Review of Magic Items By Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.)
-== What is it? ==-
Magic Items is a supplement for Fantasy Hero (1st Edition) that was published by Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.). The authors include David Berge, Barry A. Wilson, and Andrew Robinson. Magic Items was released in November of 1987…yeah this sucker is old. π
The book has a color cover and an entirely black and white interior. Magic Items is 8.5β x 11β and is 48 pages in length. I am reviewing a print copy that I purchased.
-== What I Like ==-
Magic Items has a lot of very nice ideas. The presented items are for the most part creative and intriguing. Having an intriguing RPG supplement can be a difficult thing to achieve especially for Hero equipment books which can come off as extremely dry. I enjoyed reading the book cover-to-cover.
I liked the length of each magic item listing. Each Magic Items entry consists of a small supporting paragraph and the necessary rule details. The supporting text evokes the story of the item so that it can be worked into a campaign. Often the text also allows GMs to easily conjure up adventure hooks centered around the item.
The layout in Magic Items is not normal for Hero supplements.. The authors tried to save page space by combining common Advantages and Limitations in a top section on each listing. Below the common modifiers are details on each power in the item and any additional modifiers that may apply to the power only. At times this works well but it can make the book difficult to read in my opinion. I actually appreciate this concept of condensing common information and think it could be used to save space in several modern Hero products.
The cover art by Walter Velez is great. I love the central figures and the way that the header text pops. The interior art in Magic Items is by Jason Waltrip and it does not disappoint. It is above average or better in my opinion. π
-== What I Donβt Like ==-
The second introductory section of Magic Items is called Changes To The FH Magic Rules. It contains a set of rule changes that the authors claim should be considered official errata to the Fantasy Hero game book. They then suggest that it will be used in all future supplements. It is a very strange section especially for a simple product supplement about magic items.
Magic Items is short. I would have liked to see more items.
All of items are unique which may seem like strength but it is also nice to have some standard items. A brief section on simple items like healing potions, magical armor, and basic magical swords would be well received.
There is a nice opening section on Items In Your Campaign but short of this Magic Items does not include supporting material on alchemists/potions, item creation, item related creatures, etc. This type of support material is a real strength of current DOJ products.
-== Summary ==-
I can guess what many of you are thinking after reading this review, “Come on John…do you really think it is fair to review a 24 year old supplement as if it were a modern RPG product?!?” My take is simple…I want to rate a product on whether it will be useful to CURRENT gamers. Fair shmair I say! π Saying that I really think Magic Items is a valuable book for Fantasy Hero GMs even with this mediocre rating.
Magic Items is by far easiest to purchase on eBay. Even some of my go to sites for older products (aka Noble Knight Games, etc) don’t list this book. Today when I logged into eBay I could bid on a copy for $0.99 and buy one for $7.95! π
I give it 5 out of 10 paws.
