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Codex Superno $14.99
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Codex Superno
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Codex Superno
Publisher: Codex Integrum LLC
by Stephen H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/21/2022 12:43:56

First and foremost, this book is packed to the brim with detail and is obviously a labor of love. It's written in a clear and concise style and if the idea of history texts bores you, and some certainly do, fear not, Codex Superno avoids any threat of boredom by making the history it discusses both accessible and, more importantly, easily applicable to your game.

Indeed, what I like most about it is the possibility of using bits and pieces of the spells and traditions it covers in the system of your choice.

I figure most people reading this are more than capable of converting gaming material to the preferred games and even if you don't want to use D&D derived systems (Codex Superno does, being compatible with the 3rd edition D&D SRD and related games) you can easily use the purely historical information it contains in your own games without any conversion whatsoever.

Codex Superno, with the book's emphasis on magic of, “the Late Medieval period in Central Europe”, generally breaks down the arcane into, “four distinct types or families”

Holy Magic: “the invocation of saintly miracles.”

Cunning Magic: magic derived from living Pagan and Shamanistic traditions.

Learned Magic: “the type of magic practiced by highly educated scholars.”

Clandestine Magic: “which consists of tidbits from the various other types of magic, and almost always the 'naughtier bits'”. The author notes that this is the type of magic most likely to draw unwanted attention to its practitioners and includes such legendary artifacts such as the Hand of Glory.

It adds several new Skills, like Mnemonics, Cartomancy, Astrology and, interestingly, Flyting (which, “can be used to undermine the morale of an enemy (take away MP), to chastise an evil spirit, or to simply hold one’s own in dangerous banter.”

I really enjoy the addition of Mnemonics, considering its use during the time period under review, and the rules for Memory Palaces, something which I find endlessly fascinating.

Codex Superno also contains an entire section on, “Magic and the Law,” and notes that, “the threat of legal prosecution, whether by the Church, or by seigniorial or municipal authorities was always a potential problem for any magic practitioner.”

This is a welcome addition, and gives a Game Master ample ammunition to demonstrate to their players that transgressive actions can, and perhaps should, have serious consequences for those who engage in them. While other D&D settings may have their own detailed rules on a given society's response to extra-mundane powers, the real-world reactions to such traditions make for interesting reading, no matter how rare they were in actual history.

This is especially interesting given that many historical practitioners were themselves in positions of religious power, which the book mentions by saying, “Historically, there is an irony in that it seems that some of the most perilously blasphemous deviltry was studied and practiced by members of the clerical estates: priests, monks, friars and nuns, scholars, ecclesiastical students and so on.”

The meat of the book is, of course, a list of Cantrips and Spells grouped under the four main types. Each Spell has a 'historical', 'semi-historical' or 'invented' tag, a useful bit of information for those who want to be strict with their historical games, and a Legal Status, which ties back into the Magic and Law chapter.

Each Spell also has a section on failures (every spell using this system needs a successful check to cast) which run the gamut from amusing, such as Fashionable Attire, whose failure causes the magician's clothes to split embarrassingly open, to the horrific, like Babe of the Woods, where the magician runs the risk of their dreadful servant turning against them.

Sections follow on Magic Artifacts, from Talismans to such legendary objects as the Lamp of Aladdin, Alchemy and Real Life Grimoires.

This review does not do the book justice. What the author has managed to do is to gather information from a wide variety of sources, many of them dense and confusing, and make it playable. The eye to detail here is impressive and, though I am not as familiar with the rule system used as I once was, I don't see any reason why it shouldn't run smoothly at the table, as long as the GM has a good understanding of the book's content.

There is a lot of detail here, which might be overwhelming for some, but from a first glance it doesn't look like ignoring some aspects of the system will cause the rest of it to come crashing down. This is a book that will reward repeated rereading and I think could be a worthy addition to any D20 game and any other game, providing the GM is willing to put some conversion work in.

I've missed a great deal in this short review, but I urge you to check it out for yourself.

Oh, and the book has a great index!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Codex Superno
Publisher: Codex Integrum LLC
by Achilles A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/20/2021 11:29:17

Codex Superno offers a truly superior magic system for a low magic game.

Low magic games can be tricky to run. If you’re taking a game like Pathfinder or Dungeons & Dragons, and trying to make a grittier, realistic, low magic campaign, you’re often forced to restrict magic progression. That can be a little bland.

Codex Superno lets you build a world that is rich, interesting, and full of truly unique plot hooks and potential campaign arcs. In the introduction, the author explains how they took a deep dive into real world historical records of magic, astrology, alchemy and herbology, as well as historical documentation regarding religious magic.

Yes, that’s right, the Catholic Church really did practice a special brand of holy magic!

The book maintains some of the basic mechanics that you will already be familiar with. Your low level spells from STR content still function in the system. However, they also give you a list of original spells that is rooted in real world books and grimoires. They flesh out ritual magic by providing actual instructions to rituals that reflect the historical accounts and beliefs of people that practiced magic centuries ago.

If you’re thinking about a low magic campaign with a grittier feel, you absolutely have to pick up this book. If you’re playing any of the other Codex systems, you absolutely have to pick up this book. If you enjoy historical myths and legends around magic, sorcery, and witchcraft, you absolutely have to pick up this book.

As I read the text, I developed a dozen ideas for various storylines and settings centered around this magic system. I haven’t run a low magic game for a while, but I’m excited to start one now.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Codex Superno
Publisher: Codex Integrum LLC
by Jeremiah S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/15/2021 13:41:41

Quote from the author:

"it was a world of many profound mysteries. It was a world whose inhabitants, both the educated and rational as well as the poor and superstitious, fervently believed in magic and saw the world around them as being heavily under magical influences, for better and worse."

Codex Superno seeks (and succeeds) to give gamers and casual readers alike, a glimpse into a world where the lines between seen and unseen, known and unknown, corporeal and ethereal, are not just blurred, but coexist in their supremacy.

As a game supplement (Built upon the common SRD) this book offers a fantastic resource for those seeking to add more realism to their late medieval fantasy world, and provides clear guidelines on how to integrate a magic system into a real world (or low to no magic) late medieval setting. Providing not only well researched context, spells and cantrips, but a very important infrastructure based on belief. i.e if one type of magic exists, then it all must exist.

After a thorough read through I found the new rules provided, easy to follow, and more importantly made sense from a real world integration standpoint. I also enjoyed the tweaks (albeit slight) to the SRD spell set. The additional spell set was also well researched and a fun read on its own, with plenty of context and historical details to really flesh out a game setting. Superno really shines here in the way it makes Magic (or rather harnessing mystical forces) a tricky, arduous and sometimes very dangerous business, both supernaturally and legally. The introduction of a "Magic and the Law'' system and the "state of sin” foil I found particularly intriguing and well thought out. Roll players interested in history will certainly find a feast here, and from the looks of it a very fun and engrossing way to reimagine something often glossed over in a normal fantasy setting.

For the Casual reader, Codex Superno bridges a gap that is often overlooked as well. In a world where rational thought, and scientific processes are simply the way we explain things to ourselves nowadays, Superno lets you peek back to a time when Superstition, Magic, Science and Faith, were intertwined and were simultaneously used to explain and solve the problems that real people faced in their real lives. This is done in a way that isn't dry and laborious, like a research paper would be, but with great care to make it fun and interactive.

In short this book is a Fantastic resource for anyone interested in history, the occult, magic and the law and of course roll players of all types.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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