The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Realms of Sorcery expands the Warhammer FRPG game so much that its presence is mandatory for any game that wishes to augment the role of magic in the Warhammer world.

This massive tome is broken up into twenty-two chapters:

Chapter 1: A History of Magic
Chapter 2: The Nature of Magic
Chapter 3: A Wizard’s Life
Chapter 4: Hedge Wizardry
Chapter 5: Battle Magic
Chapter 6: Illusionism
Chapter 7: Elementalism
Chapter 8: Alchemy
Chapter 9: Ice Magic
Chapter 10: Minor Colleges of the Old World
Chapter 11: Elf Magic
Chapter 12: Runes and Runesmiths
Chapter 13: Rune Masters
Chapter 14: Forbidden Magic
Chapter 15: Skaven Magic
Chapter 16: Greenskin Magic
Chapter 17: Witch Hunters
Chapter 18: Spell Casting and Creation
Chapter 19: Magic Items
Chapter 20: Spells
Chapter 21: Familiars
Chapter 22: Arcane Secrets

An appendix ties things up with spell list arranged by type and another spell list in alphabetical order.

The section on magic’s history and role in the Warhammer World gives a bit more information to GMs wishing to expand upon the role of magic, but it’s chapter 2, the nature of magic, that may make some GMs, those who hate the table top game, cringe as the FRPG fully embraces the rainbow concept. Here, magic starts off pure black from the warp gates in the north and as the winds carry those tides of magic further and further away from their source, the black breaks up into a rainbow of colors, each color with a certain association. Each of the races magic also gets a brief paragraph description as to how their magic works and fits into the world.

Chapter three provides the player and GM information on what a wizard’s life is like. It seems that most of this information is geared towards humans, especially humans from the Empire. Most hedge wizards and non-official spellcasters tend to have a rough time of it as the Old World is not known for it’s acceptance of things strange and unusual. There is information on getting a license to practice magic, as well as how to renew a license. The section on nonhuman spellcaster laws is brief, pretty much stating that nonhumans tend to follow the humans law while in human lands but otherwise have no licensing laws of their own, at least none covered here.

GMs will have fun with the material on unlicensed wizards and the penalty of the law section as it gives them an idea of what to do with characters who insist on taking those evil roles as “Any use of daemonology, necromancy, dark or Chaotic magic, or the practicing of other magic without a license, is punishable by death by burning.” Truly an enlightened age!

Most GMs and players will note that in novels and other sources, magic in the setting, while not incredibly rare in terms of magic items and monsters, is in terms of number of spellcasters. The section, The Number of Wizards, gives the GM some idea on how to handle this. In addition, there is a revised academic basic career chart to incorporate the material found in this book.

Now, judging by the chapter headings alone, one can see that this book covers magic in much more detail than any other Warhammer book. Each section has information on the history of the type of magic, as well as specific game information related to it. Some chapters are much longer than others as it only expands upon the material in the original book instead of rewriting it completely.

The coverage isn’t as exhaustive as it could be in certain cases though. For example, under Elf Magic, there is no career for high elven mages, but rather, a ‘monster’ or encounter template that the GM can use to approximate what a high elf mage would be like. Of course, the dreaded words, “More information on High Elf magic will be found in a forth coming supplement for Warhammer FRP”. Truly a dreaded message for anyone who knows how long Warhammer fans have waited for this tome.

Still, most sections do include a lot of material that can enlighten any game. The section on Battle Magic goes into the long history of these Empire Wizards, as well as the different careers that are opened up to them. Some of these teachings come at quite a cost though, which will keep out the poor. Of course, location is another limiting factor as only certain cities and areas have battle magic colleges. The benefit of all this though, is the access to different careers like Celestial Wizard where a dedicated student can go up to become a Level 5 wizard with access to level 5 spells. This is a perfect chapter for those wishing to throw in the Jade, Light, Amber, Amethyst and other Empire schools into the fray.

Other schools have their own spells and goodies though. For example, under Elementalism, one will read about the early history of this magic in the Empire and how it was used to battle against Chaos until the elf wizard Teclis began his education of humans. Students of this college can travel to Nuln and partake of all the glories of The Eldritch University and like their Battle Magic counter parts, can learn magic up to the 5th level in careers that go up to the 5th level. Other colleges for each element are listed, along with characters and plot lines that clever GMs can spin into adventures for his campaign.

To go into any detail on all the chapters of magic would make this review very long and perhaps very tedious. Suffice it to say that each chapter introduces something a little new and interesting to the Warhammer world. Alchemists get acids and alkalis, elixirs and poisons, while ice mages get to go through a whole new series of careers, the Kislevite Shaman’s Apprentice, to the mighty 4th level wizard. Other, minor colleges, have no careers, but instead, have locations, histories, and npcs associated with them. Each one can involve the players with hooks and plots to keep a campaign running for years.

Even though coverage on the elven magic is light, the dwarves get runes and runesmiths. Similar to a wizard going through an apprenticeship, dwarves too have to go through runesmith apprentice, runesmith, master runesmith, until finally, they become rune lords. New skills and rules for permanent and temporary runes are supplies, as well as methods for incorporating these magics into the campaign. Unfortunately, the double spread page with the runes upon them is a dark gray and the runes are difficult to read due to it appearing to be carved from stone.

Other chapters add little bits and pieces into the setting like Rune Masters, humans who’ve stolen the art of forging runes from the dwarves and are now hunted by them. Those wishing more information on the non-human evil races, like Skaven, and Orcs, will get enough to whet their appetite, but it leaves the reader wanting more. The chapter on Witch Hunters is one that introduces the Exorcists. Some might remember this class from a very old issue of Hogwash, a free newsletter from Hogshead. This career goes through four levels and has spell use in addition to skills designed to fight evil sorceries.

Many players will enjoy the section on Spell Casting and Creation as the Warhammer game gets a fairly impressive magic item creation section. Players and GMs can read about the process of procuring ingredients, as well as the cost for doing such.

New magic items, ranging from Amulets, Jewels, Wands, and Weapons, are listed with numerous potions. More important though, to player and GM alike, is the next chapter, Spells, Here, spells are broken up by school, level, and alphabet, making spell research fairly easy. GMs and players can peruse the book and read through almost forty pages of spells.

A brief chapter on familiars gives players some options as to what type of familiar they can take. Is it a power familiar, or assistant familiar that the player needs? How about a warrior familiar? In addition to the different types, there are rules for controlling and role playing such creatures and their impact on the Warhammer World when their master dies.

The last chapter, 22, is Arcane Secrets. Here, GM advice abounds on how to handle this massive influx of information. While the information is sound, GMs may need to read this section a couple of times just to realize the scope the Warhammer World gains with this much additional material.

The book follows the standard role playing layout in that most of it is two columns. Art in the book is good all around. Each chapter is broken up with a page of story and a full-illustrated page. It’s important to note that the book doesn’t rely on art though, for the reader could go pages and pages without encountering anything other than a sword drawn to divide sections apart.

The book is a valuable reference for Warhammer and is available in both hardcover and softcover. Ironic since the core rule book hasn’t been around in hardcover in a while, but definitely a worthy investment. Buy Realms of Sorcery if you play Warhammer FRPG. Any other choice is simply unacceptable.

Realms of Sorcery
Realms of Sorcery Playtest Review by Joe G Kushner on 24/02/02 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) A must have book for all serious players of the Warhammer FRPG. Product: Realms of Sorcery Author: Ken and Jo Walton Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Hogshead Line: Warhammer FRPG Cost: 26.95/34/95 Page count: 265 Year published: 2001 ISBN: 1899749136/1899749330 SKU: HOG207S/HOG207H Comp copy?: no Playtest Review by Joe G Kushner on 24/02/02 Genre tags: Fantasy	Realms of Sorcery expands the Warhammer FRPG game so much that its presence is mandatory for any game that wishes to augment the role of magic in the Warhammer world. This massive tome is broken up into twenty-two chapters: Chapter 1: A History of Magic Chapter 2: The Nature of Magic Chapter 3: A Wizard’s Life Chapter 4: Hedge Wizardry Chapter 5: Battle Magic Chapter 6: Illusionism Chapter 7: Elementalism Chapter 8: Alchemy Chapter 9: Ice Magic Chapter 10: Minor Colleges of the Old World Chapter 11: Elf Magic Chapter 12: Runes and Runesmiths Chapter 13: Rune Masters Chapter 14: Forbidden Magic Chapter 15: Skaven Magic Chapter 16: Greenskin Magic Chapter 17: Witch Hunters Chapter 18: Spell Casting and Creation Chapter 19: Magic Items Chapter 20: Spells Chapter 21: Familiars Chapter 22: Arcane Secrets An appendix ties things up with spell list arranged by type and another spell list in alphabetical order. The section on magic’s history and role in the Warhammer World gives a bit more information to GMs wishing to expand upon the role of magic, but it’s chapter 2, the nature of magic, that may make some GMs, those who hate the table top game, cringe as the FRPG fully embraces the rainbow concept. Here, magic starts off pure black from the warp gates in the north and as the winds carry those tides of magic further and further away from their source, the black breaks up into a rainbow of colors, each color with a certain association. Each of the races magic also gets a brief paragraph description as to how their magic works and fits into the world. Chapter three provides the player and GM information on what a wizard’s life is like. It seems that most of this information is geared towards humans, especially humans from the Empire. Most hedge wizards and non-official spellcasters tend to have a rough time of it as the Old World is not known for it’s acceptance of things strange and unusual. There is information on getting a license to practice magic, as well as how to renew a license. The section on nonhuman spellcaster laws is brief, pretty much stating that nonhumans tend to follow the humans law while in human lands but otherwise have no licensing laws of their own, at least none covered here. GMs will have fun with the material on unlicensed wizards and the penalty of the law section as it gives them an idea of what to do with characters who insist on taking those evil roles as “Any use of daemonology, necromancy, dark or Chaotic magic, or the practicing of other magic without a license, is punishable by death by burning.” Truly an enlightened age! Most GMs and players will note that in novels and other sources, magic in the setting, while not incredibly rare in terms of magic items and monsters, is in terms of number of spellcasters. The section, The Number of Wizards, gives the GM some idea on how to handle this. In addition, there is a revised academic basic career chart to incorporate the material found in this book. Now, judging by the chapter headings alone, one can see that this book covers magic in much more detail than any other Warhammer book. Each section has information on the history of the type of magic, as well as specific game information related to it. Some chapters are much longer than others as it only expands upon the material in the original book instead of rewriting it completely. The coverage isn’t as exhaustive as it could be in certain cases though. For example, under Elf Magic, there is no career for high elven mages, but rather, a ‘monster’ or encounter template that the GM can use to approximate what a high elf mage would be like. Of course, the dreaded words, “More information on High Elf magic will be found in a forth coming supplement for Warhammer FRP”. Truly a dreaded message for anyone who knows how long Warhammer fans have waited for this tome. Still, most sections do include a lot of material that can enlighten any game. The section on Battle Magic goes into the long history of these Empire Wizards, as well as the different careers that are opened up to them. Some of these teachings come at quite a cost though, which will keep out the poor. Of course, location is another limiting factor as only certain cities and areas have battle magic colleges. The benefit of all this though, is the access to different careers like Celestial Wizard where a dedicated student can go up to become a Level 5 wizard with access to level 5 spells. This is a perfect chapter for those wishing to throw in the Jade, Light, Amber, Amethyst and other Empire schools into the fray. Other schools have their own spells and goodies though. For example, under Elementalism, one will read about the early history of this magic in the Empire and how it was used to battle against Chaos until the elf wizard Teclis began his education of humans. Students of this college can travel to Nuln and partake of all the glories of The Eldritch University and like their Battle Magic counter parts, can learn magic up to the 5th level in careers that go up to the 5th level. Other colleges for each element are listed, along with characters and plot lines that clever GMs can spin into adventures for his campaign. To go into any detail on all the chapters of magic would make this review very long and perhaps very tedious. Suffice it to say that each chapter introduces something a little new and interesting to the Warhammer world. Alchemists get acids and alkalis, elixirs and poisons, while ice mages get to go through a whole new series of careers, the Kislevite Shaman’s Apprentice, to the mighty 4th level wizard. Other, minor colleges, have no careers, but instead, have locations, histories, and npcs associated with them. Each one can involve the players with hooks and plots to keep a campaign running for years. Even though coverage on the elven magic is light, the dwarves get runes and runesmiths. Similar to a wizard going through an apprenticeship, dwarves too have to go through runesmith apprentice, runesmith, master runesmith, until finally, they become rune lords. New skills and rules for permanent and temporary runes are supplies, as well as methods for incorporating these magics into the campaign. Unfortunately, the double spread page with the runes upon them is a dark gray and the runes are difficult to read due to it appearing to be carved from stone. Other chapters add little bits and pieces into the setting like Rune Masters, humans who’ve stolen the art of forging runes from the dwarves and are now hunted by them. Those wishing more information on the non-human evil races, like Skaven, and Orcs, will get enough to whet their appetite, but it leaves the reader wanting more. The chapter on Witch Hunters is one that introduces the Exorcists. Some might remember this class from a very old issue of Hogwash, a free newsletter from Hogshead. This career goes through four levels and has spell use in addition to skills designed to fight evil sorceries. Many players will enjoy the section on Spell Casting and Creation as the Warhammer game gets a fairly impressive magic item creation section. Players and GMs can read about the process of procuring ingredients, as well as the cost for doing such. New magic items, ranging from Amulets, Jewels, Wands, and Weapons, are listed with numerous potions. More important though, to player and GM alike, is the next chapter, Spells, Here, spells are broken up by school, level, and alphabet, making spell research fairly easy. GMs and players can peruse the book and read through almost forty pages of spells. A brief chapter on familiars gives players some options as to what type of familiar they can take. Is it a power familiar, or assistant familiar that the player needs? How about a warrior familiar? In addition to the different types, there are rules for controlling and role playing such creatures and their impact on the Warhammer World when their master dies. The last chapter, 22, is Arcane Secrets. Here, GM advice abounds on how to handle this massive influx of information. While the information is sound, GMs may need to read this section a couple of times just to realize the scope the Warhammer World gains with this much additional material. The book follows the standard role playing layout in that most of it is two columns. Art in the book is good all around. Each chapter is broken up with a page of story and a full-illustrated page. It’s important to note that the book doesn’t rely on art though, for the reader could go pages and pages without encountering anything other than a sword drawn to divide sections apart. The book is a valuable reference for Warhammer and is available in both hardcover and softcover. Ironic since the core rule book hasn’t been around in hardcover in a while, but definitely a worthy investment. Buy Realms of Sorcery if you play Warhammer FRPG. Any other choice is simply unacceptable.