Jon Brazer Enterprises / Pathfinder RPG / Book of Magic

Book of Magic: Pirate Spells (PFRPG) PDF

Jon Brazer Enterprises

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Command the high seas with eldritch power and divine might. Wield arcane power designed for your pirate campaign with the Book of Magic: Pirate Spells. From grappling ships to shadowy magical sails to knowing the depth of water under a ship, these new spells for every Pathfinder class are sure to surprise your foes and your friends.

This book features 24 new spells focusing on life on the high seas. These new options for every spell casting class can give you a unique edge in your game.

Book of Magic: Pirate Spells includes with a 10 page PDF and the corresponding Hero Lab file.

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(based on 3 ratings)

Solid selection of spells with innovations: Spells for ships etc. - neat

Endzeitgeist — Apr 11, 2012, 04:09 am

This pdf is 10 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/SRD, 1 page back cover and 1 page advertisement, leaving 6 pages of content, so let's check out these spells!

The pdf starts with spell-lists by class and includes antipaladins and the magus as well as the full APG-roster. After that, we are introduced to a tightly-focused roster of spells, which, surprise, center on pirates and privateering. The 24 new spells (including 2 mass versions) herein are interesting in that they might be changing how you view (under-)water adventuring: A major problem for low-level aquatic adventuring is the fact that the environment restricts players and the necessity for magic support to function properly. While Alluria Publishing's "Cerulean Seas"-setting somewhat addresses these, Pirate Spells herein are more centered on shorter sojourns and vessels. Indeed, it is in the vessel-focused spells that the pdf truly shines: From the ability to conjure up Sargasso-seas and barnacle growth to impede vessel-movement, make the floor of a ship shiver and influence the crew by temporarily giving them sea-legs or temporarily regressing them to being landlubbers, we are given a neat gamut of magical options. Two spells influencing the water, either making it more stormy or calming it are interesting choices as well. And vessel-grapples via kelp are a great idea as well, at least in my book.

However, not all of the spells herein are as innovative: Dwarven Stone Plating grants a ship MASSIVE DR and can be considered a kind of superior stone-skin for the whole vessel and unfortunately comes with a minor glitch, a misplaced "/" - I would have loved the spell to somewhat impede maneuverability of the ship it is cast on. Two other spells I didn't like are Floatsteel, which lets you ignore armor and shield penalties for swimming. I don't like this spell, because it opens up a logic gap - if this spell exists in your campaign (it's only 2nd level), why are there not more full-armored corsairs out there? Not my cup of coffee. The second is the level 1-spell buoyancy, which moves you towards the surface at 30 feet per round without mentioning how it interacts with diving sickness/pressure etc. Perhaps I'm spoiled by "Cerulean Seas", but in my opinion the spell does something complex and oversimplifies it.

Before you get the impression that this collection of magic is sub-apr, I'll mention my two favorites: "Sodden Ship makes" naval combat 3d in that it enables a ship to dive (and the crew to survive the experience). My only question is: Why is there no flying-ship-version of the spell? MY second favorite is the high-level shipgate, which teleports a whole vessel - mad captain leading everyone into hell, anyone? NEAT!
The pdf also comes with hero-lab files.

Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are very good, I only noticed one minor glitch. Layout adheres to a printer-friendly 2-column b/w-standard and the pdf comes fully bookmarked, which is neat. Artwork, as far as I could tell, is stock and while I get the standard-cover, I wished JBE would use a more evocative font on the cover. The spells detailed in this pdf cover the range from being "ok" ideas to being awesome and iconic and, on a whole, this pdf has left me wanting more. To be more precise, more spells on the as of yet neglected vehicle-combat. Animating a figurehead is cool and all, but after reading about 2000 spells for PFRPG, I just don't require any standard spells and a brave innovation in focus is always appreciated. That being said, not all of the spells herein are as innovative and "Floatsteel" in particular, while I get the reasoning behind it, might wreck a crucial logical element of many a swashbuckling campaign, which seems contrary to the interests of this pdf. Generally, I think that filling up the pdf to 30 spells would have been a good idea as it felt a bit on the short end. These two being my only gripes with this installment of the "Book of Magic"-series, I'll settle for a final verdict of 4 stars.

Endzeitgeist out.

Interesting way to bring the mysteries of magecraft to the high seas!

Stark Enterprises VP — Apr 1, 2012, 12:31 pm

(Full disclosure... I was given a review copy of this product.) The most recent in his excellent series of Adventure Path expansions, the Book of Magic: Pirate Spells does exactly what it advertises: adds some excellent spells for all spellcasting classes in the Pathfinder Role Playing Game. From the flavorful Animate Figurehead to the endlessly-useful Sealegs, there's some super spells for your seagoing spellcaster in here. Definitely adds to your Skull and Shackles campaign, or any other 3 hour boat tour you choose to run. No Sea Mage would like to be without this product, and the price point is spectacular. Well done all around!

KTFish7 — Mar 29, 2012, 07:56 pm

Opening with a breakdown of spells by class lists, It's more than fair to say there's some love for every class here. Presented in a dual column format with a total of 10 pages (with 2 covers, and 1 credits/OGL page). After the spell lists (2 pages), we're left with 5 pages total for spell descriptions for these 24 aquatically themed spells. To be fair, two of the spells are mass versions of two other new spells from this product. Internal artwork consists of one piece from Marc Raddle in B&W that is of fairly good quality. In reference to editing mishaps, there was the exclusion of the usage of a bold setting for the statblock of one of the spells making it stand out (as all other spells used a bold format to begin each section of the statblock).

As the preview already breaks down the names of these new spells, and I feel this many spells are far to many to cover in extensive detail, I thought I would follow with my standard of highlighting my favorite spells, and my least favorite. So, without further ado:

Shipgate is simply an awesome spell when you as a GM are looking to either terrorize your waterways with a crew that simply can not be tracked nor caught, or have a crew of adventurers that absolutely, positively have to get there overnight (sorry, couldn't resist)..But seriously, a teleport for an entire vessel, and all of its crew and cargo, has so many possibilities in the hands of a good story teller.

Sodden Ship took me a few seconds to really mull over, and I'll tell you why. When I first read this spell, and realized that I was essentially looking at the fantasy answer to the submarine, I knew I was looking at a spell I was going to love, I just had to stop visualizing a pirate frigate cruising under the armada hunting them long enough to go back to reading the spell...I mean come on, can't you see it??? A spell that lets you sail UNDER the water, how freaking cool is that?

Animate Figurehead spoke to me, pure and simple. There was a miniature put out by Reaper a while back, of an angel formed from the figurehead of a wrecked ship. I will be hunting that miniature down, solely so that I may do this spell justice when I unleash it on my gaming table. The concept of awakening the figurehead of a ship as a golem is fantastic, and I was very happy to see that a spell of this nature was included in this collection.

Shadow Sails adds that touch of darker fantasy back in for me, as up to this spell, where as there have been quite a few magical effects, in the end, when it came to the physical, it was still the boat and all its parts...but now, with this spell, the sails are replaced by creations of shadow and nothingness....and that just screams for an evil pirate captain and his crew of damned souls!!!!!!

OK, flipping to the other side of the proverbial coin here, Landlubber allows one to “remind” a target of their landlegs, effectively turning them into newbies on board the ship, at least for the duration of the spell. This spell has a mass version, and an opposite in the form of Sealegs. Where as they both fit the theme of this collection, when taking their duration into consideration, neither is really a useful spell until you're a much higher level spell caster. Not to mention neither live up to the bar set by the four previously mentioned spells.

Final thoughts....very soon a great many tables will be breaking out their nautical rules and undertaking a new path centered around a pirate's way of life....and it would be a great dis-service if this collection of spells were not available at everyone of those tables. Whether you plan to sail under the black flag, or are hunting those who do, these spells will vastly increase your options for naval adventure. Having only two true complaints when it is all said and done, I would have liked to have seen a few more pieces of art, as art is always good....and a release date for volume two.

Going with a full 5 star rating for this collection.

Product Discussion (35)

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Dale McCoy Jr Jon Brazer Enterprises

Mar 29, 2012, 03:11 am

Popped! This supplement features 24 spells in 10 pages and includes new spells for every spellcasting class. For a preview, goto JonBrazer.com for a complete list of spells within.

Dungeon Grrrl

Mar 29, 2012, 05:30 am

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Lemme start by saying I very much enjoy your products, so the following question comes form a place of real curiosity and affection.

Why do I want this? What makes these pirate spells good enough, in theme or mechanics, to make me buy it when I already have the APG, UM, and 1001 spells?

I want you to have an answer that convinces me, I really do. I'm just not sure what design philosophy you could have had for pirate spells specifically, that would create something with enough extra utility to be worth another reference. I am running a pirate game, I just don't know what kind of magic I need for that game that won't already be covered by the sources I have.

So.. sell me on this?

Dale McCoy Jr Jon Brazer Enterprises

Mar 29, 2012, 06:41 am

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Dungeon Grrrl wrote:

So.. sell me on this?

Fair enough.

I can't speak to 1001 (I'm not as familiar with it as I would like to be), but I will discuss it in context with APG/UM/UC. Short of the long: the best reason to pick this up is concentration on theme. While APG/UM/UC are great, they cover a bunch of different topics. These are specifically focused to a campaign on the high seas. These spells enhance playing like a pirate or privateer by bringing far more specific flavor through the spells. For example: aquatic appearance. This spell is similar to disguise self except it makes you look like ... water. So when you are in water, you get a bonus to Stealth checks. Herein we also have shadow sails, which increases a ship's speed while giving a ship ghostly-black sails (kind of a Black Pearl theme there).

Next is there are more spells in here than in APG/UM/UC combined that target vehicle or assume a ship as part of the spell. Kelp grapples is one such example. A successful CMB check means the enemy ship is pulled closer to your own. This way your crew can cross onto their ship and attack. A new 0-level spell, depth sounding, allows the caster to know the depth of water beneath a ship. The two highest level spells within are shipgate, which is dimension door for a ship and all its contents, and sodden ship, which allows a ship to travel underwater.

Inside are also spells that help the more martial classes. Floatsteel, for example, negates the armor check penalty of one piece of armor. Swashbuckler's charge is another good example. This spell allows its caster to charge despite the tight twist and turns of a ship.

Last but not least we have my personal favorite: sublime rope swing. Its my favorite for one simple reason: I can totally see Dashing Swordsman Elan using this spell!

That's my sail's pitch (sorry, bad pun).

KTFish7

Mar 29, 2012, 08:04 pm

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Review posted here and at RPGNow. I Thank You for the review copy, and strongly suggest to folks if they are running any kind of nautical adventure, pirate themed or not, to take a look at this collection. There are some seriously useful spells in here.

baldwin the merciful

Mar 29, 2012, 09:09 pm

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Great question Dungeon Grrrl and Dale that was a solid answer. I bought all the KM material you produced and it was well done. It sits on my game table during my campaign. I'm looking forward to this supplement. I am getting ready to join a pirate themed home brew campaign and I've asked the GM if he will be permitting this supplement. Regardless, its in my cart to buy.

Fatespinner RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32

Mar 30, 2012, 11:51 am

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I was one of the contributing authors on this product and after I received my contributor copy, I discovered that my favorite spell (sodden ship) wasn't even one that I'd written! What Dale says is true, though, that there are several well-written spells in this product that are very much catered to a high seas adventure with shipboard combat and monsters from the briny deep.

I don't think I've ever seen another spell that specifically targets vehicles (great for ship combat) nor have I seen spells that specifically alter aquatic terrain (my very own sargasso spell). I really do feel like you're getting something unique here, so take my recommendation however you like. :)

Matthew Winn

Mar 30, 2012, 01:55 pm

Let me be frank...

...no... let me be Matt...

I was on the fence on this one. I like the idea of Pirate themed spells, but damn... there's sooooo many spells out there. Especially when you add in 3.5 compatibility...

I like your response to Dungeon Grrrl, but I was still likely to give it a pass... then I noticed the Powered by Hero Lab symbol.

Big fan of this. I love Hero Lab, and when looking at two products I like, I cannot deny that saving me the time of coding the product into my #1 GM tool can give you the points to put you over the edge.

*races off to read his new spells*

Darkjoy RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16

Mar 31, 2012, 06:29 am

1 person marked this as a favorite.

KTFish7 wrote:

Review posted here and at RPGNow.

I submitted sodden ship and it is good to see that it is well-received!

Diego Rossi

Mar 31, 2012, 11:41 am

You have a file for these spells that work with Hero lab!
We can get the same for the spells and prestige classes from Book of the river nations? And the stuff in the Shadow plane lines of books?

This book will be sold as a PDF/printed version bundle when you get it from the printer?

Dale McCoy Jr Jon Brazer Enterprises

Mar 31, 2012, 01:13 pm

Diego Rossi wrote:

We can get the same for the spells and prestige classes from Book of the river nations?

And the stuff in the Shadow plane lines of books?

All in all, I'm still a novice on Hero Lab programming. I can do low complexity items like spells, basic equipment, maybe races, but that's about the extend of my abilities. I'm still learning hero lab programming.

Class options (like PrCs, archetypes, etc) are still far to complex for me.

Diego Rossi wrote:

This book will be sold as a PDF/printed version bundle when you get it from the printer?

This book isn't going to the printer. Its a PDF/hero lab only product.

Matthew Winn

Apr 2, 2012, 06:03 am

Dale McCoy Jr wrote:

All in all, I'm still a novice on Hero Lab programming. I can do low complexity items like spells, basic equipment, maybe races, but that's about the extend of my abilities. I'm still learning hero lab programming.
Class options (like PrCs, archetypes, etc) are still far to complex for me.

I'm a little beyond that, but not by much. It comes down 100% to whether I can find something very similar and jury-rig it. I spent a full hour trying to rig a favored class option this weekend that added a conditional concentration bonus before walking away in frustration.

Given enough time I can eventually get just about anything I want into Hero Lab, so it's not an essential part of the product. Buuut if I have to choose between two products I really really want, I'm going with the one that saves me coding time.

Which, of course, is my own fault for being that dependent on Hero Lab. It really has becomes essential at my table.

Dale McCoy Jr Jon Brazer Enterprises

Apr 2, 2012, 06:08 am

We got a 2nd 5-star review! Check it out!

Marc Radle

Apr 2, 2012, 06:10 am

Matthew Winn wrote:

Which, of course, is my own fault for being that dependent on Hero Lab. It really has becomes essential at my table.

You know, I think that's one of the reasons I never got into things like HeroLab (well, that and no Mac support for far too long). Nothing against it or those who like it ... I just don't like being dependent on a software app for my gaming.

Sorry for the quasi thread-jack :)

Matthew Winn

Apr 2, 2012, 06:48 am

That's just it. I got a little too into it. If anything, this thread-jack is making me realize how much I need to return it to being a tool instead of defining the game.

Back to your regularly scheduled product discussion...

heh heh... pirates rule!

Dale McCoy Jr Jon Brazer Enterprises

Apr 3, 2012, 10:27 am

Make sure you listen to the ad for Book of Magic: Pirate Spells on 3.5 Private Sanctuary

Dale McCoy Jr Jon Brazer Enterprises

Apr 10, 2012, 12:49 pm

Book of Magic: Pirate Spells has 2 FIVE-Star reviews and was also reviewed on the latest Know Direction podcast. Check it out and grab it for your pirate characters.

Endzeitgeist

Apr 11, 2012, 04:10 am

Reviewed here, on DTRPG and sent to GMS magazine. Cheers!

Dale McCoy Jr Jon Brazer Enterprises

Apr 11, 2012, 04:19 am

Thank you for the review. One comment: the art piece within was a commission by Marc Radle.

Endzeitgeist

Apr 11, 2012, 04:40 am

I did like the artwork and thought I had seen it before - sorry. Generally, I'm a big fan of Marc's art - he's a truly talented guy. So...when do we get more spells for ships? :)

Marc Radle

Apr 11, 2012, 07:45 am

Endzeitgeist wrote:

I did like the artwork and thought I had seen it before - sorry. Generally, I'm a big fan of Marc's art - he's a truly talented guy.

Thank you sir! :)

That illustration was one of four or five pirate-themed illustrations I did for Dale a while back. I'm not sure where or when the others will show up though ...

Dale McCoy Jr Jon Brazer Enterprises

Apr 11, 2012, 10:04 am

Marc Radle wrote:

I'm not sure where or when the others will show up though ...

maniacal laugh, maniacal laugh!

KTFish7

Apr 12, 2012, 03:46 am

Nice review End!

Endzeitgeist

Apr 12, 2012, 04:00 am

Thanks, KTFish7!

Dale McCoy Jr President, Jon Brazer Enterprises

Jan 23, 2013, 12:05 pm

JBE would like to congratulate Maurice de Mare, a contributor to Book of Magic: Pirate Spells, is one of the new Pathfinder RPG Superstar Top 32. Congratulations good sir and the best of luck to you.

Darkjoy RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32

Jan 23, 2013, 12:54 pm

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Dale McCoy Jr wrote:

JBE would like to congratulate Maurice de Mare, a contributor to Book of Magic: Pirate Spells, is one of the new Pathfinder RPG Superstar Top 32. Congratulations good sir and the best of luck to you.

Don't forget about Fatespinner. He made it too.

ETA: thanks Dale, your open call kickstarted a new breath of creativitty.

Dale McCoy Jr President, Jon Brazer Enterprises

Jan 24, 2013, 06:26 am

Darkjoy wrote:

Dale McCoy Jr wrote:
JBE would like to congratulate Maurice de Mare, a contributor to Book of Magic: Pirate Spells, is one of the new Pathfinder RPG Superstar Top 32. Congratulations good sir and the best of luck to you.
Don't forget about Fatespinner. He made it too.
ETA: thanks Dale, your open call kickstarted a new breath of creativitty.

Oh really! I totally missed that. *runs to look and give congrats*

Dale McCoy Jr President, Jon Brazer Enterprises

Jan 24, 2013, 06:46 am

JBE would like to congratulate Zachary Hensley, a contributor to Book of Magic: Pirate Spells, is one of the new Pathfinder RPG Superstar Top 32. Congratulations good sir and the best of luck to you.

Dale McCoy Jr President, Jon Brazer Enterprises

Mar 25, 2013, 10:11 am

This book is Powered by Hero Lab and includes a Hero Lab file in the download, making it easier to integrate into your game.

Dale McCoy Jr President, Jon Brazer Enterprises

Jun 30, 2014, 08:36 am

Want awesome spells? The I'm Not Going To PaizoCon Sale starts Wednesday. So you can download the Book of Magic: Pirate Spells for just $1. Add it to your cart today.