The Grand Duchy of Karameikos Review

 

My first Basic Dungeons and Dragons product review.  The Grand Duchy of Karameikos is the first in a series of Gazetteers done for the Known World, the campaign setting of Dungeons and Dragons (BECMI).  It's also called Mystara, but that came later. Anyhow, is the product worth it to buy?  Lets find out.  This product was written by Aaron Allston for TSR.  Cover artist was Clyde Caldwell.  I got a hard copy from Lightning Source and also a pdf copy as well.  Note, if you buy the hard copy, you will find that the cover has a lot of red (magenta) in it.  The hard copy is paperback instead of hard back.

The Grand Duchy of Karameikos is a small book, and comes in three sections.  The Introduction: where Aaron talks about the book.  The Gazetteer Section and finally the Adventures section.  Which is for the Dungeon Master.

Introduction.

Here, Aaron says he is pleased with the book.  He mentions that fantasy worlds often grow in leaps and bounds.  The world started with a map and a few lines of text in D&D Expert.  But that has grown into the Known World through published adventures that TSR, inc. had put out.  A lot of these adventures are available on Drivethru.   He gives thanks and shout out for a few adventures that he referenced to put together the Grand Duchy. 

Part One: the Gazetteer Section

Here is where the most of the detail about the book was written.  You get into the Grand Duchy's history, some of which is for the players to read.  And you also get into region's customs, cultures (there are two human cultures: one is the Traladara culture and the other is the Thyatis culture), and also talk about the demi-humans of the Grand Duchy.  The history of the region is recounted.  How the Traladarans had a golden age, but that came to an end.  How Thyatis conquered the region, and how a duke traded favors for the land.  You also get into detail about the economy of the Grand Duchy.  A calendar was made, and a list of NPCs for the land.  A lot of information was packed into sixty-four pages.  Which was an astounding feat for writers for TSR.

The Adventures Section

 This is for the Dungeon Master or DM.  It lists some adventures you can run for your players.  They are all short form, allowing the DM to use his creativity to flesh out and present to his or her players.  At the end of the section are the maps detailing the Grand Duchy, castles, cities, and other items. 

Hits

TSR at this time, relied on a full color cover.  Inside, they use a fortified tower to add visual interest.  The book is laid out in three columns.  The type is ten points small, and the art is awesome, even though it's black and white art.

Misses 

The (new) hard copy's cover has a lot of red tones.  Which takes away from the original.  The maps are printed in 81/2" by 11" inches, and it can be a little confusing at first when you see these maps.  Otherwise, if you like Mystara content, I would start with this Gazetteer.

The Future

Again the future is uncertain.  Although I will tell you that I'm buying the trademarks and copyrights to ten (10) D&D worlds.  One of these worlds is Mystara.  So I can say with confidence that the first project we are working on is the Grand Duchy of Karameikos.  

Strixhaven: a Curriculum of Chaos Review

 

The mission of Strixhaven University is to discover and preserve magical knowledge, to disseminate that knowledge from one generation to the next, to promote free and open study of magic in all its forms, and to enhance the lives of people through out the world through the use of magic.

-- Strixhaven mission statement

 Hello everyone, today I'm reviewing Strixhaven: a Curriculum of Chaos for Dungeons and Dragons. I received the book from Amazon and have been reading it forwards and backwards. This book was produced and released in November of 2021, and it describes a magical University setting coming out of the Strixhaven set for Magic: the Gathering.  Strixhaven: a Curriculum of Chaos is a Wizards of the Coast product.  The original designers for Strixhaven are Doug Beyer, Taylor Ingvarsson, Jess Lanzillo, Meris Mullaley, Fox Allison, Annie Sardelis, Emily Teng, Andrew Vallas, James Wyatt, and Art Zirulnik.

 Strixhaven University is a college setting that is set in the World of Arcavios.  It was originally a Magic: the Gathering product produced by Wizards of the Coast.  Apparently, the people at Hasbro felt that it was such a success that they told Wizards to cross it over in D&D.   And so they did. What we got is Strixhaven: a Curriculum of Chaos.

First of all, I think this product is twenty years too late. With the Harry Potter craze in the early nineties as well as the early 2000s, this product could have cashed in on the Harry Potter mania that swept the world with the Harry Potter movies. However, we know that Wizards did approach J.K. Rowling about doing a Harry Potter roleplaying game based on then, the d20 System.  She didn't like the idea. However, great ideas take time.  I think, while not a direct translation of Hogwarts to D&D, you can't help but wonder if Strixhaven was actually inspired by Harry Potter.

 Strixhaven, itself is divided into seven chapters, although most of the relevant information is in the Introduction.  Unlike Hogwarts, which is designed to teach very young wizards and witches, Strixhaven is an University.  Designed to teach older, college age kids.  Strixhaven's university is laid out like Cambridge or Oxford.  There are colleges mixed in a town.  Currently, there are five colleges. The first college is Lorehold, which explores the past and preserves the history for future generations.  It was founded by the dragon Velomachus Lorehold.

Second is Prismari College, and students of Prismari use the elements to practice the arts.  It was founded by the dragon Galazeth Prismari. Quadrix college is third, and it focuses on the mathematical aspects of nature.  Quandrix was founded by the dragon Tanazir Quandrix.

The fourth college of Strixhaven is the Silverquill college.  Students of Silverquill study the magic of rhetoric, poetry, oration, and writing. It was founded by Shadrix Silverquill.  The last is the college of Witherbloom.  The college teaches the magics associated with life and death. The founder was the dragon Beladros Witherbloom. 

Although the University can be placed in any world, again the University takes place on the world of Arcavios.  The world itself was formed when two other worlds collided and coalesced into one.  At least according to Arcavian legends.

Chapter One of the book goes over life on Campus. It gives an overview of the entire University.  From the Central Campus to the various colleges.  And there are maps to the whole thing.  This part of the book isn't very detailed, allowing players and DMs to fill in the blanks with their own creativity.  although there are a few locations that are given detail, DMs and players can fill in the blanks and cracks.  This is a good thing about the book, in my opinion.

 Chapter two of Strixhaven provides Character Creation details for Dungeons and Dragons 5e (2014). It introduces a new race called the Owlin, and provides character options for different characters, although I feel that the whole world is geared towards mages.  But there are options for the other classes of D&D.   Included are new feats, new spells, and new magic items.

  The next four chapters of the book include a campaign designed to take Freshmen (level 1 characters) to all the way to the end of their senior year (level 10).  Naturally, this is the part I don't like.  The adventures, which will go down in history as being classics for adventures set in a school; are not what they could be.  That is, adventures that actually challenge the characters according to the classics.  While fun (I've seen the adventures run in action), and people could have fun with it, because of space they are lackluster and lack potential.

Chapter seven includes the monsters of Strixhaven.  From the dragon founders, right down to the students.  This chapter contains stat blocks for forty different new monsters.  From those who learn to those who are trying to undermine the college.  They are all there.  In the back of the book is a map you can tear out.

 

 Hits

The art in the book is beautiful.  Taken from the Magic: the Gathering cards, the art is expressive, full color, and bring Strixhaven to life.  Wizards hits it out of the bull park with the art.  The art is expressive, gorgeous, and takes you to a world where the University of Strixhaven could exist.  The art is Realistic.  Whether oil paintings, or digital, it's very expressive.

The  layout of the physical book is two columns, with no justifications.  The book is laid out so it's a fast read.  With a simple layout such as that, I suggest getting a copy of the physical book.  I must have read it ten times before doing this review.

Misses

 The book could have been bigger.  The art of storytelling is part of roleplaying.  The adventures seem rather luckluster.  More could have been a part of the adventures.  They could have actually got real storytellers to work on the adventures and make them better.  The villain in the story is well developed, but when you see the art for him, he's rather comical.  They should have focused on the Oriq, as they are real threats to the campus than a bullywug looking for revenge.

 The Future

 So, what holds to the future of Strixhaven?  Well, that remains to be seen.  There is a rumor that Magic the Gathering might return to Strixhaven for their 2026 line up.  If you play Magic the Gathering, this is good news to revisit the world of Arcavios.  However, I must tell you that I bought the book for business purposes.  I'm going up to Wizards of the Coast to buy the copyrights and trademarks to eight campaign settings, and Strixhaven is one of them.  I'm also buying the copyrights and trademarks to D&D 3e.  I'll own Strixhaven.  I'll be able to develop Strixhaven for Dungeons and Dragons 3.0.

Is this what the future holds?  Well, I'm old school D&D, and Old School is best.  There are things that can be done for Strixhaven to improve on it.  Especially in the adventure department.  But we will see what the future will hold.  Maybe Wizards will change their mind and not let me have Strixhaven.

Legend of the Five Rings 5e Review

 Before I review Rokugan, I thought I should review something a little more current.  Like the current Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game by Fantasy Flight Games (now Asmodee North America). Like in my review of Oriental Adventures 3e, this roleplaying game is set in the land of the Legend of the Five Rings, Rokugan.  Legend of the Five Rings (L5R) is a colorful book that promises to deliver a good game to the masses.  Now I haven't been able to run a game in the lands of L5R, so I can't give you a review on how it plays.  But I did have some opinions on the game as well as the company itself.  I'm here to tell you that I was wrong with some or most of those opinions.  Most of my criticisms go to how the game is played now, rather than anything else.  The game was mainly written by Max Brooke and Katrina Ostrander.

Expectations

Like most games I bought on my budget, the new Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game aims to be a skill based system.  Unlike Dungeons and Dragons, the L5R RPG is not a heroic roleplaying game.  This is because it retains the roll and keep system from earlier editions, and combat promises to be quite deadly.  I don't know if players of this game try to avoid combat, but I'm running an L5R game on Paizo as a play-by-post using the previous 4th edition rules by Alderac Entertainment Group.  So far, my group has avoided combat except when it's necessary.  Unlike Dungeons and Dragons (and OSR clones), where players can take more risks in combat, the new L5R RPG promises to be mainly a social game.  Don't worry, you will be able to see many roleplaying opportunities in playing the game.  One thing to keep in mind is that Rokugan is a High Fantasy land inspired by the culture of Sengoku Japan, especially the writings of Miyamoto Musashi, and his book the Book of Five Rings.

Miyamoto Musashi in his prime, wielding two bokken.

 

No Elves?!

No, there are no elves in Rokugan.  Most of the races in Rokugan are human or ratling, although there were a group of feline humanoids called Kitsu, who were changed into humans and founded the Kitsu family of Shugenja for the Lion Clan.  However, there is magic, monsters, and wonder in Rokugan that makes it the equal of any thing like Lord of the Rings has to offer.

There are seven great clans, each embodying one tenant of Bushido.  Take for instance the Scorpion clan, who embody the tenant of Loyalty.  They make up the clan you love to hate. The scorpions play the villains, even though they are in the business of protecting the Empire.

Miyamoto Musashi killing a giant creature, from The Book of Five Rings

Playing the Game

The first chapter is probably the most important.  This chapter deals with playing the game.  And there are some different aspects from the AEG versions of the game.  For instance, you are expected to use different dice.  This probably my most warranted criticism of the game.  I don't like that you have to use different dice to play the game.  I just want to use my traditional six sided dice and my traditional icosohedric (20 sided) dice to play the game.  However, how the different dice are there to help you roleplay your character. I almost got a set myself, though, then I remembered I can't run a tabletop game right now.

Before you play the game, you create a character.  Character creation goes by twenty questions.  However, if there is one fault to this game, it's that all the schools of the various clans are listed -- along with skill bonuses for your character learning in that particular school is remunerated. What sucks, and yes, it is a problem, many of the schools could have been reserved for Clan Sourcebooks (like the Way of the Lion or Secrets of the Phoenix).  Players of the new system could fork over the cash on a certain clan sourcebook they'd enjoy.  That sourcebook could contain new rules and ways of looking at your clan.  This is true when I picked up and read Way of the Crane.

However, reading through this chapter a second time, it seems that Asmodee North America has kept the high fantasy feel of Rokugan.  After that, the rest of the game deals with skills, techniques -- including magic -- and playing the game.

Contemporaneous portrait of Miyamoto Musashi (Edo period)

 

Critical Hits

You should know that at first, I thought this game didn't capture the feel of the original game I was used to.  However, like I said, the current L5R RPG isn't a heroic fantasy game.  I don't think it was meant to be a heroic fantasy game.  Of course you can run a campaign where the PCs go out on adventure and slay monsters.  And of course, you can probably run an all ninja campaign.  The rules do let you do that.  However, in keeping with previous editions, I feel that the game is more suited to social roleplaying rather than combat.  I didn't get any of the adventures for the new game to see how they interpret the RPG as they meant it to be played, though.

The art, however, is certainly colorful. The book contains examples of art from traditional Japanese Samurai art to realistic colorful art to bring Rokugan to life in the imaginations of the players or readers.  The art gives the book a five star rating for art direction.

Critical Misses

Where the game fails is that you are expected to buy a new set of dice to play the game.  This was a feature that I didn't like -- but was introduced in all the games from Fantasy Flight Games of the period. If you are like me, and run most of your games online, you would hopefully not find this to be a barrier from purchasing the game. If you are considering a new roleplaying game to give to the gamer in your family, you should get this game.

A word about Asmodee North America

If you are Christian, and are looking for a gaming company to support.  You can't do better than Asmodee North America.  The company -- and thankfully is not Wizards of the Coast -- is certainly doing its best to maintain an atmosphere of honesty and integrity.  As far as I know, the company has been supporting Christian values.  If you care about supporting a good company that you will feel good about, then Asmodee North America is that company.

Eberron Campaign Setting Review

 

 

Ah, the Eberron Campaign Setting.  A long time ago, about twenty years ago, Wizards of the Coast did a setting search.  I sent my proposal in, and so did thousands of others.  All hoping for a chance at fame for producing the next Dungeons and Dragons campaign setting.  Keith's setting made the cut.  Called Eberron by Bill Slavicsek, Keith Baker's setting became a new setting for Dungeons and Dragons.  Although still for D&D, it's different than what came before. The Eberron Campaign Setting describes a world that is unlike anything before.

Inspirations

Eberron is inspired by the pulp era of the 1930's. The book suggests you watch several movies inspired by the same era.  Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark was one of these. Casablanca was another (though I don't know how it was an inspiration -- but it's a classic movie).  The original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard certainly counts as inspiration. The Lensman series by Doc E.E. Smith also certainly counts. Certainly Buck Rodgers also counts, along with the classic Flash Gordon movies. However, thanks to the novel series and collaboration by others than just Keith Baker, the Eberron setting grew and evolved.

Innovations

Eberron, due to it's pulp era inspiration, brought a few innovations to the D&D game. These include Action Points, new races, dragonmarks, a new heroic class, and the philosophy that if it exists in D&D, there is certainly a place for it in Eberron.  This included psionics and other things as well.

Action points was one of the new innovations.  Eventually, Paizo would create hero points for Pathfinder (1e), which was based on the same idea.  Basically, you can spend a hero point to modify your d20 rolls.  This means, if a d20 roll wasn't the result you desired, you can spend an action point to modify your roll with a d6.  This is to reflect that in Eberron, your characters are larger than life heroes.  Which was already a thing in D&D.  Eberron characters just stand out.

 

The new races included certainly don't have dragonmarks.  But they represent something new about the setting.  These races include the changelings, the warforged, the kalashtar, and the shifters.  Changelings are beings that can shapeshift into other persons by using a supernatural ability that works like the alter self spell in D&D.  This shapeshifting is so complete that the changeling can replicate other beings exactly.  This makes them useful as spies and rogues.  They do not have dragonmarks.

Warforged are living constructs.  They were constructed by House Cannith to basically serve in the Last War.  Which, I promise, we will come back to. Anyhow, like the Changelings, the warforged do not have dragonmarks.  But they do have souls, which can be worked into adventures exploring that fact. Because of their constructed nature, warforged have bonuses to AC and living construct traits.

Kalashtar are the result of man bonding with Quori spirits in the past. Because these spirits are good and trying to be good, Kalashtar tend also to be good.  They are also beautiful persons, with an ethereal quality about them. And because the Quori are from the region of dreams, the Kalashtar also tend to be psionic.  Like the Changelings and the Warforged, the Kalashtar cannot have dragonmarks.

Shifters are the result of lycanthropes breeding with humans.  The result is a race that is capable of shifting with animal like features.  This brings into question that the Shifters represent the fusion of man with the natural world.  Like the warforged, kalashtar, and changelings, shifters can't have dragonmarks.

Dragonmarks are a new thing brought into being with the Eberron Campaign Setting.  The idea that the seven common races in the PHB (and incidentally, Pathfinder) can have dragonmarks.  They are purchased with a feat.  A dragonmark allows a person to have a certain spell-like ability depending on it's strength. indviduals with stronger dragonmarks have stronger spell-like abilities. While some races get only one dragonmark, and humans get five.  Also, the dragonmarks are tied to the Draconic Prophecy.  They are manifestations of the Draconic Prophecy and the dragons are trying to understand them. What the dragonmarks did was allow the formation of the Dragonmarked Houses -- financial, political, and social institutions that have at least a near monopoly on certain services.  Such as crafting and healing.

Artificers are another addition to D&D by Eberron. Artificers are a class that is made to represent the construction of magic items and constructs.  Artificers achieved this through the use of craft points and the various craft item feats.  In D&D 3e, however, the class was broken.  It wasn't balanced and so DMs would disallow the class in their games.  In fourth edition, they received an overhaul.  Which I didn't like anyhow.  When Paizo released the Advanced Player's Guide for Pathfinder, there was a contender for the Artificer called the alchemist.  Although the class was meant to represent something new to Eberron, it would take Advanced d20 Magic to provide an alternative to crafting magic items that would make this class viable.

If it Exists in D&D, then it fits in Eberron

This philosophy is the guiding light of Eberron campaigns.  Everything about D&D exists in Eberron somewhere.  This means that you can have exotic items from D&D in your Eberron campaign, like psionics.  Although each monster was given a certain flavor in order to exist in Eberron.  Mind flayers are aberrations from Xoriat, and orcs aren't seen as automatically evil. Alignments aren't concrete in Eberron either.  This means you can have good creatures do things that are thought of as evil, and evil creatures push for good things all around.

Eberron's History

The history of Eberron reflects its pulp nature.  There once was a continent spanning empire in Eberron, called the kingdom of Galifar.  This lasted for nearly a thousand years.  The empire of Galifar (lets just call it what it is) was a time of peace and prosperity.  It was divided into five geopolitical areas known as the five nations.  The scions of Galifar would rule each nation and the eldest of the scions would ascend to the throne.  However, there was a devastating war that split the kingdom of Galifar into thirteen separate kingdoms.  Called the Last War, it was almost every man for itself.  As each nation warred to have it's king or queen to ascend to the throne of Galifar. Due to a devastating attack on the nation of Cyre, which utterly destroyed the nation, the last war was brought to a halt and a treaty was signed.

Tensions run high, however.  It's almost like a cold war has replaced a hot one.  The nations spy on each other, and there are small conflicts on the borders of certain nations. While the dragons are obsessed with the Draconic Prophecy, they did little to halt the conflict once it began.

 

Eberron's Technology

Eberron is definitely set apart by it's high technology.  As reflected above, the most obvious example is the Lightning Rail, a train that runs on magnetic levitation.  Produced during when the Kingdom of Galifar was at it's height, the lightning rail represents what can be done with magic in Eberron. Magic is definitely seen as a tool by everyone that uses it.  Through magic, man and other races have created great wonders. But, like what happened to the Mournland (Cyre) and what happened to Mordain the Fleshweaver, magic itself is a tool that can be misused.  Although Eberron is described as medieval, it's technology certainly places Eberron in the late Renaissance era.  It's more like modern times, like the early 1920's of our history.  What else sets Eberron apart from other campaign settings is the lack of gunpowder.  There is no gunpowder on Eberron.

Looking forward to the Future

The Eberron Campaign Setting is certainly innovative. It describes a setting that is not like other settings. Unlike Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, and others -- it certainly has potential moving forward.  I foresee that the Eberron Campaign Setting certainly has potential and this has been realized in the Dungeon Masters' Guild.  Where anyone can contribute to the setting.  This has certainly been good for the setting as a whole.  Certainly more novels will be produced in the future, and more pulp campaigns will be realized. The Eberron Campaign Setting certainly has a bright future ahead of it.  Although I could have discussed more about what was in this setting, mind you this is only a review and I could not talk about everything.

More Magic and Mayhem Review

 Ah, More Magic and Mayhem.  I received this book back in 2007 as part of the Necromancer Games' gift exchange.  I wanted the book so I can use it.  And thanks to Advanced d20 Magic, I can.  More Magic and Mayhem is a magic sourcebook for the World of Warcraft Roleplaying Game (which is now not considered to be canon). Since the book was written for D&D 3.5, it can be easily used for that game.  Since the license for the WoW RPG expired, the book is also rare and it can cost more than fifty dollars to buy from Amazon. But what makes this book so good is the goodies that are inside it.  Such as the magic items, and not to mention, the magic spells.

The book starts off with some new classes and prestige classes.  New classes include the Inscriber, the Witch Doctor, and the Runemaster.  Both the inscriber and the runemaster deal with runes and glyphs of Azeroth.  While the witch doctor deals with mojo magic.  New Prestige Classes include the Argent Dawn Templar, the Enchanter, the Ley Walker, and the Steam Warrior.  The argent dawn templar is simply a class created to fight the undead of the plague lands.  The enchanter is capable of enchanting objects (although this class is competing with the Artificer in Eberron), and the ley walker follows the ley lines of Azeroth.  The steam warrior uses technology and mechs to fight.

Then there are some new feats to choose from.  There is a new feat category called Totem Feats, and are related to the Totem spells that shamans can use.  There are also alchemy feats, which are used for the alchemy portion of this book.  However, the Alchemist class from the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game can make use of these feats, if they wish.  Since More Magic and Mayhem are about magic and technology, most of the new feats are geared towards spellcasters.

In the next chapter Alchemy is addressed.  Each alchemical item has a DC associated with it's crafting.  The alchemy items addressed are from the WoW MMORPG -- and includes most items from the World of Warcraft game.  There are none items addressed from the Burning Crusade or other expansions.  Still the chapter can be useful for Pathfinder Alchemists, if the GM wants to expand on alchemy for his Pathfinder game.

After the section on Alchemy, enchantments are addressed. Again, enchantments from the World of Warcraft MMO are addressed, and no enchantments are addressed from the expansions.  Can they be used for a regular D&D game or Pathfinder 1e game?  Yes, they certainly can be.  The enchanter prestige class becomes important for enchantments, though.  Of course, the various crafting feats can be used instead.  The class isn't broken, although you'd have to break items to get the various items for enchantments.

The next section talks about runes. Since all the runes listed are for Azeroth locations, I don't use the inscriber or runemaster for my games -- as converting runes for my game world (Eberron) would be quite a hassle.  IF you are playing the WoW RPG, then the runes become important. Runes are a part of World of Warcraft.  That is why they added Inscription from the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.

After this chapter, spells are discussed.  All of the spells are magical abilities from the WoW MMO, so they become useful.  Some spells are not, such as sense demons. However, the spells are important enough to be mentioned -- and I converted a few to the Advanced d20 Magic Dynamic Spellcasting system.  Allowing me to use them, which isn't funny.  This chapter, to me, is pure gold.  I'm using the spells from this chapter in my Eberron game.

The fourth chapter of this book deals with magic items. The chapter talks about how magic items work in the game and lists many magic items that are apart of World of Warcraft.  While these items can expand your regular d20 or Pathfinder game, you may find that these items are apart of World of Warcraft lore, and many of them work in World of Warcraft.  Some of these items could be curious items in your game, of course.  Your GM has the right to approve of any item you wish to create from this chapter.

The last chapter deals with technology. Since most worlds are medieval, or Renaissance, the technology chapter is the least useful.  While technology was introduced in previous Warcraft games, almost all technology worked with the Phlogiston.  That property of the Warcraft world is discussed in Magic and Mayhem.  Still, there is an engineering skill in World of Warcraft that deals with technology.

This book is a good buy, from the usefulness of the spells alone.  Combined with the savvy of the system in Advanced d20 Magic, you will have a lot to add to your game. I recommend it if you are a fan of World of Warcraft.  If not, it's still useful.  Remember, its your game and you have to be judicious in what you will allow in your game.

Eberron: Secrets of Magic

 

EBERRON

THE SECRETS OF MAGIC CAMPAIGN

Some say that the ability to command great armies is power.  Of course, Queen Aurala of Aundair certainly commands armies to do her bidding.  Some say physical strength is power.  Just look at the physical might of any Warforged.  Or anyone that has practiced body building to great extent.  Certainly physical strength is power.  However, the wizards of the Arcane Congress has a better idea of power. Their saying: Scientia est Potentia . . . Knowledge is power.

Welcome to the Secrets of Magic campaign!  A campaign beginning in Aundair, but the travels of the party might take them outside of Aundair in search of power and magic. The heroes (the PCs) start off as magic using classes that have completed their apprenticeship, i.e. level one.  They are about to start their Journeyman stage of their mastery of magic.  Their masters of magic have taught them magic and they are ready to start their journeys.  On their journeys, the PCs must learn new magic and become masters in their own right in order to reach their goals.

Campaign Dynamics

 This is a Pathfinder 1e campaign.  To be frank, it's centered around a group of arcane magic users that have attained their apprenticeship and have graduated to Journeymen.  The player characters are expected to start out as magic users (wizards, sorcerers, summoners, etc.) but may discover other paths as they accomplish their goals.  As time goes on, as they journey, they will come across new magic. 

For this campaign, the following books will be used:

* PATHFINDER Roleplaying Game, Core Rulebook: The bulwark of the campaign.
* Advanced Player's Guide: Summoner class, other class options, and new spells.
* Advanced d20 Magic: Contains the magic system we will be using. It's a simple system of add and subtract.  It's not available on Drivethru, so you will have to download it.
* Unearthed Arcana Specifically, the Spell points optional rule. On page 156. After reading the rules in Advanced d20 Magic on drain, it should be easy to understand why we are using spell points.
* Ultimate Magic: Magus class and new spells.
* Advanced Class Guide: Arcanist class.
* Eberron Campaign Setting: This contains the basics of the world we are using for this campaign.
* Races of Eberron: Talks about the four new races introduced in the ECS.
* Five Nations, especially the chapter on Aundair.

 

Classes Allowed: Wizard, Sorcerer, Arcanist, Summoner, and Magus. Multi-classing into other classes is possible. Just not the Gunslinger. Gunpowder doesn't exist on Eberron. Just remember that the Arcanist, Summoner, and Magi has to be converted to Advanced d20 Magic. Should be easy, after looking at how the other spell using classes work. I'll be willing to work with you. NO CUSTOM CLASSES!

Races: Any race in the Eberron Campaign Setting book and Races of Eberron book works out fine. Kalashtar also work as a choice, just remember this game is centered on spellcasters. Just remember, some Warforged feats work best as Alternate traits.

Character Creation Dynamics

* Purchase method; 20 ability points.
* Two traits.
* Average starting gp.
* 1st Level
* Starting spells from Advanced D20 Magic and the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. You will discover more powerful magic on your journey. Try to choose starting spells with 1 slot to learn.
* You start off knowing each other as friends and/or colleagues. Your friendship between each other should grow as the campaign progresses.
* Alignments: Any of the alignments are possible -- but try to stay away from evil alignments, I'd like to play all the bad guys.
* Character backgrounds: You can use Ultimate Campaign to generate your background. Or, if you are feeling adventurous, you can get a copy of Central Casting: Heroes of Legend by Paul Jacquays and generate your background using that.

Okay, that should cover everything. You start on your journeys as Journeymen. You won't be acknowledged as a Master until you reach 10th or 15th level. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.