and Psychic Warrior, to a point) in their ability to switch easily from one role to another in the middle of a fight. Instead, the Binder chooses his vestiges at the beginning of the day, setting his abilities for the day in place. Party going to need an extra tank? Grab the vestige Ayn, and get medium armor proficiency, no loss of movement in medium or heavy armor, and a flaming aura that damages those who attack you in melee. What about a nuke? There's a few vestiges for that, depending on your preferences.
I'll post more later. I'm sleepy now.