Spellbound: What to expect?

[Petrov_101]

Any synopsis of what we can expect in Spellbound?  I plan to start a game this spring (when the book is approximately due) and was wondering what we can expect to see in the book.

How difficult will it be for a mage player to modify his character slightly based on the new options presented in Spellbound?  Would it be better to wait for the book to come out before starting the game?

Pete

[Crafty_Alex]

Welcome aboard Pete!

Any synopsis of what we can expect in Spellbound?  I plan to start a game this spring (when the book is approximately due) and was wondering what we can expect to see in the book.

Spellbound covers arcane casters in all their forms - includes are nearly 20 arcane casting classes (9 base classes, 6 expert classes and 4 master classes), a heap of Spellcasting feats, familiars, campaign qualities, new magic subsystems, advice for defining magic in your campaign and a grimoire of nearly 900 spells. What it doesn't contain is magic items (found in Gear for the Ages) or divine casters. This one's all about the wizards

The book will be self-contained, meaning that some previously printed material is included (such as the rules for spellcasting, the Mage, Infernalist, Mist Dancer, some Spellcasting feats, etc.) so that it is completely self-contained and portable to any other Mastercraft product without requiring you to own Fantasy Craft. People should really appreciate this when they start playing Vow of Silence

How difficult will it be for a mage player to modify his character slightly based on the new options presented in Spellbound?  Would it be better to wait for the book to come out before starting the game?

Pete

I would start your game as soon as you like - the worst that could happen is you allow a re-spec of the character once you see the new options in the book. Allowing a mage to change his or her spells is pretty low impact, and the new feats may be attractive but if you're flexible I see no reason why allowing a swap-out would hurt. The biggest potential change is if a current Mage wanted to change his or her class to one of the 8 new 'specialist' base classes but even then, there are no fundamentals of magic, spellcasting or options that will be changing in this book.

[aegis]

If your player plans on playing a focused Mage (say, on charms), take a look at the eight Schools presented in Fantasy Craft. If one School really fits his concept, make him choose his spells among this one. You can also let him choose spells from another Discipline (not School), since we already know by now there will be a feat that'd allow this (but count that it will cost a feat). In this case, it will be even pretty easy to switch from regular Mage to another specialist spellcaster, since the spell list won't have to change.

If he wants to be broader Mage, then he's gonna want to stick to the original class anyway ...

[tracker7]

The book will be self-contained, meaning that some previously printed material is included (such as the rules for spellcasting, the Mage, Infernalist, Mist Dancer, some Spellcasting feats, etc.) so that it is completely self-contained and portable to any other Mastercraft product without requiring you to own Fantasy Craft.

Hooray! I do like Fantasy Craft (a lot), but I'm glad to see that Spellbound won't be dependent on it.

[Paladin]

So does this mean Spellbound will have the Fantasy Craft trade dress or will it have a more generic Master Craft trade dress (making it more obviously forward compatible with Spycraft 3.0 and 10KB)?

[aegis]

I have a question too! Is the fact that Spellbound is supposed to be transversally useful in all Mastercraft games (i.e. because of core mechanic questions and changes to remain compatible with SC3 and 10kB) the main reason why the book was delayed a few months or does it have nothing to do with it?

I'm not being impatient, just wondering ... maybe to kill some time, yes. 

[Crafty_Alex]

So does this mean Spellbound will have the Fantasy Craft trade dress or will it have a more generic Master Craft trade dress (making it more obviously forward compatible with Spycraft 3.0 and 10KB)?

No. Spellbound will still be a Fantasy Craft book, since it will by necessity be building on some content in that book (like Chapter 7) and refer to Fantasy Craft terms like the silver economy, skill focuses, etc. It also helps the book itself since players will find the greatest utility for Spellbound in FC games, and having another branded book makes it much easier for fans and retailers to recognize in stores.

I have a question too! Is the fact that Spellbound is supposed to be transversally useful in all Mastercraft games (i.e. because of core mechanic questions and changes to remain compatible with SC3 and 10kB) the main reason why the book was delayed a few months or does it have nothing to do with it?

No, the book has been delayed a bit because many other things blew up (mainly, the Adventure Companion) and that created a ripple in the schedule. Perils of being a small company

[glimmerrat]

The familiar rules are especially good... 

[Reef]

The familiar rules are especially good... 

Stop that!  I don't need to be craving this book anymore than I already do! 

[Agent 333]

The familiar rules are especially good... 

You owe us a beer.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

...campaign qualities, new magic subsystems, advice for defining magic in your campaign...

Especially looking forward to these: magic is one of the trickiest subjects when I try to do fantasy, so I need all the options and advice I can get.

[Desertpuma]

Alex, is Spellbound to be hardcover? Are main books, like FC, to be hardcover so as to distinguish them from supplemental books (like AC)?

[Crafty_Alex]

Alex, is Spellbound to be hardcover? Are main books, like FC, to be hardcover so as to distinguish them from supplemental books (like AC)?

No, it will be a softcover.

[Petrov_101]

Well, everything I've heard so far sounds great.  I'll push ahead with my campaign design and start date (hopefully in April) and expand my magic rules/options with the Spellbound material is available.

Now, the short term goal is to help my FLGS find someone who carries the Fantasy Craft 2nd Edition rules.  Two other players in my group besides me are trying to get a hard copy but it's proving to be a little difficult.

Pete

[Crafty_Alex]

Well, everything I've heard so far sounds great.  I'll push ahead with my campaign design and start date (hopefully in April) and expand my magic rules/options with the Spellbound material is available.

Excellent!

Now, the short term goal is to help my FLGS find someone who carries the Fantasy Craft 2nd Edition rules.  Two other players in my group besides me are trying to get a hard copy but it's proving to be a little difficult.

Pete

Our books are carried by Alliance, ACD, Warpath and other distributors, and can also be ordered from Studio 2 Publishing. If your FLGS is still having a hard time, they can always drop us a line at sales@crafty-games.com and we'd be glad to work with them directly.