|
Here”s some reviews of the Second Edition
of Authentic Thaumaturgy, my book on magic and
religion for players of fantasy games such as Advanced Dungeons
& Dragons®, G.U.R.P.S.®, and Magic: The Gathering®,
etc. “A.T.” is published by Steve
Jackson Games and is available from them, from Amazon.com,
or from your local game store.
Isaac Bonewits is doing his damnedest to make
magic look just like science, with equations and everything,
in Authentic Thaumaturgy (144 pages, $20.95). This
isn”t a GURPS book; in fact, there”s
not even an AT—GURPS conversion system spelled
out (although Bonewits does give a chapter on blending the AT
magic system into other games, it”s fairly generic). What
AT is, is Bonewits” notion of how magic “really”
works in our world; how magicians from medieval Satanists to
modern Wiccans to Papuan witch—doctors think they do that
voodoo that they do so well. Bonewits is, at least, professionally
qualified to write it: he”s the only person ever to get
a degree in Magic from the University of California. The tone,
thus, is academic throughout; it”s rather dryer than game
books are usually (although Eric Hotz” art, as always, is
a delight). For me, this is hardly a disadvantage, but for those
of you looking for fireballs not foot—pounds of thermal
energy, beware.
Throughout AT we get Bonewits”
take on various magical operations from human sacrifice to “tapping”
mana (lots of Magic: the Gathering references here)
to talismans. Bonewits apparently considers psionics to simply
be that subset of magic that scientists (or at least pseudoscientists)
will dignify with study, so the term “psi” is used
a whole heckuva lot more often than I”d have liked. But
at base, Authentic
Thaumaturgy provides
an anthropologically—sound magic system and ample notes
on Why Real Magic Is That Way for
those of you convinced that memorizing spells or racking up Tass
isn”t the way it should oughta be. (Note: Chaosium published
the first, much smaller, edition of AT in 1978,
but I didn”t get one, so I”m very grateful to Steve
Jackson Games for publishing this edition.)
Kenneth Hite
is the author or coauthor of roleplaying game books from GURPS Alternate
Earths to Mage:
the Sorcerers Crusade and the Star Trek: The Next
Generation RPG; line developer for Chaosium”s Nephilim
RPG; and editor or assistant developer for companies including
Chaosium, Steve Jackson Games, and Last Unicorn Games. His column
of general weirdness, “Suppressed Transmission,” now
appears weekly in Pyramid
Magazine.
Daniel Harms on RPGnet:
Capsule Review by Daniel
Harms on 09/26/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern day Generic
(To begin with, let me say that I”d
read Isaac Bonewits” other pieces for years, and have even
met him at a Pagan festival I attended. So I”m not entirely
unbiased on this.)
Bonewits” book is meant to simulate magic
as practiced by those operating within a Western esoteric tradition
framework. However, it is not a strict simulation of that tradition
— most RPG players want impressive results immediately,
not a seemingly—coincidental event a few days or weeks from
now. Instead, it builds upon it to create a system that allows
for the standards of the fantasy wizard”s trade (turning
opponents to stone, throwing lightning bolts, and such), while
providing elements for[?] those who favor less complex systems.
 Bonewits”
system of magic builds from a list of various sorts of psychic
phenomena (psionics and magic being identical in his scheme).
This may seem an unusual approach, but then the author does an admirable job of showing how these
may be extrapolated into almost any sort of spell effect, ranging from the traditional to the experimental
that give GMs headaches when their players discover them. Also
included are a number of anti—psi effects, and a large number
of different kinds of shields and fields that can affect a spell
cast upon the wizard. Both of these are well worth examining
in search of new spell effects, though I worry that they might
be so powerful that no one will even think of throwing a magical
attack at someone.
The spell system itself is, at its heart,
a simple thing. At character creation, the first important element
is a character”s Psi Potential, which determines the amount
of magic they can know. Next, the player rolls (or chooses) their
character”s starting psi talents or anti—psi powers,
which describe their capabilities. The magical strength and power
inherent in a character is then determined, as is the maximum
percentage chance that the player will succeed in a spell. Converting
an existing character to the new system is more difficult, as
it involves determining which powers the character already has
and transferring them.
When casting a spell, the character attempts
to tap into various magical laws to raise their chances (charming
a dragon is easier with a dragon bone wand, for instance), and
tries to channel more power, or mana, for the effect. The player
rolls d100, trying to roll under a percentage, and if successful
spends the required amount of magic power to accomplish the effect.
You might think of it as a less pretentious Mage
a la Chaosium”s Basic Role—Playing System
(though AT pre—dates the first game and was
originally commissioned for Chaosium).
Then come the chapter for determining power
and success, arguably the book”s weakest point. This section
contains many equations, often based on laws of physics, for
accomplishing the magician”s ends. This is probably the
most mathematically complex system I”ve seen in a role—playing
game, and it would have you reaching for a calculator every time
you want to determine a spell”s effects or duration. If
you”re smart enough to understand these equations, though,
you”re smart enough to decide on your own spell costs.
I”d suggest skimming over this part and
going to the theory parts of the book, where Bonewits shines.
What are the basic laws of magic? Why does it work the way it
does? Who should be allowed to perform it? What factors make
a spell to succeed, and which cause failure? Bonewits presents
full yet easily understood answers to all of these. Next comes
a discussion of magical items (greatly toned—down from their
AD&D versions) and magical beings (greatly enhanced). All
of these topics are approached with logic and not a little humor.
The book goes on to discuss clerics, who are
simply magicians who can tap into their god for extra powers.
The basic point of this section is one that will be familiar
to many veteran players, but the explanation is clearer than any other I have seen. As a side note, Bonewits cautions GMs not to use
real—life deities in their games, as this might allow them
to tap into energies created by collective thought that gamers
are not prepared to handle. I am not entirely certain why this
should not also apply to concepts such as dragons or aliens,
but it might explain why few gamers of my acquaintance have normal
lives.
Bonewits runs out the book with his “The
Quest for the Sacred Mehleetah”, the tale of a sacred quest
undertaken by the priests of Caffeina. Very few groups of my
experience would play this without copious quantities of alcohol,
but it”s fun and
serves as a good example of the system in action.
One item on which I disagree with Bonewits”
approach is his lessening of power for “part—time”
spellcasters. If we examine case histories of magicians in different
cultures, most magicians are part—time, taking up their
duties whenever needed and spending the rest of their time as
farmers, artisans, or whatever. This is probably instituted for
game balance, but I wish a more elegant way to handle it had
been included.
I should note Mr. Bonewits is one of the founders
of the Neo—Druid movement, and has strong religious views
that he is not shy about expressing. This might turn off some
readers, but it”s refreshing for someone to be so forthright
rather than concealing their views behind the game”s mechanics
or source material.
As to presentation, most of the art is done
in imitation of old woodcuts. If you like that sort of thing
(as I do), you”ll appreciate it, though others may find
it too angular. Along the top and bottom of each page are curious
characters which, according to Bonewits, spell out messages.
I tried to decipher them, but failed utterly. If nothing else,
though, they are aesthetically pleasing (though I”d caution
him to watch for those null characters that turn up as circles).
Overall, the book”s look is decent, but not stunning.
My high rating for the book should not suggest
it”s for those who are content with their RPG magic systems,
or who want something they can plug into their games straight
off the page. However, if
you like to tinker with your magical system, if you run a campaign
in which wizards play a major role, or if you want to read a
book that has influenced countless game designers since its first
publication, this is an excellent addition to your library. You may not use all of it, but borrowing even a few
elements should add to the richness of your game.
Presentation:
4, Content: 4, Style: 4 (Classy and well done),
Substance: 4 (Meaty)
|