The Magister
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''The Magister'' is an accessory for the
Forgotten Realms ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a ...
campaign setting A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A ''campaign'' is a series of individual adventures, and a ''campaign setting'' is the world in which such adventures and ca ...
of the first edition ''
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ga ...
''
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
. The book, with product code TSR 9229, was published in 1988 by TSR. It was written by
Ed Greenwood Ed Greenwood (born July 21, 1959) is a Canadian fantasy writer and the original creator of the ''Forgotten Realms'' game world. He began writing articles about the Forgotten Realms for ''Dragon'' magazine beginning in 1979, and subsequently sold ...
and Steve Perrin, with cover art by
Jeff Easley Jeff Easley (born 1954) is an oil painter who creates fantasy artwork for role-playing games, comics, and magazines, as well as non-fantasy commercial art. Early life Easley was born in Nicholasville, Kentucky in 1954. He spent time drawing as ...
and interior art by
Valerie Valusek Valerie A. Valusek is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games. She is the sister of Jay E. Valusek, author of Museum of Voices: An Autobiographical Miscellany, where she is mentioned briefly. Works Valerie Valusek has produced i ...
.


Contents

''The Magister'' is a supplement which describes magic items and spells specific to the
Forgotten Realms ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a ...
setting, and includes rules for magic item creation, random tables for generating magical treasure, and descriptions of new magic items.
Elminster Elminster Aumar is a fictional character appearing in the ''Forgotten Realms'' campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. He is also known as the Sage of Shadowdale, and is depicted as a powerful Wizard (Dungeons & ...
, a fictional wizard, narrates the book, and provides descriptive detail, history, and game mechanics for the magic he presents. The spells and spell descriptions are explicit and detailed, and the tomes that contain these spells are described in appearance and history. The book provides lore and descriptions of magical armor, clothing, rings, wands, swords, and miscellaneous magical items, as well as a short section on the creation of magical items. The 64-page book includes a one-page foreword and introduction by Ed Greenwood, which outlines the subject of the book—new
spells Spell(s) or The Spell(s) may refer to: Processes * Spell (paranormal), an incantation * Spell (ritual), a magical ritual * Spelling, the writing of words Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Spell'' (1977 film), an American ...
and
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 ...
—and cites ''Pages From The Mages'', a series of articles from ''
Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
'' magazine in which some of the content had previously appeared. "How To Use This Book", an article by Steve Perrin, explains how the book can be useful to both Dungeon Masters and players. The book details magical books of the Realms, each of which has its own unique properties and contains a number of spells. The spells themselves are elaborated by means of a chart which lists them by level, name, spell school, and which spellbook they may be found in. The book describes a variety of magic items unique to the Realms, including magic armor, clothing, miscellaneous magic items, potions, rings, rods, staves, and wands, unique swords, and other weapons. It details various methods by which characters may create magic items. The book's inside front cover contains a table for randomly determining magical treasure found in this book, and the inside back cover details saving throws involved in creating magical items.


Publication history

''The Magister'' (FR4) was written by
Ed Greenwood Ed Greenwood (born July 21, 1959) is a Canadian fantasy writer and the original creator of the ''Forgotten Realms'' game world. He began writing articles about the Forgotten Realms for ''Dragon'' magazine beginning in 1979, and subsequently sold ...
and Steve Perrin, with a cover by
Jeff Easley Jeff Easley (born 1954) is an oil painter who creates fantasy artwork for role-playing games, comics, and magazines, as well as non-fantasy commercial art. Early life Easley was born in Nicholasville, Kentucky in 1954. He spent time drawing as ...
. It was published by TSR in 1988 as a 64-page book.


Reception

Ken Rolston Ken Rolston is an American computer game and role-playing game (pen and paper), role-playing game designer best known for his work with West End Games and on the computer game series ''The Elder Scrolls''. In February 2007, he elected to join th ...
reviewed ''The Magister'' for ''
Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
'' magazine #147 (July 1989). He calls ''The Magister'' "a superior treatment of ''AD&D'' game magic at its best". He wrote that the style of presentation in ''The Magister'' is similar to that of the magical tomes of the original ''
Forgotten Realms Campaign Set The ''Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting'' is a role-playing game sourcebook first published by TSR in 1987 for the first edition of the fantasy role-playing game ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' that describes the campaign setting of the Forgot ...
''—"one of the best features of that product." Rolston found the tone of the presentation appealing, and stated that the new spells were "imaginative and colorful, with neat twists on standard spell effects that promise to be useful in play without inflating or disrupting the balance of power established in the 1st Edition ''
Players Handbook The ''Player's Handbook'' (spelled ''Players Handbook'' in first edition ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (''AD&D'')) is a book of rules for the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). It does not contain the complete set of ru ...
'' magic spells". Regarding the new magical items, he called them "useful and are not simply handy power tools for popping open monsters. The tweaking of game effects and advantages is subtle and imaginative." He stated that the section on creating magical items "offers some interesting rationalizations and elaborations of the standard rules for item creation. The ideas are faithful to the basic rules, with some useful original interpretations of the limits of the powers of certain items." Rolston concluded that "''The Magister'' is a good example of the best that ''AD&D'' game magic can produce. The virtues are mostly in the trappings—the descriptive bits, the colorful effects, and the histories and legends attached to the spells and items. I recommend it to gamers who'd like to punch up the style and texture of the magic in their ''AD&D'' campaigns.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magister, The Forgotten Realms sourcebooks Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1988