''AC4 - The Book of Marvelous Magic'' is a 76-page book by
Frank Mentzer and
Gary Gygax published in 1985 by
TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had been ...
It is an
accessory to ''
Dungeons & Dragons'' primarily for use with the non-advanced box set versions; an appendix describes how the items described can be used with the ''AD&D'' game.
Contents
''The Book of Marvelous Magic'' is an alphabetical listing of more than 500
magic items
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
, sorted by item type. It contains an appendix with instructions for using the items with the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' rules.
This book is a sourcebook on magical items and their twists and quirks. As well as all the miscellaneous magical items that appeared in the D&D
Basic
BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...
,
Expert
An expert is somebody who has a broad and deep understanding and competence in terms of knowledge, skill and experience through practice and education in a particular field. Informally, an expert is someone widely recognized as a reliable s ...
, and
Companion Sets, over 500 new magical items are described in detail. Each item comes with a brief description and an explanation of its powers. The items are listed in alphabetical order by type of item. For example, under Blanket can be found the ''Blanket of Devouring'', the ''Blanket of Protection'', and the ''Blanket of Sleeping''.
Example
Chime of Visitors
This simple metal stick is 3 inches long and made of a silvery metal. It keeps time as a chime of time but with an unusual side effect. If it rings while within 60 feet of any ordinary or otherwise known door, all creatures hearing the chime must make a saving throw vs. spells; all victims who fail the throw must go to the nearest door and open it or attempt to do so for at least six rounds.
Publication history
AC4 ''The Book of Marvelous Magic'' was written by
Frank Mentzer and
Gary Gygax, with a cover by
Clyde Caldwell
Clyde Caldwell (born February 20, 1948) is an American artist. Self-described as a fantasy illustrator, he is best known for his portrayals of strong, sexy female characters.
With his work at TSR in the 1980s, he is considered one of the artis ...
and interior art by
Doug Watson, and was published by TSR in 1984 as an 80-page book (item code TSR 9116 and ).
Reception
Jez Keen reviewed the accessory for ''
Imagine
Imagine may refer to:
* Imagination
Music Albums
* ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008
* ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002
* ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012
* ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971
** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
'' magazine, giving it a negative review.
Keen wrote that the items on offer fall into three categories, "sensible ones, the bad-play compensatory ones and the silly ones".
Overall, the reviewer thought that in Basic ''D&D'' games magic items can be much too common. If magic was appropriately rare, this publication would not be needed. So Keen recommended it only for those who think that there should be "magic items at every street corner", as some items will be useful and some humorous.
Ultimately though, Keen thought that gamemasters would be better off creating their own magic items.
References
External links
Accessory Modules (AC1 - AC11)at The Acaeum
*
' at the TSR Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of Marvelous Magic
Mystara
Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1984