The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I've had a love/hate relationship with the Compendiums, both the Encylcopedia Mysticas and the Wizard's Spell Compendiums. One the one hand, I'm ecstatic to find all the old material unearthed, reorganized, and printed together in one volume. On the other, I'm invariably disappointed by how little is done in revising the actual material

The Fourth Volume of the Wizard's Spell Compendium (WSCIV) fares better than most in the series, primarily because Middleton, Pickens, and Baker made some effort to actually do something with the material besides simply reprinting it. This is a very good thing (tm), because I could have done a better job with the Mystica series with loose leaf paper, a pencil, and two days locked in a room.

The book provides lots of goodies beyond just the spells themselves: spell lists for every type of school, lists of spells for long forgotten classes, the Unearthed Arcana cantrips, spell paths, lichdom, and even (GASP!) Dragon King spells! You know, those spells that they wouldn't print in the other three volumes and just left little italicized teasers that told you just enough to make you wish you had the original Dragon Kings rulebook.

The changes made to the existing spells are subtle but significant. The Second Edition introduced the concept of damage limits, and finally we have them in writing for all the Oriental Adventure spells. Most significant of the rewrites is the Symbol spell, which now makes a lot more sense. Spells which fit in with a particular school, in most cases, were appropriately assimilated into that school. I was quite pleased to find Timeheal and Timereaver from the Dragonlance Adventures tome listed as a Chronomancy spells.

What I didn't need, however, was the italicized inserts referring to the older version of the spells. I don't want to hear what the old Timeheal spell did when there's a new version of it in the next entry. Likewise, the Dragon King spells seem to have been an afterthought. But those are minor quibbles.

The major quibbles are significant though. Hishna and Pluma, from the Maztic setting, ARE NOT SCHOOLS OF MAGIC. Mages can't use it, they can't learn it, it's inclusion in the wizard's spell compendium seems pointless. Since both Hishna and Pluma are offered as spheres of spell use for priests in the Maztica setting, this error seems to have propagated itself from the first volume. They don't belong in the Compendium (for wizards, anyway). For kicks, they seem to have thrown the Paramander in there as well, who was presented originally as a Paladin class. Perhaps they thought some of us don't have that article anymore (I do). The Dragon Knights are fully presented with attribute requirements and special abilities, but the other classes are not (the ninja, the witch, the geisha just get spell lists).

Some of the spell lists seem exceptionally sparse. A cursory look at potential spells that would make perfect sense to include in the lists are missing. Woundbind, Wound Conferral and Temporary Resurrection could all have been under the Healer Mage list. Tempus Fugit and Temporal Freedom aren't in the Chronomancer list. Tempestcone is missing from the Storm Mage list. The Watch-Wizard Guild of Waterdeep, a guild which I found particularly interesting, has a tiny list of spells that could easily have been fleshed out. The list goes on and on.

In most cases, the editors resorted to what originally worked and didn't add a whole lot to what was already there. One of my big gripes, the tsunami spell (9th level) and the tidal wave spell (9th level) do the exact same thing: summon a huge wave of water. The effects are completely different. Would it be too much to ask for a general ruling that merged the two? Of course!

There's also the irritating habit of telling the reader that entries missed being included in the compendium by "a matter of months." Which is great, but of absolutely no use other than to guilt the reader into buying another product, a common TSR ploy.

One trend I definitely like is appropriate artwork drawn specifically for and placed adjacent to the relevant text. No more recycled artwork! This trend seems to have come about coincidentally at the time WOTC bought TSR. Go figure.

Ultimately, this is more raw source material than anything else. With so many spell lists and caster types, many need to be fleshed out. Even if the edtiors of the WSCIV didn't do it for us, Dungeon Masters have the option of filling out the lists themselves. That, coupled with material you can't find anywhere else, makes purchasing the Compendium worth it.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Wizard's Spell Compendium: Volume Four
Author: Mark Middleton Category: game Company/Publisher: TSR Cost: $24.95 Page count: n/a ISBN: 0-7869-1209-X Capsule Review by Michael Tresca on 12/06/98. Genre tags: Fantasy	I've had a love/hate relationship with the Compendiums, both the Encylcopedia Mysticas and the Wizard's Spell Compendiums. One the one hand, I'm ecstatic to find all the old material unearthed, reorganized, and printed together in one volume. On the other, I'm invariably disappointed by how little is done in revising the actual material The Fourth Volume of the Wizard's Spell Compendium (WSCIV) fares better than most in the series, primarily because Middleton, Pickens, and Baker made some effort to actually do something with the material besides simply reprinting it. This is a very good thing (tm), because I could have done a better job with the Mystica series with loose leaf paper, a pencil, and two days locked in a room. The book provides lots of goodies beyond just the spells themselves: spell lists for every type of school, lists of spells for long forgotten classes, the Unearthed Arcana cantrips, spell paths, lichdom, and even (GASP!) Dragon King spells! You know, those spells that they wouldn't print in the other three volumes and just left little italicized teasers that told you just enough to make you wish you had the original Dragon Kings rulebook. The changes made to the existing spells are subtle but significant. The Second Edition introduced the concept of damage limits, and finally we have them in writing for all the Oriental Adventure spells. Most significant of the rewrites is the Symbol spell, which now makes a lot more sense. Spells which fit in with a particular school, in most cases, were appropriately assimilated into that school. I was quite pleased to find Timeheal and Timereaver from the Dragonlance Adventures tome listed as a Chronomancy spells. What I didn't need, however, was the italicized inserts referring to the older version of the spells. I don't want to hear what the old Timeheal spell did when there's a new version of it in the next entry. Likewise, the Dragon King spells seem to have been an afterthought. But those are minor quibbles. The major quibbles are significant though. Hishna and Pluma, from the Maztic setting, ARE NOT SCHOOLS OF MAGIC. Mages can't use it, they can't learn it, it's inclusion in the wizard's spell compendium seems pointless. Since both Hishna and Pluma are offered as spheres of spell use for priests in the Maztica setting, this error seems to have propagated itself from the first volume. They don't belong in the Compendium (for wizards, anyway). For kicks, they seem to have thrown the Paramander in there as well, who was presented originally as a Paladin class. Perhaps they thought some of us don't have that article anymore (I do). The Dragon Knights are fully presented with attribute requirements and special abilities, but the other classes are not (the ninja, the witch, the geisha just get spell lists). Some of the spell lists seem exceptionally sparse. A cursory look at potential spells that would make perfect sense to include in the lists are missing. Woundbind, Wound Conferral and Temporary Resurrection could all have been under the Healer Mage list. Tempus Fugit and Temporal Freedom aren't in the Chronomancer list. Tempestcone is missing from the Storm Mage list. The Watch-Wizard Guild of Waterdeep, a guild which I found particularly interesting, has a tiny list of spells that could easily have been fleshed out. The list goes on and on. In most cases, the editors resorted to what originally worked and didn't add a whole lot to what was already there. One of my big gripes, the tsunami spell (9th level) and the tidal wave spell (9th level) do the exact same thing: summon a huge wave of water. The effects are completely different. Would it be too much to ask for a general ruling that merged the two? Of course! There's also the irritating habit of telling the reader that entries missed being included in the compendium by "a matter of months." Which is great, but of absolutely no use other than to guilt the reader into buying another product, a common TSR ploy. One trend I definitely like is appropriate artwork drawn specifically for and placed adjacent to the relevant text. No more recycled artwork! This trend seems to have come about coincidentally at the time WOTC bought TSR. Go figure. Ultimately, this is more raw source material than anything else. With so many spell lists and caster types, many need to be fleshed out. Even if the edtiors of the WSCIV didn't do it for us, Dungeon Masters have the option of filling out the lists themselves. That, coupled with material you can't find anywhere else, makes purchasing the Compendium worth it. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Wizard's Spell Compendium: Volume Four