Magic Systems

Two new products coming down the pike that may be of interest to people who dislike the default D&D magic system.

d20 Advanced Magic from Guardians of Order is out as a PDF from DriveThru, but I've heard that a paper edition is supposed to appear in the next month or so. This product takes the magic system introduced in Slayers d20 and files the serial numbers off for generic BESM d20 and also modularizes it to be dropped into vanilla D&D. Between this product and the BESM d20 Monstrous Manual you ought to be able to do anime-tweaked D&D style fantasy with ease.

Meanwhile I've heard that Green Ronin is working on extracting the magic system from the Black Company sourcebook and selling it as a stand-alone for use in regular D&D gaming. Is this another case of Green Ronin marrying excellent mechanics to a setting that weighs them down? (*cough* Blue Rose *cough*) My friend Pat (a crunchy magic system fan) digs the Black Company mechanics, but they left me cold. Even so, I can't help but think that this system might be the prime choice for folks who want a magic system to go with Mike Mearls' combat rules from Iron Heroes. Not having read Iron Heroes I could be full of crap on this, but that's what my gut is telling me.

Speaking of Pat, send me some e-mail or something, man!