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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A worthwhile mix of the good and the bad..., July 30, 2001
This review is from: Tome and Blood: A Guidebook to Wizards and Sorcerers (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying) (Paperback)
Tome and Blood, while a better product than Sword and Fist, is still hampered by a formulaic approach to rules supplements and a regrettable amount of filler. This volume contains new feats, new spells, new equipment, new prestige classes, new magic items, rules clarifications (and explanations!), detailed information on familiars, and a map and description of an arcane-themed structure. It would be almost unthinkable for a rule supplement to be printed without a smattering of new feats, new items, and new prestige classes. While some of this book's offerings seem the result of an all-night brainstorming session most new items and feats will find their way into campaigns based on their genuine usefulness. Sticklers for a fantasy feel will find easy pickings in several of the items (like the scroll-organizer) that seem reverse-engineered based on rules-rather than a tangible fantasy world need. Feats. Perhaps no pairing of classes could benefit more from a set of expansion-oriented feats than the Arcane spell-casting duo of Wizard and Sorcerer. Metamagic feats open up endless possibilities of modifying a given spells attribute. Twinning spells (casting a spell and getting its effect twice) or chaining spells (having a spell strike a target, then arc to strike another target at a lesser effect) are just two of the new metamagic feats. Devious spell casters will surely come up with ways to use them to wreak havoc on targets expecting the same-ol same-ol. The concept of Metamagic is marvelous as it makes magic exponentially more diverse. In practice its use is a bit hamstrung by its sheer cost. (A metamagic feat AND a jump in the spells level). Few would quibble that casting a Twinned Fireball (and thereby getting two fireballs with one spell) is a substantial increase in *ahem* firepower, but not a lot would be eager to take the feat in order to cast the spell as if it were level 7. Other metamagic feats allow casters to substitute new types of damage for existing ones (like a fireball that does acid damage instead of fire damage - acidball for monsters that are immune to fire), and while these are intriguing they are still quite expensive. All in all I very much like the new metamagic feats I dont expect to seem them used much in my campaigns, mores the pity. The new spells offer some excellent food for thought, and spells like corpse candle (revealing hidden and invisible creatures) will quickly be welcomed into PCs spell books everywhere. A host of spells for repairing constructs have been created, along with some nice ideas in numerous schools. Prestige Classes. While the idea of prestige classes is marvelous, WotC's approach to listing new ones leaves a lot to be desired. The new prestige classes in T&B are for the most part, tightly focused on some bizarre main theme (like the Acolyte of the skin, a spell caster whose focus is to become an extra-dimensional being, or by far the weirdest, the Blood Magus a caster whose focus is learning the magic inherent in the blood of living things). To each their own, but these classes are truly bizarre. Most players will be looking for new abilities and new paths of development, and not for a class that re-defines their characters philosophy and worldview. The True Necromancer is a standout, a long-overdue specialist that DMs have been waiting for, as well as the Bladesinger (a powergamers favorite-but still a great concept). The new feats and spells give a DM or Player the building blocks of truly great prestige classes of their own so there are good things in this portion. The rules clarifications are what make the book a must buy for a gaming group. The revised version of Polymorph Self, detailed familiar rules and the expanded listing of magic item creation costs are more than worth the price of admission. Absent some house rules or the rules in this book, these are grey areas that will haunt your game (Magic item creation in particular. Its necessarily fluid but as a result it is very easy to get confused). Familiars deservedly get some serious attention in these rules. The improved familiar feat (while expensive) provides PCs with a meatier option for every casters best buddy. Additionally, its always been a mystery what the familiar is capable of, or what their mental capabilities are- and this book gives the spell caster some easy to follow guidelines. (Homonculi are back, whoo-hoo!). The new magic items are less impressive than the rules for creating them, but they introduce a startling new item: the Metamagic Rod. A Metamagic Rod is keyed to a particular metamagic ability and allows the wielder to use one of their spells with that feat a number of times a day (sans the increase in spell level!). Previously expensive abilities like the additional firepower of Repeat Spell are now (for all extents and purposes) FREE! These rods are expensive and have limited uses, but beware the caster who possesses one they can rock your world. Lastly, the obvious filler of the building and its description are provided for flavor, but lets face it: most people didnt buy this book for a floorplan of some building they want magic, and lots of it. The descriptions of magical organizations, while helpful in a general sense also smacks of padding. A two-page description of qualities to include in magical groups, plus two examples would have been more than adequate for such a subject. It would be unfair to criticize this book for what I think it should have been, an expansive tome on the seemingly limitless fields of spells, metamagic and higher mysteries of the art, but even working within WotCs framework of supplements I think I am justified in feeling let down. The prestige classes are bizarre, the organizations are uninspired, the building is (to my mind) a waste of paper, and as a result space is taken away from really good material like metamagic feats and spells. The good material is quite good, and I would certainly recommend that a group include at least one copy of this in its collective library but the best points of this tome arent fully explored.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite what i was hoping for, July 9, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Tome and Blood: A Guidebook to Wizards and Sorcerers (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying) (Paperback)
After the phenomenal debut of their core rulebooks, i have not been particularly satisfied with the supplemental paperbacks. In particular, the class enhancements like Sword and Fist and Defenders of the Faith. They're not BAD, per se, and Tome and Blood has its useful information, but compared to what it could have been, and what you're getting for twenty bucks, its just about not worth it. First, the pluses: New skills, new Feats (some of which are overpowering, so DM's' beware) and the best thing is the new Prestige classes, including the interesting Guildmage and the Pale Master. The Prestige classes are well thought out and interesting, and many players will be hopping to try them out. Now, the minuses, which in my opinion outweigh the pluses- The presentation of the book lacks appeal. The artwork is sparse, not all of it good, with few embellishments along the way to jump out and grab the reader. I have to admit, i miss the old brown Complete Handbooks of 2nd edition with their full color inserts. Not only where they longer, but there were cheaper too! There is roughly eight pages of this skinny 96 page book that describes the domicle of a wizard, replete with room descriptions and details. In my opinion, when space for text is so limited as is, this could have gone toward somethign much more useful. The spells are TERRIBLE! How many ice/fire/acid orbs can a person need? I was looking forward to dozens of rehashed spells from the Wizard's Handbook series updated to 3rd edition. Sorry, that's just not really done here. There are a few good spells, but you are better off grabbing the second edition ones and updating them yourself, or wait for yet ANOTHER supplement to come along that has some decent spells. Roleplaying tips are sparse, other than what is included in the prestige classes. EVen these could have been fleshed out some more. To me, the whole project just seemed rushed, slapped together with a minimum of expense and then shipped out at the usual high price. If i could have just gotten some better details out of it i woudl have been happy, but for this DM, they were just too far and few between to give it a higher rating.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Improvement on what's come before..., November 12, 2001
This review is from: Tome and Blood: A Guidebook to Wizards and Sorcerers (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying) (Paperback)
I have never, ever played a mage. As part of my policy of letting the people who make a habit of playing a mage worry about magic, I ignored this book for several months. However, lately, I've decided that I might have to turn my hand towards magery. So, what do we have in this, the splatbook for wizards and sorcerers? Well, there is the obligatory mass of prestige classes, as well as new spells, metamagic feats, playing tips, and rules clarifications. What's good? I especially appreciated the discussion on item creation, which gives more detail on how it works and what happens, and better information on costs. The metamagic feats are interesting, and some are downright mean; my DM sprang a sorcerer with a fire admixed cone of cold on us one time, doubling the damage output of the spell (but making it into a much higher level spell). I especially liked the Mage of the Arcane Order, Arcane Trickster, Wayfarer Guide, and Bladesinger prestige classes. The spells are also pretty neat, and the tips section is nice and thorough. What's bad? Aside from the four prestige classes I mentioned above, I barely have a use for any others. They seem to be mostly meant for NPCs. And of those four prestige classes, the bladesinger had to be heavily errataed on wizards.com, due to most of its abilities being left out. If there were less...eccentric prestige classes, I'd be a lot happier. A note about role-playing stuff: At heart, D&D has ALWAYS been a generic game. Without a setting attached, you can really only do so much to create a background for a class, which is why I believe that WotC isn't pushing the roleplaying component in source material like this. Sure, the default setting is Greyhawk, but the vast majority of people who I know play in any other setting that's been published, or made up their own. All in all, this is a pretty good supplement. WotC is definitely improving their line of splatbooks as they go along. I can't wait for Song & Silence to come out.
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