Magic World

Filling the d100 Niche
Magic World (MW) has a long pedigree including Basic Role Playing (BRP), Stormbringer and RuneQuest. It is a d100 game with a default sandbox setting including a map, brief description and bestiary. The setting is one where the fey once ruled and are in decline, replaced by factions of humans, which suggests a lot of role playing possibilities. Percentile dice are rolled for the three basic resolution systems, skills, attribute characteristics and the BRP resistance table. MW is a roll under intuitive system that easily blends into the background of play allowing the players to focus on the imaginary world of their characters. The BRP system is straight-forward and easy to modify. It is robust and handles the importation of additional mechanics well.
Physically Magic World is an 8 1/2" x 11" paperback with a colorful cover illustration.  The interior is two column b&w with some very basic illustrations.  The layout is nice, however, and I enjoy the choice of fonts. The content of the book is what shines. Even with a few annoying typos and misplaced words the rules come across clearly and show careful crafting. This is a mature product of many years of game design experience and it shows.
Magic World seems to be closer to Stormbringer than to any other of Chaosium's many BRP products. Stormbringer is of course Chaosium's RPG product based on the characters and world created by Michael Moorcock in his Elric novels. A central theme for those stories is the conflict between Chaos and Law which influences White Box and other editions of the world's most famous RPG. MW uses a parallel system of allegiance to Light, Darkness or Balance in a similar way and each character has a score in each which will change through play and may bring certain advantages to the character at higher levels. There is a section on seafaring, which plays an extensive role in the Elric stories and can of course play a role in most any campaign setting. Magic in Stormbringer is centered around summoning and binding demons and elementals. Magic in MW is capable of reproducing that style and more. Stormbringer, the RPG, has seen several editions itself and has been one of my favorite games for many years.

The most unique aspect of Magic World compared to other BRP products is in its magic system called "sorcery". Sorcery is a magic point system with a "Vancian" element of spell memorization required.  Spell casters must have a grimoire of written spells that they study and commit to memory, then they can spend magic points to cast the memorized spells. A roll on the resistance table is necessary if the spell must overcome resistance by the target. The Advanced Sorcery supplement adds more high level magic as well as more material on demon summoning and binding, necromancy and some additional rules for skills. MW along with Advanced Sorcery allows one to closely adhere to the old demon magic system of Stormbringer.
Combat in MW also differs from other BRP products. Combat uses the system skill mechanic and is roll under your skill with a chance for criticals and fumbles. Attacks can be parried or dodged. Armor deducts from damage, but is variable and rolled for. Reach matters, shields are useful and weapons can break. There are no hit locations as in RuneQuest, but there is a major wound table used for hits which inflict large amounts of damage. The wound may cause scarring or permanent loss of abilities. Therefore, like many of the BRP systems, combat in MW can be serious business.
MW is a natural outgrowth of previous BRP products, but is also its own game. While RuneQuest and Stormbringer are tied closely to licensed properties, MW is Chaosium's own in-house property. That gives the designers a freedom to design the game without restraint and MW is perhaps the best fantasy iteration of the BRP system because of this. Each of the BRP games has its own unique feel produced by a combination of the specific rules and the setting.  MW is not a generic game without feel, rather a combination of the magic system, combat mechanic and skill system lends a great deal of unique personality to MW. For me, MW fills a needed niche for a for a fantasy game not tied directly to a published setting such as Glorantha or the Young Kingdoms, but uses the excellent d100 mechanic and a magic system that is both more powerful and easily modified than that found in the other BRP products.

In a way, I see MW as the successor to Stormbringer and it is certainly possible to play in Mr. Moorcock's Young Kingdoms using this system, but I think MW offers a bit more.  Being detached from the Young Kingdoms allows the Chronicler (referee) to take MW out on its own and explore the game in other settings. Having recently renewed my interest in d100, MW seems to be the vehicle I am looking for to scratch that itch. In the spirit of White Box, I will be taking MW and tweaking it to make it my own. I am studying the nice "Southern Reaches" map that is included and finding it much like Judges Guild Wilderlands products in that it seems to have just enough detail to inspire my imagination.