Magic in Wizards' Realm

As indicated previously, Spellcasters in Wizards' Realm obtain spells by purchasing them as skills.  All characters begin with 3 SCs (i.e., Skill Credits) and gain more whenever they attain a new degree (i.e., level).  However, for spells other than those he learns at character creation, the Spellcaster must “seek out such knowledge from other Spellcasters, from books of lore, or through his own effort and experimentation.”  This quote is from the Spellcaster class description on page 13.  That page also states, “The chapter on the use of Magic will explain how to acquire and employ spells.”  There are two chapters about Magic; one contains spell descriptions, the other – in the Gamemaster's section – provides information on gaining spells.

First, a Spellcaster could “go through the process of creating all his own spells from scratch.”  Second, “a student/apprentice type may be taught a spell by his or her mentor.”  Third, Spellcasters can purchase spells if they can afford them (and if they can find someone selling them).  Additionally, “Spells may be found in scrolls or books among lost hoards, ancient libraries or on the persons of fallen foes.”  Lastly, “there is the Book of Spells sometimes entrusted by a mentor, and, rarely, available for a princely sum from an Infinity Store.  The book is most insidious:  Until one has the skill – i.e., the SC – required, the page remains a blank.”

What's an Infinity Store?  Page 22 says the following...

As you find yourself able to better equip your expeditions, you may wish to avail yourself of a much larger, more complete and varied array of goods.  For that we heartily recommend the INFINITY STORE, a marvelous hodge-podge of information, bargains and incredible variety of necessaries – and trivia – with an illustrated catalogue and outlets throughout the Middle Kingdoms...If there isn't an I.S. in your part of the Midgards, you can find the catalogue at your hobby store or by writing us.

That last part makes it seem as if Mystic Swamp intended on publishing an 'Infinity Store' supplement.

Any spell, no mater how powerful, costs one Skill Credit to learn.  Theoretically, if the GM allowed it, a beginning character could learn a powerful spell like 'regeneration.'  However, such a spell's complexity, as well as its Power Point cost, would mean that a beginning character could not employ the spell effectively.

Each spell is rated at one of three levels of complexity:  simple, complex, and multiplex.  Beginning characters have a base 75% chance of successfully casting a simple spell, a 50% chance of casting a complex spell, and a 10% chance of casting a multiplex spell.  At sixth degree, the chances become 85%, 65%, and 30%, respectively.  At twelfth degree the chances are 95%, 75%, and 50%.  (Wizards get better chances because they're special.)  Each additional Skill Credit after the first spent on a spell increases the chance by 10% (to a maximum of 99%).  I would have installed a steady progression of ability; something like:
          Simple % = 30 + ([Luck + Intelligence] x 2) + (2 per degree)
          Complex % = 20 + Luck + Intelligence + (2 per degree)
          Multiplex % = ([Luck + Intelligence] / 2) + (2 per degree)
Upon reaching 90%, each degree would add only 1% (to a maximum of 99%).  Instead of additional Skill Credits adding 10%, I would have it so that each additional Skill Credit would allow a failed roll to be rerolled.  This would be once per day per additional Skill Credit.

The 99% ceiling is important; a roll of '00' when attempting to cast a spell is referred to as a 'glitch.'  A glitch not only indicates failure, “but the Spellcaster experiences a backfire effect of that same spell.”  I would get rid of the backfire effect since not all spells produce negative effects.  Instead, I would have glitches cause Survival Point damage.

As discussed in a prior post, characters have a number of Power Points equal to Constitution + Dexterity + (Intelligence x 10).  (Wizards get more Power Points because they're special.)  This represents the daily amount of 'endurance' Spellcasters have with regard to casting spells.  For each degree he or she advances, a Spellcaster increases his or her amount of Power Points by 10%. Each spell costs a number of Power Points to attempt; these points are spent whether or not the casting is successful.  According to page 31, “[I]t is possible to intensify the effect or prolong the duration of any spell by doubling, tripling or even greater multiplication of [Power Points] expended...”

Spent Power Points are completely restored the next day.  Unspent Power Points do not accumulate; however, they can be stored in “appropriate vessels” that have been “primed” to serve as a reservoir for Power Points.  Such a 'vessel' could be “a ring, wand, staff, or...even a belt-buckle!”  A ring has a maximum Power Point capacity of 500, a wand has a capacity of 1,000, and a staff has a capacity of 5,000.  The capacity for a belt-buckle is not listed – a sad oversight.  (Wizards get special, invisible rings that can store 10,000 Power Points because they're special.)

Spellcasters also have “Magic Detection as an ability.”  This is not listed as a spell so, presumably, it does not cost Power Points to use.  It does, however, have a “basic percentage probability” of 50%.  One might assume that this 'basic' chance would improve as the Spellcaster gains experience, but the rules do not touch upon this.  Is it treated as a complex spell with regard to improvement?  In other words, does the chance increase to 65% at sixth degree and 75% at twelfth?  Does a character have to spend Skill Credits to improve the chance?

Races in Wizards' Realm

For the Mystic Swamp Elvish illiterate,

that's 'Darkmoon' on the left and 'Shadow' on the right

The Wizards' Realm™ Fantasy Role-Playing Adventure System offers an assortment of player character races (or “The Sondry Folk” as the game refers to them).  There are the usual fantasy types, “the Free People – the humans, elvenkin, dwarf-folk and hobbitry” – yes, shameless hobbitry.  There are also “the so-called Forgotten Kin...orcs, troll, goblin and bogey” or – as I like to refer to them – marginalized humanoids.

“Humans are considered the most adaptable of all the Free Peoples...”  Yeah, you know the drill.

Dwarves are officially called “Dwergar” and they “tend to be swarthy, with glittering black eyes and hair that may be of any color at all.”  And the traditional Dwarf - Elf antagonism?  According to page 7...

     It is said that in the Dawn of Days, the Elves alone knew Magic and taught ir but sparingly to those deemed worthy.  The tales tell of a clever dwarf-lord who by his cunning learned the secrets of an Elven mage and used this lore to weave spells into his weaponcraft.  The Elves have never quite forgiven this trickery.

Elves are divided into “several kin.”  The Shee are bog-standard fairies.  The nocturnal Danaan are most like typical RPG Elves – forest dwelling and magically inclined.  The Katani also dwell in forests but are nomadic.  They have “little use for magic” and focus instead on martial disciplines.  The Fingolan elves “are a people of the daylight and open places.”  As such, they lack the night-vision of the other Elf-kin.  Many Fingolan elves live among men.

There are several Hobbit types, including river-dwelling hobbits with beards – doubtless patterned after Tolkien's 'Stoors.'  In Wizards' Realm, there are nomad clans of hobbits.  The villainous 'Black hobbits' are said to be an “off-shoot” of the nomads.  “Black” refers not to their coloration but to their vicious disposition.  (Black hobbits also appear in Tunnels & Trolls.)

Page 9 tells us that bogeys are a...

...tall, hardy people with deceptively benign dog-like faces...[and they] are a tribal and primarily hunting folk.  They range up to seven feet tall, with brownish-yellow coloration, sparse reddish hair, and small, glittering black eyes.

Comments regarding the bogey ethos were provided in last week's post.

Orcs are generally cruel and “live in a strict, militaristic commune.”  Also, as stated on page 9,

they stand as tall or taller than humans.  Their coloration ranges from pale to dark through several unwholesome shades, with lambent red eyes and great yellow teeth.

Goblins in Wizards' Realm are herbivores...“cultivating mushrooms and cave-grown roots.”  However, since they use wolves as guards and mounts, goblins must provide them with meat.  Goblins have red or yellow eyes and “coppery skin with unruly black hair and beard.”

“The Trollock...are a people with pride and honor, after their own fashion.”  By way of description, page 10 tells us that...

Trolls are large, bulky, powerfully-built folk, with huge ears and noses and tough leathery hide.  They grow to six or seven feet or more in height...

Wizards' Realm

In his Heroic Worlds book, Lawrence Schick has this to say about Wizards' Realm:

Fantasy system with a simplified, back-to-basics approach. Character creation employs a class-and-level system; classes include wizards, spellcasters, knights, and anti-paladins. The combat system is quite simple. Includes maps, a sample town, and an introductory scenario.

Schick also has this to say:

Fantasy system heavily inspired by D&D and set in a saccharin fantasy world where the worst you can say about the monsters is that they're naughty. The main city is such a terrible place, it's called “Mousehole.” The rulebook is printed sideways in a barely legible “script” typeface.

Both descriptions pertain to Wizards' Realm; however, the latter appears as the entry for a different game – Wizards' World – which immediately follows the listing for Wizards' Realm.  Perhaps Schick inadvertently switched the descriptions?  Well, no.  While Wizards' World has an introductory scenario (of a sort), it lacks maps and a sample town.  Also, the combat system for Wizards' World is no simpler than that for D&D.  So, we have two different descriptions for Wizards' Realm and none for Wizards' World.  (By the way, Wizards' World is available for purchase from Lulu.)

Schick makes no claims to perfection, but this Wizards' Realm/Wizards' World error highlights the problem of relying upon the information he presents in Heroic Worlds.  The first description is an even-handed and accurate representation of the game while the second description is laced with derision.  In which other entries does the opinion of “grumpy” Schick prevail over that of “professional” Schick?  What other entries are actually descriptions of completely different games?

Aside from being mean, the second description is wrong on several points.

The remark “heavily inspired by D&D” is one of disdain.  Yes, with regard to Wizards' Realm, the remark is true, just as it is true for many fantasy games from that era (especially from small publishers).  Wizards' Realm isn't any more derivative of D&D than other games of its class.

Rather than calling the Wizards' Realm setting “a saccharine fantasy world,” I would say “an intentionally nondescript fantasy world.”  Like any proper role-playing game, Wizards' Realm provides the GM and players with “latitude in shaping the world...”  The meager background that is provided is rather bland with a 'Tolkien vanilla' aftertaste.  Admittedly, the presentation of the game is sometimes 'cutesy.'  For example, two of the sections of the book are “Monsters 'n' Critters” and “Coin o' th' Realm.”  I'm not a fan of the 'cutesy' presentation, but I don't think it causes the setting to become “a saccharine fantasy world.”

I honestly don't know how Schick developed the notion that “the worst thing you can say about the monsters is that they're naughty.”  Here is a passage from page 9:

     Since a show of weakness is considered a sign of cowardice, bogeys often fight with an animal fury, and will choose to die on one's own sword rather than be taken a prisoner.  The lone bogey-man is then a most dangerous foe, for he will fight to the death over the smallest conflict.  Such beastial [sic] rages have given rise to the erroneous rumors of cannibalism and other outrages ascribed to their kind.

The above paragraph does not convey “naughty” to me.

The sample town (not “The main city”) provided with the game is named Mousehole, “pronounced `muz'l´ -- only an out-of-towner says `mouse-hole!´”  Of course, nothing prevents the GM from changing the name if so desired.  Sometimes, real-world place names are silly, so I would be disinclined to change it.  Besides, there has to be a reason it's called Mousehole; that reason could easily become the basis of an adventure.

Although the cover of Wizards' Realm is displayed in a 'portrait' orientation (see image above), the internal pages are presented in a 'landscape' orientation (or “sideways” as Schick has it).  The 'typeface' might best be described as no-frills, sans serif electric typewriter circa 1981.  It is most certainly not “script” and legibility is not an issue.  That being said, marginalia appears throughout the book in the form of “Realm elvish” – a substitution cipher of 'elvish' symbols.  This is certainly illegible in that it uses a non-standard alphabet – even the book refers to it as “gibberish” – but this is merely occasional marginalia, not the main body of the text.

Wizards' Realm was published in 1981 by 'Mystic Swamp' and written by Cheryl W. Duval, Niels Erickson, William G. Murphy, and Clifford Polite.  Alas, Schick neglects to list Ms. Duval as a creator in the Heroic Worlds entry, even though Wizards' Realm credits her for “original concept” in addition to writing.  If Schick is to be believed, a second, 'ring-binder' edition was released in 1983.  I suppose that's a 'binder with rings' as opposed to 'in the darkness bind them.'