Foreword
My introduction to fantasy began when I was assigned J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit in my 6th grade reading class. Although I was only eleven at the time, I was
already a fan of science fiction—I’d read a lot of Robert Heinlein’s juvenile
SF, as well as Doc Smith’s Lensman books and a smattering of other titles. I
hadn’t read anything in the fantasy genre, and as I recall, I had little desire to
do so. The Hobbit changed that for me, and I went back and re-read it as soon as I finished
turning the last page. After that, I was off and running. The next thing I read
was the Lord of the Rings. Then I found Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara, followed by Ursula K. Leguin’s A Wizard of Earthsea.
And that’s where I was brought to a screeching halt. My hometown library was
on the small side, and all of their fantasy and science fiction books occupied
one carousel in the kids’ section. It may be hard to believe now, but even as
recently as 1977 fantasy was a poor cousin to science fiction, which was a poor
cousin to mainstream fiction. Bookstores just didn’t have the massive sections
devoted to fantasy and science fiction that they have today. By hook and by
crook, I eventually tracked down more and more fantasy titles. But when I was still
desperately searching for fantastic fiction, sometime in 1978 or 1979, I ran
across a brand-new game called Dungeons & Dragons®. So, like many people, I came
to fantasy role-playing through my love of fantasy fiction.
In writing this book, I’ve come to the conclusion that the single defining
characteristic of the fantasy genre is magic. Every fantasy story features a
character who can use magic, owns a magical item, or is confronted with a magical
situation or paradox. Movies like Ivanhoe or Robin Hood are wonderful adventures, but they’re not fantasy stories—there’s no magic.
On the other hand, the popular Star Wars movies are fantasy, not science
fiction, because magic (referred to as the Force) is part of the story. Science
fiction is the literature of things that could happen; fantasy is the literature of
things that can’t happen. And magic is the very essence of the impossible.
So, here’s a book about magic in the AD&D® game. I’ve tried to include enough
options and choices to give you, the reader, the ability to give magic in your
particular campaign almost any kind of flavor or feel that you like. If you
want to make magic rarer, more “realistic,” or more dangerous, you can find rules
in here for doing so. If you want rules to add detail and complexity to the
AD&D magic system, they’re here. Or if you just want some new wizard and priest
character types as well as some complementary spells, you’ll find them. When I
started this project, I thought that I’d have a hard time filling this whole book
. . . now, I can’t believe how much more I could have written if space had
permitted.
Have fun, and good gaming!
Rich Baker
January, 1996
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin