When I first heard about this book, I was thrilled with the idea. "A whole book of spells and spell concepts? Sounds great! I have to get myself a copy!" So, I waited with eager anticipation for the local game store to get a copy in and promptly bought one.
And then... disappointment. The huge selection of spells in the book had some excellent ideas, but there were just so many with problems that I simply could never allow them in a campaign without substantial tweaking. The magical concepts were intriguing, but largely lacked the depth that they deserved and, like the spells, a lot of it simply felt as if it needed too much adaptation before they could be used.
Chapter 1 - New Magic Options - 3/5
Lots of interesting concepts, but a number of them get as little as half a page, most of which is just saying what spells later on in the book relate to the concept. A few get a bit more of a look in, with (mostly) well designed arcane schools and subdomains, but the feats therein look almost invariably too powerful.
Of the major sections, Vril seems poorly explained, Ley Lines interesting but powerful, Iouns uninspiring, Illumination and fool's summonings too strong for me to consider allowing in a campaign. Having not yet used Mythic things, I cannot make accurate judgement on the Living Saint Mythic Path. The True Curses are about the only thing that I feel as if I could use straight out of the book.
Chapter 2 - New Spells - 1/5
I'll start positive. The concepts are great.
Sadly, that's about it, and probably the only thing that stopped buying the book a waste of money for me.
A huge percentage of the spells simply need at least minor tweaking. Things like putting caps on the amount of damage spells can do, or durations of conditions.
Sometimes, however, spells are just masses of flaws. Spell levels are wildly inappropriate, of the wrong school completely or have nonsensical saving throws. Material and focus components are continually mixed up. The Evil descriptor is placed randomly throughout, regularly in places where it simply doesn't make sense, and then left out in places where, traditionally, it is quite necessary (This is something of a pet hate for me).
The very helpful guide to spell balancing in Ultimate Magic is completely ignored it seems; the spell Dizzying Bolt is almost exactly the example given as an unbalanced spell in that very book.
That said, not all of the spells are quite that horrendous. Some of them are actually good and wouldn't need any modifications, but they are a minority (or feel like they are).
Chapter 3 - Symbolic Magic - 2/5
Just as it says in the book: "A mastered rune is like a clerical domain, but it is much more specific and its powers can be harnessed by any class." It is, however, about the same level of power. With this, your fighter gets to cast Baleful Polymorph once per day at 9th level, and by the same level can make a glyph of warding 1/day that does 4d8 sonic damage. Neither of these abilities allow a save. With a single feat.
A class based around getting these would be a much, much better option, but even so, needs work.
As for Ink Magic, it probably should have been included in Chapter 1, since it's in the same vein. Spells are all silenced for some minor adaptations.
Chapter 4 - Words and Incantations
I would assume that the bit about incantations isn't in a core Pathfinder book, because I don't recall seeing that anywhere. May have missed it, of course. However, the book doesn't say where I should reference to learn more, and it doesn't provide much explanation on them itself, so I'd assume that this isn't the first place they appear. Consequently I cannot accurately judge this section.
I thought that most of the Wordcasting section was unnecessary. The system was clear enough to begin with, but for whatever reason they've tried to clarify it. Adds some nice new meta words though.
Chapter 5 - Bloodlines and Mysteries - 4/5
A pleasant change from the earlier chapters. All of the section seems comparatively well balanced, and I'd probably play some of them. Might need some tweaking (especially where the spells are concerned), but these would be minor things at worst (or I hope they would be)
Chapter 6 - Archetypes - 2/5
These range from appealing to questionable. Ofttimes, the flaws come from the uncertain nature of the concepts they're based on, such as the Geomancer, so I can hardly hold that against them. The rest of the time I would need a long, hard think before including them in a campaign. A rare few seem good enough to allow straight up, and one or two I might even play sooner rather than later.
Chapter 7 - Magical Constructs - 5/5
I wasn't expecting to find this section in the book, and ignored it until I started writing this. That was a mistake.
The section on the nature of Homunculi felt quite insightful, and gave what I had previously thought of as a block of stats or mindless servant some substantial character. The additional mechanical things felt well balanced and appropriate for once.
The alternate rules for undead creation likewise felt well balanced and quite usable. The Leastlings have the potential to be fun, potentially even at high levels. All in all, this chapter is excellent and easily the best part of the book.
Chapter 8 - Sample Spellcasters - 3/5
It's always handy to have a character and stat block to pull out in a tight spot. These are quite specific but in depth examples, which of course cuts both ways. More memorable to use, but you need to specifically plan to use them.
I would have expected more of them to display the various concepts and spells that the book is based around to give quick and easy play test material. Perhaps that's telling...
Other - 4/5
Book looks pretty. They quite rightly say you shouldn't judge a book like that, but it does add a certain something. There are some big names in there as well, and the Ed Greenwood story and Margaret Weis forward are something of a selling point.
End
The things I actually got the book for were, sad to say, a huge disappointment. The concepts are there, and are just waiting for a substantial rewrite or for someone to come along and do them better. It was the things I didn't get the book for that were best. That is, Chapter 7 and the appearance.
Deep Magic is likely to have a prominent place in my bookshelf. But purely in a decorative capacity or for squashing spiders with.
That said, I'd be interested in a reprint if things were better balanced.
