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The Conjurer's Guides are identically arranged books, each covers a few different magical lores; Beyond the Boundaries covers the lores of Death and Time and Space, while Heart Mind & Soul covers the lores of Passions, Dreams, and Madness.

Both use the new glossy-paper format, which is visually striking. It is also, unfortunately, a real pain to read. Heart, Mind & Soul is the better of the two, with only about 10 of the 60-odd pages obscured by background art. Almost half of Beyond the Boundaries is hard to read because of background art or due to black print on brown paper.

Once you learn the "Magic Eye" trick of reading the books, they bring a new, somewhat terrifying, level to of power to magic. All lores can summon, bind, exorcise and spirits; create protective circles; and create that most necessary of places, a temple. Without a temple the conjurer is penalized heavily, unable to work most of their spells.

Some of the Time/Space sensory spells would be quite suited to many campaigns. However some spells will allow characters to travel to Metropolis, see the future, and time travel and should stay under the realm of Gamemasters. Death magic is almost designed towards many NPC's as it focuses on communicating with, summoning, and controlling dead souls. This can allow a master to live forever or create unique purgatories for enemies or even themselves.

The magic of Passion directly affects raw emotion and instincts but also includes some controls over the human body; focusing on altering the reproductive system and process. Few characters will feel compelled to learn the higher secrets of Passion making it a safe bit of magic to let out.

Dream is the most balanced lore; it allows for communication and travel using portals into the Dream realms as well as altering reality to match the world of the occultist's Dreams. Only the extremely high level rituals are worldshattering, exactly as it should be.

The lore of Madness seems to come right from Lovecraft's warped imagination. The lowest level spell opens a gate to Metropolis, mid-level effects induce altered mental balance and shake the cage of the Illusion, and high-level effects can induce physical changes or glean information on the nature of the Illusion itself. The drawbacks of this lore (almost guaranteeing your immediate confrontation with your light half) are either hideously repulsive or incredibly attractive.

All in all, the Conjurer's Guides are good references that will advance games. The big drawback is that most spells are too powerful to be in the possessions of characters in the world of Kult. If you can keep your group's magic low (just enough to get themselves into more trouble) then you'll have no problems. However if you need to make a truly powerful NPC or get a character to go rapidly insane this is a way to go.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

"Heart Mind and Soul" and "Beyond the Boundaries" The Conjurer's Guides
Author: Gunilla Jonsson, Michael Petersen Category: game Company/Publisher: Target Games AB Reviewed by James McPherson on 06/23/97. Genre tags: none	The Conjurer's Guides are identically arranged books, each covers a few different magical lores; Beyond the Boundaries covers the lores of Death and Time and Space, while Heart Mind & Soul covers the lores of Passions, Dreams, and Madness. Both use the new glossy-paper format, which is visually striking. It is also, unfortunately, a real pain to read. Heart, Mind & Soul is the better of the two, with only about 10 of the 60-odd pages obscured by background art. Almost half of Beyond the Boundaries is hard to read because of background art or due to black print on brown paper. Once you learn the "Magic Eye" trick of reading the books, they bring a new, somewhat terrifying, level to of power to magic. All lores can summon, bind, exorcise and spirits; create protective circles; and create that most necessary of places, a temple. Without a temple the conjurer is penalized heavily, unable to work most of their spells. Some of the Time/Space sensory spells would be quite suited to many campaigns. However some spells will allow characters to travel to Metropolis, see the future, and time travel and should stay under the realm of Gamemasters. Death magic is almost designed towards many NPC's as it focuses on communicating with, summoning, and controlling dead souls. This can allow a master to live forever or create unique purgatories for enemies or even themselves. The magic of Passion directly affects raw emotion and instincts but also includes some controls over the human body; focusing on altering the reproductive system and process. Few characters will feel compelled to learn the higher secrets of Passion making it a safe bit of magic to let out. Dream is the most balanced lore; it allows for communication and travel using portals into the Dream realms as well as altering reality to match the world of the occultist's Dreams. Only the extremely high level rituals are worldshattering, exactly as it should be. The lore of Madness seems to come right from Lovecraft's warped imagination. The lowest level spell opens a gate to Metropolis, mid-level effects induce altered mental balance and shake the cage of the Illusion, and high-level effects can induce physical changes or glean information on the nature of the Illusion itself. The drawbacks of this lore (almost guaranteeing your immediate confrontation with your light half) are either hideously repulsive or incredibly attractive. All in all, the Conjurer's Guides are good references that will advance games. The big drawback is that most spells are too powerful to be in the possessions of characters in the world of Kult. If you can keep your group's magic low (just enough to get themselves into more trouble) then you'll have no problems. However if you need to make a truly powerful NPC or get a character to go rapidly insane this is a way to go. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

"Heart Mind and Soul" and "Beyond the Boundaries" The Conjurer's Guides