Customer Reviews

Magic of Faerun (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I first read about the release of this product, I made up my mind I wasn't going to buy it. The price seemed unreasonable for a softcover supplement, and given the patchwork quality of the previous softcover releases ' It seemed like a waste'

Then I actually got to read it, and all that went out the window.

If you're running the realms- this will be a great add to the campaign world. More spells were a given, but here's the thing: They're actually useful! Amanuensis (A spell to transcribe magical writing in minutes rather than days) will soon be gracing the libraries of many a wizard. The clerical spells have some nice flair (a L1 healing spell for the faithful that cures 8HP plus a level bonus-nice! and they've finally given blunt weapons a keen-like enhancement spell, Weapon of Impact). Rangers, often thought to have gotten short shrift in the new D&D, get some good stuff in this book: spells that give their melee weapons +3 enhancements, and a spell that makes their next ranged shot critical, so long as it hits (I ask you, what ranger wouldn't want that?).

Of course, new feats are part of the package. The metamagic feats are mostly for panache (like the feat that allows you to give your spells a 'theme' which makes them harder for opponents to identify, but has few other mechanical benefits) but they still add to the overall feel of the realms play.

The prestige classes in this book are, in contrast with previous offerings, broad-based and allow for customization. Whereas there are few differing ways to play a Pale Master (from Tome & Blood), there are countless ways to play a Mystic Wanderer (a clerical prestige class, with a splash of the arcane) or the Mage Killer (a shadowy spellcaster who has a bone to pick with arcane types). With a campaign world as a backdrop, prestige classes can really explore their potential as world-building as well as character-building tools.

In the 'Places of Power,' chapter, we are introduced to ready-made settings for magic events in Faerun. A magical bazaar where PC mages can buy and sell magic, as well as participate in Mage Duels. The Mage Duel rules are a great idea, although the rules are a complete aberration with the core rulebooks (spellcasters are allowed counterspells without readying actions, for example). The dueling rules promote a free-flowing and non-lethal way for mages to settle their differences. However, since a duel is unlike anything that exists outside of the dueling arena it is unclear if it will serve as anything more than the thrill-seeking stunt that it currently is.

A chapter is devoted to explaining Faerun's peculiar magic backstory, which is useful for immersive campaigns and can serve as inspiration for spells, items and adventures alike. Rules for Gem Magic detail an expensive way for a magic user to store (and trigger) spells in gems-much like scrolls. Gem Magic increased cost (it uses gems, after all) comes with increased flexibility in use. A gem with a stored spell can be triggered when a certain creature approaches within 5', something a scroll cannot do.

All in all, the book is chock full of what you would expect, more magic for the Forgotten Realms setting. The book is gorgeous, in keeping with the FRCS' look and feel, and the text does not disappoint. If you play the realms, this one's a keeper.

MoF is excellent. I've played D&D through its various incarnations since 1977, and the Forgotten Realms since the early 80's. The price tag was a bit high, so I took a peek at a friend's copy first. What I saw convinced me to buy it.

The spells and cleric domains add a lot of dimension and color to D&D3e. I was expecially interested in the new prestige classes. A couple of them seem better suited to NPCs, such as the Master Alchemist and the Mage-Killer, but the write-ups are balanced and well thought out.

The magic items chapter is quite good, too. There is a lot of flavor added to the list, and not simply more powerful items, or more ways to cheat the rules. Too many past supplements from the previous versions of AD&D have introduced items and spells far too powerful for most campaigns. This supplement is very well balanced.

The feats are good, too, Spell Thematics especially (but get the errata download from WoC!).

My only disappointment was there weren't very many monsters, but that wasn't the thrust of this supplement, so my disappointment is very minor.

Overall, this book is worth the price, and very handy for both players and DM's who want a better understanding of the magic of Forgotten Realms.

You know, I didn't really mind paying for this. Sure, it's overpriced, but it's darn useful.

This book is, rather obviously, intended primarily for Forgotten Realms. I still think that the setting is on the rather obnoxiously silly side, but the material is more or less first-rate, and thus easily stealable for better d20 settings.

The meat of this book is the massive number of new spells, a great number of which are useful. There's Speed Swim (1st-level spell, gives a Swim speed of 30), Hunter's Mercy (ranger spell, 4th-level, if the arrow hits, it crits), and the utterly awesome Wieldskill (1st-level spell for clerics of Gond, gives +10 competence bonus to ANY skill, or a half rank in one skill you don't have, *or* any feat). All classes get good spells, and some are multi-use; Mace of Odo, for example, can be used for damage or to block incoming spells.

You'll also find a good chunk of the book devoted to the various methods and practices of magic in Faerun, including sample temples, mage guilds, mage fairs, and odd schools of magic. These are okay, but not particularly great.

There are also nifty prestige magic-based prestige classes, like the mystic wanderer, mage-killer, and the Harper Mage and Harper Priest. There are mostly okay, though some are too dependant on the setting to be useful elsewhere. The Guild Mage of Waterdeep is an almost exact copy of the Mage of the Arcane Order from Tome & Blood.

Magic items and stuff are also well-represented. There are a great many new weapons and armor enchantments, as well as specific varieties of items. Some aren't particularly useful; the Rod of Cats springs to mind as one of the more pointless items (yes, darkvision is nice, but there are easier/cheaper ways of doing that...). The magical materials available are greatly expanded, including special weapon/armor materials and gems that enhance spells. Last, but not least, you'll find a selection of monsters and templates that appear in the setting.

All in all, this is a pretty decent book. The production value is very high, and they obviously put a lot of effort into it. If I liked Forgotten Realms at all, it'd get 5 stars.

This simply is more meat, more flavor, for the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting - and of exceptional quality.

MOF knows the importance of discussing the more aesthetic points of magic in the Realms, shows many intriguiging prestige classes like the Master Alchemist and Mage-Killer. It also has many spells and magic items that contribute to a true Realms feel, using the names and based on the history of powerful characters or events of that world. For example, powerful magic rings created for the great military commanders and soldiers of Cormyr, and new magical enchantments for weapons and armor such as Impact - a version of Keen that exists especially for increasing the critical damage potential of bludeoning weapons - and Magic Eating.

Highly recommended supplement to the FRCS that will see a lot of utility by both players and DMs who enjoy the high-magic world of the Realms.

I admit that I was worried when I purchased this book. Supplements such as Tome of Blood and Sword and Fist had made me leary of the paperback supplements that were being released for Dungeons and Dragons. After reading through the reviews here, I decided to purchase a copy.

The information presented was increadible. This had many of those things I thought to be lacking from the FR Campaign Setting Sourcebook: spell charts including the new spells (as a bonus it also includes spell charts for the prestige classes in the DMG, such as the assassin), actual descriptions of mythals and how the ones in certain areas behaved, and a great deal of additional information (such as Mage Duels, Magical Roads, and a Mage Fair) that I can apply to virtually any campaign.

The book itself, despite being a softcover, is absolutely gorgeous and has been done in the same style as the FR Camapign Setting Sourcebook. If it were hardcover, it would be perfect and well worth the price tag. As it now stands, it is a wonderful supplement to games both inside and outside the realms.

Ok, after Tome and Blood, WoTC has come out with a great Realms book to follow up the FR hardback. This is a big one, 192 pages, and chock full of spells, magic, rules and prestige classes that should keep anyone busy for a long, long time. Lots of artwork (some very good, some not as good) and a nice layout, very attractive. This makes up somewhat for the terrible spell selection in Tome and Blood with some interesting ideas. Hope they can keep this up for future products.

Pound for pound, this is one of the best D&D accessories Wizards of the Coast has produced. I made the mistake of buying Tome and Blood just before this beauty came out. This book is superior to Tome and Blood in too many ways to count.

First of all, just look at it. The book is filled with gorgeous color illustrations that immediately let you know that you're holding something special. Reading the book gives you an intensely epic feeling that has been so absent from some of Wizard's other publications. Forgotten Realms, an already rich campaign setting, really comes alive in this book.

The books starts by giving a background to what magic really is. It describes the Weave, a magical force created by the gods from which magic comes to mortals, and the story behind some of the legendary gods and wizards behind it.

Being an accessory, there are also tons of new spells, feats, and some brilliant and well developed prestige classes (much better than Tome and Blood's "Candlecaster"). Greater Mage Hand, a spell I invented a while ago because I felt it was needed, was also invented by the book's authors, along with some other really creative and useful spells.

This is undoubtebly the best D&D accessory I own. The people in charge of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting are already making it something special. This book is expensive (and it's a paperback), but worth every penny.

This is one heck of a Forgotten Realms supplement. I can only recomend it enough.
The book starts off with a very good section about the different kinds of magic around Fâerun, and a rundown of extra magical locations. The new spells in the book are fun and vel balanced, the rewrite of the Polymorph spells are better than the Players Handbook version.
The new prestige classes are interesting, the Gnome artificer and War wizard my favorites. There is also a very good section about new materials to use in building magic items.
The book rounds off with some very cool new magic items, and last but not least some info about Moonblades(nice!).
So buy, buy, buy, buy, buy!!!

There is a lot about this book, Magic of Faerun, that recommends itself to the D&D enthusiast. Aside from adding a wealth of new detail to the Forgotten Realms setting (particularly new to those who have not familiarized themselves with it outside of the new edition game) it also sports a plethora of new spells, useful new prestige classes, and a small smattering of even more magical monsters and templates. Even more useful is the fact that this book goes out of its way to suggest ways to work different aspects that it lists into any given campaign. "Useful", of course, is subjective, since while it aids the Dungeon Master, it may also cause the DM to be reluctant to hand the book over to any of the players, since they might stumble across ideas that are to be used in the next session, possibly ruining the adventure. That, however, is a minor point.

My primary - perhaps only - complaint about Magic of Faerun lies in the illustrations. They range from outstanding (in one or two cases) to acceptable, to downright unpleasant and distracting. And not "unpleasant" in a gorey way. "Unpleasant" in a "poorly-illustrated" sort of a way. The slightly abstract pictures of Michael Dubisch struck me as particularly poor, and I do hope that his work won't be making a return in any future D&D or Forgotten Realms books. I'd much rather that Wizards of the Coast stuck with the more traditional paintings and sketches, ala Core Rules and even the FR campaign setting.

The drawings, however, don't detract from the usefulness of this product; merely from its attractiveness.

In sum, this is a well-written campaign accessory that is worthy of your attention. Simply be prepared not to judge it by its illustrations.

As I have oft stated in my gaming reviews, I'm a fighter... I like to hit things with pointy-things and am prone to take Feats like Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization and Improved Critical... I have also often stated my dislike of the (in my opinion) derivative and generally boring Forgotten Realms campaign setting...

Man... do I want to play a mage.

It takes great skill as a writer to get THOSE words out of my mouth, and these authors, particularly Angel Leigh McCoy, have the skill.

This book has it all, new feats, new spells and an AMAZINGLY in-depth examination of the history and inner workings of magic in the realms...

If you are a Game Master (no matter whether your campaign is home grown or FR) this is a MUST for your d20 collection; If you are a caster in a FR campaign... run right out and buy it today.

This book would have a flawless "5" rating were it not for the (once again) high price tag.