TLG has also apparently tried to place all the spell information from the relevant rule book onto the card, which in some instances shrinks the already small font to the point of unreadability (the wall of text for invisibility shown above is an example). With concise use of words and well-thought-out organization you always know where to look and can read the information easily on a D&D 5E spell card. I am not the biggest fan of the D&D 5E aesthetic, but there is no doubt that when it comes to seeking out information on a spell card and being able to read it, WotC wins. If you then look at the D&D 5E card you get a glimpse at the best layout of the three. The background dilutes the font and the font is not the best choice for a card even if the background wasn’t there. That may work for an A4 book, but it doesn’t translate well to card deck size. TLG has, I believe, gone with a similar font and background used in their 8th printing of the Players Handbook. You can see with the example of the invisibility spell that the S&W version has no bells and whistles, just a simple and to-the-point explanation of the spell. I decided to compare what TLG has done with the spell cards that Frog God Games (FGG) have for their OD&D retroclone Swords & Wizardry (S&W), and the D&D 5E spell cards put out by Wizards of the Coast (WotC). At any rate, if you want spells for those two classes for beginning adventurers, these spell cards might work for you.īut how do they look and how functional are they? I think it is a bit odd that you would make decks of cards for only low-level wizards (1st-3rd level) and for low-to-medium level clerics (1st-7th), but perhaps they had more decks planned as stretch goals that weren’t reached in the Kickstarter, or they just wanted to test the market first. One deck covers Wizard spells from 0-2nd level, and the other includes cleric spells from 0-4th level. The Kickstarter that funded the 8th printing of the C&C Players Handbook also resulted in two decks of spell cards. Example of the Adventurers Spellbook interior Finally, pages 251-255 present some sample spellbooks. Pages 246-250 cover the unique take on magic in the Hallowed Oracle campaign setting (another option for those seeking alternative spell systems). This book rectifies that with 56 pages worth of rune magic! So if you want an alternative type of magic in your fantasy RPG, you might want to take a look at what is offered here. Although that optional class has been around for years, it has never had a full set of runes. Pages 189-245 details Runic Magic tied to the Rune Mark class presented in the Adventurers Backpack. Pages 27-188 provide spell descriptions in alphabetical order (see the picture below for an example). The first 27 pages are just chart breakdowns of cleric, druid, wizard, and illusionist spells by spell level – great for a quick reference. The format of the book is clean and easily readable white pages, with only a few pieces of black and white art inside (I like this, I wish more books stuck with a clean, easy-to-read product). There is nothing flashy or over-the-top with this book. So if you are looking for an array of new spells, this is a great resource to expand your spell options! ” Spells that seem to be missing from this book include spells from the Haunted Highlands campaign setting, the Mythos series of Codexes and Of Gods & Monsters.Īs for what is in the book and what it looks like, well, you get nearly 260 pages of spells! These spells work in C&C and can be used in any D&D or OSR game with minimal-to-no changes necessary. According to the title page of the AS, the AS brings together spells from “ The Players Handbook, Adventurers Backpack, Players Guide to Aihrde, Elemental Spell Book, Rune Lore, Amazing Adventures Companion, Hallowed Oracle Players Guide and Other Sources. This review will focus on the AS and TLG’s first release of spell card decks.Ĭastles and Crusades (C&C) has been around for nearly 20 years and in that time a lot of spells have appeared in their publications. Troll Lord Games (TLG) has in recent months come out with new printings of their Castles Keepers Guide, Players Handbook and as part of that Kickstarter created a Players Archive which brings together most C&C character class options from previous products and the Adventurers Spellbook (AS) which brings together most of the spells from their previous products.
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