When I first saw Rings of Power, I thought, “Ah, cool, new magical items to add to the campaign.” I wasn’t impressed by the fact that you could buy said rings, but I was impressed that they made them for those who wished to break the 3rd dimension in gaming and have real life props. I also didn’t like Rings of Power that much. There were some interesting ideas but the focus on lots of fiction, the fact that there were only rings, and that most were more powerful than standard rings with no method of a caster crafting said rings was a downer.
I had much the same opinion of Sword of Power. Another hardcover that focused on one magic item. Once again Fast Forward went the extra mile and actually has said swords for purchase but the heavy background and lack of creation rules was a downer.
Now wondrous Items of Power comes along. The third in what appears to be a trilogy. This 160 page hardcover is similar to the first two books in that it has lots of background. Each item, 63 in all, has two pages of background. Each item is also very powerful and has no method of creation. Because it’s covers numerous types of items though, it doesn’t feel as bad as variety adds some spice to what could’ve been a horrible ending to a trilogy. Can you imagine Wondrous Potions of Drinking or Wondrous Rods of Ramming?
The book starts off with a preface, followed by an introduction. Each section is then broken out. Amulets and Talismans, Weird Items, and weapons. The nice thing about these breaks is that each section describes what’s in it. For example, under Amulets and Talismans, you’re provided a description of what an amulet, necklace, pendent and talisman is as well as methods of activation and random generation. For the so called Weird Items, you get Crystal Balls, Candle Snuffers, Candle Holders, Obelisks, Figurines, and Jars. Weapons include daggers, throwing daggers, nunchakas and shurikens.
In addition to having a little more variety in types of magic items, either the publishers are getting better with Photoshop, or some of these things are actually illustrated. I thought that the rings and swords were poorly done with detail being vague and obscure. No doubt some of those things looked great at the table, but the pictures were pretty bad. The bad thing though is that the chapter breaks are full-page illustrations that are very dark and once again, obscure detail.
Items are presented by name with a piece of fiction and an illustration. These pictures are framed by what appears to be Egyptian lettering. Items include the Talisman of the Assassin, a device that enchants any stabbing weapon the wielder uses with Bane and Wounding abilities, Amulet of the Sleeping Sprite, which acts as an Amulet of Improved Invisibility, and can enchant arrows to do no physical damage and instead inflict sleep upon them, Binder of Souls Talisman, a device which puts the user into a state of suspended animation within the talisman while releasing any individual who may already be in said item, and Topaz Pendant of Transparency, a pendant that protects the character from spells that target Lawful, Chaotic, Good or Evil beings and makes the user immune toDivination spells or spells cast from the Knowledge sphere.. Some of the fiction isn’t bad but most if it wouldn’t be collected in a best seller of short fiction. Its purpose is to introduce the item either through seeing the item in action, or reading about the characters in the story hearing about the item.
In some ways, it almost seems like there is a bit of an Egyptian theme going on. You’ve got Ra’s White Obelisk, the Egyptian Zodiac Mirror, Anhur’s Black Obelisk, Orison Headdress, Khnum Figurine, Grul’nak’s Demise Jar, and the Ra Dagger, among others.
The game stats include the name of the item, the powers, and usually an NPC or monster associated with the item. For example, the Dragon Eye Amulet, which is crafted by Pseudodragon’s looking for guardians, includes the game stats for a Pseudodragon and Evan of the Clan MacDonigull, the guardian from the fiction.
Also included is a master index that covers all three hardcovers, Swords, Rings, and Wondrous Items of Power. It provides the name of the item and the location of said item.
The series has its flaws. Limiting themselves to one topic, with two pages of fiction, and the quality of the illustrations, the books aren’t for everyone. The heavy focus on Egyptian themes here may limit the appeal of this book, but the fact that it covers so many different items to me, makes up for it. Of the three, this book is the best and hopefully a sign of good things to come from Fast Forward.
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