20 Things #3: Wizard’s Tower (system-neutral)
20 Things #3: Wizard’s Tower (system-neutral)
This installment of Raging Swan Press’ system-neutral #20-series clocks in at 12 pages, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of advertisement, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 6 pages of content, so let’s take a look!
We begin this pdf with 20 weird magical effects you can encounter in a wizard’s tower – from beautifully-crafted illusions instead of tapestries to light-weighted objects starting to float, this selection is evocative and fun and, as supplemental material, sundials, impossible slender flagpoles and similar things are evocative, though system-neutrality purists may be annoyed by the reference to detect magic.
A total of 20 odd spell components and pouches are next – wool impregnated with dried wax, statuettes of bloodhounds, clay models of ziggurats and similar objects once again cover a nice array of themes, that are further emphasized by 20 odd objects to decorate a wizard’s tower: Thick red curtains, battered suits of chainmail, soot-marred ceilings, pictures of “God-Thrones” and 8 odd sounds and a selection of 6 strange pickled and preserved things allow you to set up a nice level of creepy mood.
It should be noted, though, that aforementioned pickled things alongside the 20 entries for a Necromancer’s Sanctum and the 20 notes on a wizard’s laboratory can all be found in GM’s Miscellany: 20 things Volume I.
There is more new content herein, though: The 20 entries that depict things you can find on a wizard’s bookshelf (from cryptography to infernal genealogy) are amazing! Creative, diverse and inspiring and the 8 things you can find INSIDE these books add another level of coolness here. The final array of 20 things would be those that are found within a wizard’s laboratory and the pdf sports some creative ideas here: A box with hundreds of little compartments that contain components, stone beakers or skull stands with lights flickering in the eyes – certainly an inspired array. 6 odd smells, some of which stick closer to the floor (and thus are noticed by halflings and gnomes) close the pdf on a high note.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no significant glitches. Layout adheres to Raging Swan Press’ elegant two-column b/w-standard and the pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience. Additionally, the pdf comes in two versions, one optimized for the printer and one for screen-use – kudos for going the extra mile there!
Creighton Broadhurst and Amber Underwood’s dressing-file here is a neat installment; the new content provided is inspired in the best of senses – but at the same time, one third of the pdf can be familiar for gamers who already own the glorious GM’s Miscellany: 20 Things Volume I book. If you do not already have this gem, this pdf is excellent and 5 star + seal-worthy. If you already have this book, though, you do lose a portion of the file, which downgrades this to a good offering. In the end, my final verdict will clock in between both, at 4.5 stars, rounded down for the purpose of this platform.
You can get this neat pdf here on OBS!
You can directly support Raging Swan Press here on patreon!
Endzeitgeist out.
