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This book is an attempt by a modern day self proclaimed practioner and expert in magic to describe how magic really works so that it can be more realistically incorporated into role playing games. It comes complete with a system that claims to be generic enough to be fitted into most role playing games.

The book is very obviously written by somebody who wholeheartedly believes in magic and who thinks that anybody who doesn't is just not looking at the facts in an open way. So that you're aware of my biases, I should state that I'm an agnostic on the subject of the paranormal (and religion, for that matter).

I found Bonewitz's style VERY offputting. He has a very juvenile (and smarmy) sense of humour, he is very patronizing, has a large chip on his shoulder, and is definitely trying (badly) to prosletize.

The book is, essentially, 2 things. Its an examination of what ONE person thinks magic is. This is definitely a subject on which there is NOT consensus, even (or especially) amongst those who claim to practice it. This is moderately interesting but looks to be far less complete than his "real" book (Real Magic, ISBN: 0877286884) which is still in print. I haven't actually read the latter, only glancing at it in the store just before I bought Thaumaturgy.

The book also contains one of the worst magic role playing systems ever invented. Its hilarious to read, mind you. One gets to use all sorts of arcane formula to calculate how much energy something takes, add and subtract whole scads of modifiers (usually on the order of a few percentage points each), and then roll dice.

The system itself is largely unplayable, but it DOES contain some interesting insights as to how "realistic" magic SHOULD work. For example, using energy subtly is much more effective than brute force and ignorance (so the telekinetic will kill by blood clots, NOT by throwing boulders). Also, it is possible to regress in "magic points" as one advances in "level".

The bottom line is that I regret paying full cost for this book, but I'd have regretted NOT buying it more :-). I strongly suspect that buying Real Magic would have been better for me (it is also cheaper :-)).

Note, the book is illustrated by Eric Hotz in his usual excellent style. It is because of his illustrations that I've rated the presentation as highly as I did.

As an aside, I chatted to a couple of NeoPagan friends of mine about Bonewitz. Their opinion was that Real Magic was a reasonable survey of how magic works although definitely too mechanistic for their tastes and definitely not perfect.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Authentic Thaumaturgy
Author: Isaac Bonewitz Category: game Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Cost: $20.95 ISBN: 1-55634-360-4 Playtest Review by Paul Jackson on 01/05/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern_day Horror Gothic Generic	This book is an attempt by a modern day self proclaimed practioner and expert in magic to describe how magic really works so that it can be more realistically incorporated into role playing games. It comes complete with a system that claims to be generic enough to be fitted into most role playing games. The book is very obviously written by somebody who wholeheartedly believes in magic and who thinks that anybody who doesn't is just not looking at the facts in an open way. So that you're aware of my biases, I should state that I'm an agnostic on the subject of the paranormal (and religion, for that matter). I found Bonewitz's style VERY offputting. He has a very juvenile (and smarmy) sense of humour, he is very patronizing, has a large chip on his shoulder, and is definitely trying (badly) to prosletize. The book is, essentially, 2 things. Its an examination of what ONE person thinks magic is. This is definitely a subject on which there is NOT consensus, even (or especially) amongst those who claim to practice it. This is moderately interesting but looks to be far less complete than his "real" book (Real Magic, ISBN: 0877286884) which is still in print. I haven't actually read the latter, only glancing at it in the store just before I bought Thaumaturgy. The book also contains one of the worst magic role playing systems ever invented. Its hilarious to read, mind you. One gets to use all sorts of arcane formula to calculate how much energy something takes, add and subtract whole scads of modifiers (usually on the order of a few percentage points each), and then roll dice. The system itself is largely unplayable, but it DOES contain some interesting insights as to how "realistic" magic SHOULD work. For example, using energy subtly is much more effective than brute force and ignorance (so the telekinetic will kill by blood clots, NOT by throwing boulders). Also, it is possible to regress in "magic points" as one advances in "level". The bottom line is that I regret paying full cost for this book, but I'd have regretted NOT buying it more :-). I strongly suspect that buying Real Magic would have been better for me (it is also cheaper :-)). Note, the book is illustrated by Eric Hotz in his usual excellent style. It is because of his illustrations that I've rated the presentation as highly as I did. As an aside, I chatted to a couple of NeoPagan friends of mine about Bonewitz. Their opinion was that Real Magic was a reasonable survey of how magic works although definitely too mechanistic for their tastes and definitely not perfect. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Authentic Thaumaturgy