The Behind the Spells PDF series continues with three spells—prismatic sphere, prismatic spray, and prismatic wall! This series examines those spells from the SRD that are listed time and again on character sheets throughout gaming.
These are the spells which, if on your PC's class list, will be taken as soon as possible and include such quintessential favorites as magic missile and fireball. Each pdf in this series examines the spellcaster who created the spell, one or more of the spell's hidden capabilities, and possible variants for the spell.
Includes two magic items!
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Jim Groves
(Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4)
—
I received a complimentary review copy of this product. I was a little dubious at first (I’m not sure why), but in the end it exceeded my expectations.
What a buyer must understand is that the first half of this product is devoted to a short fiction piece on how the spell originated. It may or may not fit within your campaign, and that might sway your own opinion of its value. I did find the story to be entertaining and engaging; and the basic idea here, of a magical tower with Gates and mirrors is a good one. It reminded me of some of Roger Zelzany’s Dilvish the Damned stories and the The Changing Land. Some of my peers have marked Bret’s products down for the back stories and I think that’s unfair. It’s a core premise to the product. If you hate that idea, you may not agree with this review.
He does need to watch how much word count he spends being conversational with the reader in his narrative. Example from the text referring to a location: “(I think this catchy name was given to the valley just to scare folks away but have never ventured there to confirm that assumption myself)” At $2.00 per PDF, conveying too much of Maxolt Alberiim’s conversational editorial opinion decreases the value. Perhaps there is room for this in a collected product where a bundled price makes the cost per word not so tight. That’s why it lost one star, not because the background itself. The background can be revised to match the specifics of your campaign in terms of details and tone.
The spell variants, 2 magic items, and the mechanics were a real treat! I’m not a mechanics whiz, but the DC’s and item costs seem to be set to reasonable levels and the logic sound and consistent with 3.5 rules. This really helps establish the value of the product.
I am much more likely to try some of the others having read this one! I recommend Prismatic Trio!
Thanks for the review! I think Maxolt's chatty-ness makes a great change of pace from just giving you dry background text (but than I'm a bit biased). Unfortunately, the fiction is meant more for GMs--to jumpstart adventure ideas--but hopefully makes a great read for players as well.
(based on 1 rating)
