Pyramid Review
Modern Magic (for d20 Modern)
Published by The Game Mechanics & Green Ronin Publishing
Written by Eric Cagle, Mike Montesa, Rich Redman, Mat Smith, & Stan!
Edited by JD Wiker
Art & Layout By Marc Schmalz, Clarence Harrison, Pete Schlough, Jacob Elijah Walker, & Cheyenne Wright
80-page b&w softcover; $17.95
Too many products from Wizards of the Coast forego any kind of setting information in favor of a straightforward listing of the rules and stats necessary for their games. They could take a few pointers from The Game Mechanics playbook. Partnered with Green Ronin Publishing, they have released Modern Magic, a collection of material designed to put the magic in your d20 Modern game.
There's not much about the actual layout that's different or surprising: It's just magic, after all. There's a spell list, some new character classes, some gear. But it's in the conception and the execution that the book really distinguishes itself from its source.
Each and every element of this book is pregnant with possibilities for a modern campaign. Taking a contemporary setting and laying this veneer over it, the writers manage to make magic seem like an organic part of whatever setting to which it's applied. Spells can mimic guns and cell phones, if the mage also apes the action with his hands and fingers. Screensavers become tools of hypnotism, vehicles drive on their own, and bullets can be fired into a crowd without hurting anyone but the intended target. Everything . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: April 15, 2005
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