Filippo Franco
There are some scenes that are rarely seen, if ever, in fantasy roleplaying games. One of them is an adventurer who refuses the offer of new spells or new magical items. As the effect that dice have on many of us, so even spells and power-ups arouse an irresistible appetite in adventurers and their players that never seems to end. Just to help you never miss new effects and new trinkets Sign of the Dragon has created for all of us Vault of Magic and Vault of Magic II for D&D5e.
No Dice Unrolled has already reviewed other Sign of the Dragon products: the adventure La Seconda Alba Nera (just in Italian and created by Marco Bertini only) and the sourcebook Acererak’s Guide to Lichdom. Also in this case the material was sent to us free of charge by the authors for evaluation purposes.
Two manuals, two languages, two editions
These are two digital manuals, which can be purchased on DriveThruRPG, 22 pages the first and 40 pages the second, which provide new magical elements for D&D5e. The first Vault of Magic gives knowledge about 54 new magical items and 16 spells, while the second volume allows access to 72 magical items, 22 spells, 4 NPCs and 2 new backgrounds.
First work is published in English and Italian, with slight differences between the two versions. The English one is more updated than the Italian one. In fact, receiving the Platinum Best Seller award, the authors published an updated and correct 1.2 version as a thank you. As for Vault of Magic II, it is currently only in English. Since the latter was born as a completion of the first, no further publications of the series are foreseen.
Art and layout
From a graphic and page layout point of view, these manuals are also of remarkable quality. Thanks to the Community Content Agreement that allows those who publish on the Dungeon Masters Guild to use material under copyright of the Wizard of the Coast, the two Vault of Magic seem official manuals from the visual point of view.
The layout is excellent and allows a quick and relaxed reading, the abundant presence of images revives the pages, facilitates navigation and it’s always a pleasant interlude for the eyes, especially full-page illustrations. The only flaw is the variety of style and rendering of the images of magical items, some of which are not particularly visually related to the name of the object. It is an understandable lack, since images collected from an archive of old publications have been used for new and original ideas.
Vault of Magic: well, but it could have been done better
The first part of Vault of Magic is dedicated to magical items. It is not the result of a particular work of imagination or originality. It is a good list of many rather classic objects made available to the reader. On the other hand after so many editions of D&D and its clones every possible magical equipment has already been presented over and over again. But in the end in the campaigns you need practical objects, not eccentric, therefore the list provided is still an excellent aid to lengthen the options to the Dungeon Master.
The second part is dedicated to the new spells. I have not yet had the opportunity to test them on the field therefore I cannot give opinions on their degree of balance in the system. They are mostly themed on light and shadow, on necromancy and on nature. Here too I would have liked a little more originality, even if there are nice ideas here and there.
In principle Vault of Magic is a good job, but ordinary. I would have liked a greater search for the fantastic and the original, not an easy job. For example it would have been interesting if they had created magical items with effects related to the spells of the manual. It would have given a sense of bond and made some items more different from the ordinary. It is certainly a good product, but it left me with the feeling that more could have been done. Did it happen with the second volume?
Vault of Magic II: a remarkable step forward
The second work starts with excellent premises: the contents are greater and more diverse. As for magical items, my requests seem to have been heeded. Reading names and descriptions I had much less the feeling of “already seen and heard” and I perceived more the inventiveness and the desire to make something more fantastic and less canonical.
Also as regards the spells I appreciated this new manual more. Not only do they range more in typologies, but also the effects and narrative possibilities that are created are more interesting and less obvious. Maybe here and there I found spells a little too powerful for the assigned level or effects. But this is a very personal judgment and each dungeon master probably has his own idea of spell calibration. Then everyone is free to modify the material in order to use it in the best way possible in their campaigns.
The magic “From bread to frogs”, winner of a competition and therefore included in the list, deserves special mention. Not only it has a good longevity as the caster grows, but also an evocative charm from the name to the effect. It turns out that its creator is one of the other publishers of No Dice Unrolled, Andy.
The additional contents of the second volume
The next section satisfies even more the need for originality and personalization that I was asking for. In fact, tables are provided to give an extra touch, a peculiar feature to a magical item, with 8 suggestions for each type of object. There are few pages in the whole manual, but they certainly embellish it and can be used with pleasure and ease.
Some magic-themed backgrounds and NPCs close Vault of Magic II. Useful and well-made ideas and possibilities to strengthen the perception and presence of magic in a campaign.
A magic crescendo
The promises to expand the magical possibilities in D&D5e have been kept by both Vault of Magic manuals. In my opinion, the second has something more. The first is more classic, but it does not mean that it does not have interesting contents, many game possibilities and an adequate price.
Vault of Magic PDF is in fact sold at around € 3, while the second volume around € 5.5. The difference in cost is proportional to the differences in quantity and, in part, also in quality.
Hardly in your D&D5e campaigns you will not find dozens of moments in which these two volumes will be useful, therefore if you want a little injection of magic at the game table, you can get many ideas with little price.
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