Songs and Souls of Power
The Book of Eldritch Might II:
Songs and Souls of Power
by Monte Cook
D20 Sourcebook (SC, 8 1/2 X 11, 70 pages)
ISBN: 1-58846-102-5
Malhavoc Press, $12.95
“The Book of Eldritch Might II: Songs and Souls of Power” is the second sourcebook in the Eldritch Might series. I should explain that Malhavoc is a wizard, egotistical but very powerful, and he had in his possession at one time a magical book called “The Book of Eldritch Might,” which may actually have been an elder god trapped in the form of a tome. The series of books by the same name presented by Malhavoc Press are but a small portion of the knowledge to be found in this powerful tome.
So much for back story. Moving right along, this time around, the focus is on the bard and sorcerer classes, and included in this supplement are redesigned versions of those classes, including rules for music-based bardic magic, over 100 new spells and bardic spellsongs, rules for using soul magic (a new type of magic involving sentient spells), and also more new feats, prestige classes, magic items and magical monsters for use in any campaign.
Having liked the first book in this series, I was looking forward to seeing what Mr. Cook had come up with now. And I was doubly interested when I found out that one of the featured classes was the bard, since I’m currently in the process of playing a my first bard character. Well, actually, I seem to be playing the same basic bard character in three different campaigns -- go Buster I, II and III!
The first chapter deals with the alternate classes, and includes the bard variant and the sorcerer variant. In the bard section, there are also a couple of sidebars about the effect of silence on bardsong and a new deity for bards -- Jode, the Guardian of Song. In a nice touch, both variants are printed out in their entirety, so that you don’t have to pull out both the variant and the player’s handbook to play a character based on the new class.
I must admit I wasn’t completely enamored with the new alternate bard class. The emphasis seems to be on singing and bard song. No mention is made of instruments or any other kind of performing. Considering I’m playing a comedic character in one campaign, an instrumentalist in another, and a comedic/singer in the third, I found the emphasis on singing to be rather limiting. Still, if that’s the kind of bard you want to play, the new prestige class looks quite good. I have to say it’s an interesting concept to have the bard casting all his spells entirely with his voice, not just those tied to his bardic music ability.
The next chapter deals with feats for both classes, and includes Eldritch feats, which is a concept I didn’t explain in my first review. Eldritch feats, as it says in the book, “confer actual magical powers that should be treated as spell-like abilities.” All either enhance the power, range or duration of spells and spellsongs, imbue current spells with added powers, or allow a magic user to add his efforts to another’s spell. One other allows you to create soul magic, which will become important when we get to that part of the book.
Chapter Three includes four new prestige classes, such as the Diplomancer, a magical negotiator well suited to the higher charisma of the bard and sorcerer; the Eldritch Warrior, a fighter/wizard class devoted to magic that enhances combat; the Knight of the Chord, a loosely formed group dedicated to helping the downtrodden and preserving freedom above all else; and the Song Mage, who uses the power of song, not as entertainment, but for the power they can draw from it.
Chapter Four talks about soul magic. Soul magic spells are “sentient, intelligent spells that want to be cast.” In fact, the most powerful of these spells have the power to compel a magic user to cast them if that magic user fails his will saving throw. Any spellcaster of any level can cast them; all that is needed is the ability to cast arcane spells. These spells have the potential to be quite powerful, so I was glad to see that creator of the spell cannot cast the spell himself, but must wait for another to cast the spell for him. That should add a needed bit of control and balance to the use of soul magic in the campaign.
The thing I find most interesting, and creepy, about high level soul magic is its ability to compel someone to cast it like some kind of trap just waiting for the unsuspecting spellcaster. Even the lower level spells can be a bit nasty even though they can’t compel someone. Instead, they aren’t above lying and cheating to get their way. These lesser spells also take some of their power from the soul of the caster, thereby damaging that person in some way at least temporarily. Definitely a concept that should be added only a bit at a time to one’s campaign.
The next two chapters list spellsongs and new spells for bards, sorcerers and other spellcasters. And the next two after that include new magic items and monsters.
This is a good book full of interesting ideas and a worthy continuation of the excellent work started in the first book. I was impressed that for only two dollars more than the first product, the buyer gets over 20 pages more of product. All in all, very reasonably priced. Once again, there is a bit of padding in the art department, and some of the artwork seems less polished and more appropriate for a comic book. And speaking of less polish, I also found several typos in this product without really trying to, which is disappointing since that indicates a certain sloppiness to the work, or at the very least, understaffing. Nevertheless, at $12.95, I would definitely recommend picking up a copy of this book if you can find it.
(review (c) November 2003 / Erica Woollums)