Spells & Spellcraft is the fourth volume in Fantasy Flight’s Legends & Lairs line of d20 System sourcebooks. This 176-page hardcover book will offer scores of new arcane and divine spells, new feats, rules for alchemical research and arcane libraries, and rules for new magical traditions. Spells & Spellcraft will be an invaluable resource for both players of spellcasting characters and DMs looking to expand the boundaries of magic in their campaigns.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pick and Choose -- There is a lot of helpful material here!,
By Jaundiced Eye "jaundicedeye" (Hollywood, California, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Spells & Spellcraft: Compendium of Mystic Lore (Legends & Lairs, d20 System) (Hardcover)
Fantasy Flight Games scores big with this one. Subtitled "A Compendium of Mystic Lore," it is a treasure trove of magical options for D20 System gaming, which are mercifully NOT interlinked, allowing GMs to pick and choose what they like and what helps their campaigns.The new spells range from the terribly useful (for example, a gradually enhanced spell series for restoring writings ranging from single documents to whole tomes) to the simply terrible (for example, "Burrowing Bony Digits," a Necromantic spell which sends forth up to five skeletal fingers to burrow their way into the bodies of targets who fail their Reflex saves, doing 1D6 impaling damage plus 1D6 additional burrowing damage for each three levels of the caster -- yecch!). "The Craft of Magic" (one of my favorite parts) has sections on library construction, bookhunting (always necessary for that on-going Arcane research!), ideas for conducting magical research, constructing laboratories, new ideas for spell foci and components, and an extensive section on Bardic and Sorcerous magic, with new feats, PLUS a section on Ceremonial and Ritual Magic, both arcane and divine. "New Types of Magic" introduced are "Ward Magic" (location-based enchantments used with "ward tokens" -- an idea once dealt with in "Volo's Guide to the North"), "Chaos Magic," "Cooperative Magic," and a long section on "Religion," dealing with new types of divine spell casters and "Small Gods," the "minor" deities which are so significant in the "real world" but which get such short shrift in gaming worlds. Also introduced is "Place Magic," the magic of arcane locations and nexuses of magical power, including religious shrines. "The Mundane Made Magical" deals with Alchemy, Constructs, Magical Materials, and Familiars (with wonderful ideas on empowering them, making them finally WORTH the risk of having around). My favorite familiar must now be "the Grimoire," a tiny construct; suitably tinkered with, it is easily imagined as an autonomous, intelligent presence in the spellcaster's library, reading and interrogating other books to aid its master in research; I can readily imagine a canny sage having an entire library of mutually-referant books serving as so many processors in a library-sized magical "computer," with a Grimoire familiar as the interface! "Magic Items" include Glyph Eggs (the weakest contribution of the book, in my opinion -- just another vehicle for storing magic spells) and Personal Growth Items (Open Gaming Content!), which are items which advance along with their owners, gaining powers and experience (and presumably becoming the original source of many magic items which may now be created with feats: before they were made as "created items," many had to "grow up" to be magical). There is also an Open Gaming Content section on Relics and the obligatory New magical Items section which every single D20 System book seems to have (although this one adds nine new Ioun Stone types). "Spells & Spellcraft" is not an essential book, by any means, so I have only given it four stars, but, for those who like to play around with magic in their games, it is very, very, very fun and inspirational. I used someone else's copy for a while, but I simply had to buy one for myself so that I could access it whenever I wanted some quick inspiration on matters arcane. I give it a strong personal recommendation.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great d20 product by FF,
This review is from: Spells & Spellcraft: Compendium of Mystic Lore (Legends & Lairs, d20 System) (Hardcover)
The Legends & Lairs series by Fantasy Flight focuses on D&D 3E.I've checked out just about every major D&D 3E publisher's material. Fantasy Flight is one of the best out there. Why? Since d20 came out, many, many would-be game designers have started making products. Like any saturated market, only a few rise to the top as real stars. Publishers like Fantasy Flight, Malhavok Press, Swords & Sorcery, etc. are among the d20 stars. Fantasy Flight is very creative from cover to cover, and they have a really sound grasp of mechanics. That is a rare combination, especially the good mechanics. Features of this book: DM's: This book will help (no matter how experienced you are) add flavor to all manner of magical goings on in your campaign, and that's usually a big part of most campaigns. Players: Woe be unto the monster on the receiving end of some of these spells. 5 stars. One of the few products I've added (almost) in its entirety to my game. Almost forgot, check their website for errata -- it's already out.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great resource for magic,
By Rayek (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Spells & Spellcraft: Compendium of Mystic Lore (Legends & Lairs, d20 System) (Hardcover)
This is the third book I've purchased by Fantasy Flight Games. If Spells and Spellcraft is an indicator of the quality of the rest of their books, I think I'll be adding a few more of their titles to my collection.
First off, the spells are very creative and well balanced. None of them seemed too weak or too powerful for their level. The section on building constructs is great. It is very detailed and presents well thought out options for spell casters looking to build them. The Glyph Eggs can be used as the D&D equivalent of Holy Hand Grenades and are a welcome, and somewhat humorous, addition. All in all, Spells and Spellcraft is a wonderful addition to my d20 library.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
This chapter contains more than 100 new spells suited for use in any setting. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
glyph egg, caster requirements, arcane nexus, designated closed content, arcane spells without preparation, rope golem, cooperative spell, personal growth items, lab expansion, concentration pie, golem gains, caster level, spell resistance, animated rope, chaos spell, saving throw, master keystones, casting time, arcane focus, disruption wave, jade monkey, alchemy lab, wondrous item, subdual damage, caster gains Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Arcane Material Component, Craft Wondrous Item, Transmutation Level, Master Bonus, Open Game Content, Touch Target, Move Silently, Game Effects, Personal Target, Abjuration Level, Craft Glyph Egg, Improved Initiative, System Reference Document, None Construct Fort, Weave Ward, Xemping's Gate, Divination Level, Book of Redemption, Escape Artist, Intuit Direction, Touch Effect, Wilderness Lore, Arcane Material Focus, Eagle Eyes, Handle Animal New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
This chapter contains more than 100 new spells suited for use in any setting. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
glyph egg, caster requirements, arcane nexus, designated closed content, arcane spells without preparation, rope golem, cooperative spell, personal growth items, lab expansion, concentration pie, golem gains, caster level, spell resistance, animated rope, chaos spell, saving throw, master keystones, casting time, arcane focus, disruption wave, jade monkey, alchemy lab, wondrous item, subdual damage, caster gains Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Arcane Material Component, Craft Wondrous Item, Transmutation Level, Master Bonus, Open Game Content, Touch Target, Move Silently, Game Effects, Personal Target, Abjuration Level, Craft Glyph Egg, Improved Initiative, System Reference Document, None Construct Fort, Weave Ward, Xemping's Gate, Divination Level, Book of Redemption, Escape Artist, Intuit Direction, Touch Effect, Wilderness Lore, Arcane Material Focus, Eagle Eyes, Handle Animal New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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