Tome of Magic Review

By John Grigsby, Staff Reviewer

Available at FRP Games

Dungeons & Dragons: Tome of Magic HC (d20)
Retail $39.95 Sale $31.96

Initiative Round
Tome of Magic is a Dungeons & Dragons supplement from Wizards of the Coast. This is 288-page full-color hardcover by Matthew Sernett, Ari Marmell, David Noonan, and Robert J. Schwalb features a wraparound cover by Todd Lockwood depicting three practitioners of the new magics found herein. Interior art is by Ed Cox, Carl Critchlow, Daarken, Wayne England, Carl Frank, Brian Hagan, Michael Komarck, Howard Lyon, Chris Malidore, Raven Mimura, Lucio Parrillo, Michael Phillippi, Eric Polak, Steve Prescott, Scott Roller, Joel Thomas, Francis Tsai, Franz Vohwinkel, and James Zhang. Tome of Magic retails for $39.95.

And so there is magic.
— Neil Gaiman

Tome of Magic introduces three new types of magic, each with its own unique effects, standard class, prestige classes, feats, monsters, and magic items. These three types are pact magic, shadow magic, and truename magic. Each has its own unique properties, as we shall see, and there is one chapter devoted to each type.

Pact magic is first; great supernatural power gained through bargains with entities that should not exist. Practitioners of pact magic gain their power by bargaining with entities called vestiges—the remnants of once-living beings now trapped beyond life and death. Outcast from reality, these beings can only return to our realm by binding themselves to a living soul. As they hunger for any small taste of reality, vestiges readily answer the call of any powerful enough to draw them forth from the nameless void where they dwell. The people who willingly do this are called binders, and contact the vestiges through special rituals.

Once contacted, the binder requests a pact of the vestige. The general terms never vary; the binder agrees to host the vestige for a period of 24 hours, during which time the vestige grants the host certain supernatural powers. Once a pact is proposed, a contest of wills begins. If the vestige wins, it has some control over the binder for the duration and can punish him if he goes against the vestige's wishes. If the binder wins, the vestige quietly accompanies him.

Initially, a binder is limited to a pact with a single vestige at any given time, but as he grow in power, he can expand that limit, eventually building pacts with up to four vestiges at once. Likewise, skilled binders can draw additional powers from their vestiges. The price they pay is one of suspicion and dread on from those around them. Most religions oppose binders, and more than a few actively hunt them down.

Each vestige has a level, which the effective binder level must meet or exceed, and a binding DC (which the binder must meet or exceed with a binding check). Many also have a special requirement that must be met, such as Acererak (yes, that one), which requires that a gem be placed in the center of his seal. The appropriate seal for each vestige is also illustrated.

There are five prestige classes developed especially for binders. The first, the anima mage, blends pact magic with arcane magic, wielding both with a power unequaled. The knight of the sacred seal forms a partnership with a single vestige, inheriting abilities that other binders can only dream of, but becoming limited by their single-mindedness. Scions of Dantalion trace their lineage to an ancient, long-forgotten human empire and become favored of Dantlion's vestige. A Tenebrous apostate forms a partnership with Tenebrous, revering the vestige as a god, and gaining dark powers through the relationship. Finally, there is the witch slayer, who devotes himself to capturing and destroying those who share their souls with other entities. The witch slayer is not a binder, but rather, a stalwart enemy of such (and do not limit their targets to binder exclusively; any being that shares space with another soul is fair game). The witch slayer has a unique spell, detect visage, to aid them in their self-appointed tasks.

Pact magic has its own unique feats, 19 of which are described herein. These feats offer the opportunity to bind more powerful vestiges than one could ordinarily contact, expel a bound vestige before the 24-hour duration has expired (useful if you make a poor pact and the vestige is in control), expand one's supernatural powers granted by vestiges. Two feats that will be of interest to non-binders are Supernatural Crusader and Supernatural Opportunist. The first grants a bonus on attack rolls and weapon damage when battling creatures with a supernatural special ability. The other builds on the first feat to permit an attack of opportunity against a threatened creature that activates a supernatural ability.

This chapter also details six unique pact magic items, including the teeth of Dahlver-Nar, a set of unique artifacts that grant some very unusual abilities. Seven new monsters are described; unusual creatures perhaps warped by contact with vestiges, descendents of vestiges' once-living forms, or perhaps just cosmic coincidence. Perhaps the most terrifying is the deathshead, an undead creature resembling a severed giant's head that uses thick tendrils of hair as limbs.

Two important organizations that deal in pact magic are described in detail; the Order of Seropaenes, an alliance sworn to destroy pact magic and conceal its existence, and the Theurgian Society, an organization of binders who contact vestiges with the intent of gaining a deeper understanding of reality. Finally, two pact magic adventure sites—locales focusing on pact magic—are detailed, each a mini-adventure in itself, complete with maps, keys, and monsters.

Next we move onto shadow magic, the realm of the shadowcaster. Shadow magic is drawn from the Plane of Shadow and revolves around two fundamental principles; like affects like, and for every action, an equal and opposite reaction exists. The shadowcaster is a potent magic-user whose abilities are tightly focused, making her less versatile, but far more powerful.

Rather than cast spells in the conventional sense, the shadowcaster invoke mystical secrets called mysteries. Furthermore, they master powers called fundamentals that function as supernatural abilities, usable a limited number of times each day. Mysteries are similar to spells in that are subject to armor-based spell failure, require somatic components, and are subject to interruption. Mysteries, however, can be used a limited number of times per day (similar to fundamentals). As the shadowcaster grows in power and experience, her bond with the Plane of Shadow strengthens, replacing the need for eating, sleeping, and eventually, even breathing.

Shadow magic also has its own unique prestige classes. A child of the night (they call themselves "black transmogrifists"), have chosen to give up their mortality to form a closer bond with the Plane of Shadow. The gains are many, but there are drawbacks as well. The master of shadow looks for allies in the darkness, summoning a shadow elemental to do his bidding. Noctumancers bridge the gap between shadow and arcane magic, becoming an elite wielder of magic that can draw upon both arcane powers and the mysteries of shadow. The shadowblade is a martial combatant with an innate link to shadow. They learn the mysteries of the unseen weapon. Finally, there is the shadowsmith, manipulating darkness as other wizards manipulate supernatural energies, creating tools, weapons, and even armor from the very essence of shadow itself.

Like the others, shadow magic has its own set of feats. All require that the character be familiar with shadow magic to some degree. Beyond this are details of mysteries and paths. Mysteries are divided into three paths; apprentice, initiate, and master. As a shadowcaster rises in level, she unlocks more powerful paths. New magical items available with shadow magic include shadow silk armor, shadow striking weapons, and the orb of shadow.

The dark creature is a new template described in this section, and a sidebar expands on rule for combat in the dark. Other creatures introduced here are the ephemeral hangman, the khayal genie, and the shadow elemental. The incorporeal subtype is also expanded upon.

Three shadowmagic organizations are described—the Nightshade Covenant, the Tenebrous Cabal, and the Votaries of Vecna—each with their own goals and objectives. In addition, there are three shadow magic adventures sites. Fark's Road is a darkened alleyway within a city where the businesses are of a most unusual type, and the natives moreso. Nightcrawler Chasm is a great rift snaking across the Plane of Shadow that draws its name from the nightshades said to haunt its depths. Then there is the Black Spire, a tower on an island in the middle of the Bleak Sea, a vast body of liquefied rot on which float bits of animated flesh.

Last, but certainly not least, we come to truename magic. It has long been held that everything that is, that has been, and that ever shall be has a secret name, a truename that, if known and properly pronounced, can initiate a level of control over the object named as yet undreamt; commanding it, altering it, reshaping it, or even destroying it. The truenamer does exactly that, learning dozens, even hundreds or thousands of truenames.

As the truenamer comes to understand, not only does every object in the cosmos have its own truename, there is also a truename for every conceivable instance of something. Thus, there are truenames not only for "dragon" and "chest", but also a truename for "dragon breathing fire on me and my party" and "locked and possibly trapped chest holding potential treasure." By uttering a truename aloud, the truenamer seeks to cause a specific effect on the subject so named. This is represented by a skill check, the DC determined by the object you are naming. If the check fails, the most common result is... nothing. It simply fails. However, some creatures have a feat called Personal Truename Backlash, which makes speaking their truenames dangerous.

Truenamers use utterances that result in a specific effect. As they gain experience, they learn new utterances and the truenames that go with them, thus granting them more control over the cosmos. For example, a novice truenamer might know only a single utterance, say, Defensive Edge. This knowledge actually represents several hundred words, describing how to use this utterance in a variety of situations and against countless different foes. As the truenamer gains experience, he gains knowledge of more truenames and new utterances with which to manipulate them.

Many utterances have two forms; standard and reversed, permitting two different effects for each utterance known. Knowledge of one's own truename or the truename of a specific individual can make a creature more susceptible to effects of an utterance, but since personal truenames are more difficult to pronounce, it also makes correctly pronouncing the utterance more difficult. On the plus side, a silence spell does not automatically prevent utterances from being used, though it does increase the chance of failure. It is also possible to counterspeak, to prevent an utterance from taking effect.

Truename magic prestige classes do not necessarily require levels as a truenamer to undertake, though certainly such knowledge makes it a bit easier. The acolyte of the ego seeks to master a single truename—his own. In so doing, he learns to fortify himself against harm, and to inflict pain and suffering on his enemies. The bereft are a group of truenamers who devote themselves to mastering the word of unmaking, a powerful component of the odd language known as Truespeech purportedly able to unravel creation. Brimstone speakers consider truenames gifts from the gods and master truenames that allow them to call heavenly forces to fight for them, as well as the power to invoke the tongue of fire, burning away the stain of evil. The disciple of the word is an intellectual hand-to-hand combatant that uses truenames to transcend the limits of her mortal form, defying the very laws of reality. Last, but most assuredly not least, there is the fiendbinder, who seeks to unlock the names of demons, devils, and all manner of vile fiends, to bind them into service.

Truename feats can be very helpful in evening out the odds for truenamers, but sadly, few of these feats will be of use to low-level truenamers, which is where the most help is needed. Instead, they serve to give more power to higher-level truenamers. There are few magic items associated with truenames, but there are a number of arcane and divine spells that tap the power of such.

This chapter introduces a handful of new monsters associated with threnames—the word archon, the logokron devil, the garbler, the loquasphinx, and the painspeaker. All use utterances to different effect. The Collectors and the Kingmakers are truename organizations, dedicated to the collection of written knowledge and the formation of the ultimate government, respectively. Two truename adventure sites are also fleshed out.

Critical Hit
I like the first two classes in this book. As I read up on them, I found myself both wanting to play one and thinking of ways to use them as villains in my own campaign.

Critical Fumble
Sadly, the truenamer didn't impress me as much. Compared to the shadowcaster and the binder, or even on a par with standard wizards and sorcerers, the truenamer comes in at a distinct disadvantage. Even their ability to wear armor doesn't overcome the fact that a 1st level truenamer has essentially two spells (the primary form of an utterance and the reversed form), and once it is used, the truenamer must wait for the duration to run out before it can be used again. While it is true that these utterances can be used over and over again, without the need to replenish spell slots or renew spells, a low-level truenamer is still just a one-trick pony, and that may turn people away from the class. This is further compounded by the fact that as utterances are used multiple times in a single day, they become more difficult to pronounce properly.

I was also disappointed by the fact that the monsters in the section of truename magic have notes on how they fit into the Eberron and Forgotten Realms campaigns, but not so for the monsters in either of the other sections. Sure, it's not too hard to figure out, but if you're going to do it for one batch of critters, then you should do it for all three!

Coup de Grace
Even ignoring the inherent problems with truename magic, this is a great book and a worthy supplement. I can see it getting a fair amount of use in most campaigns. The artwork is well-done, with a few pieces striking me as exceptional, and this is a Wizards of the Coast product, so there is no OGC. DMs should certainly look into this product, as these new types of magic offer some very interesting options for NPCs, and players will no doubt be interested in learning them after the first time they're subjected to them.

Review Scores

Game Mechanics Rating: 12 (80%)
OGL Open Game Content: n/a
Originality Rating: 21 (91%)
Playability Rating: 18 (82%)
Presentation Rating: 30 (94%)
Value Rating: 20 (83%)
Reviewer Opinion: 8 (80%)

Overall Total (Does not include OGL Rating): 109 (87%)
Final Grade: B+