Encyclopedia Arcane

[Sir Shadow]

Hey ya'll,

I'm just wondering if I'm the only one who's read these books... I really like a couple of them. Especially Crossbreading, Constructs, and Illusionism.

But I digress. The reason I'm making this topic is to ask if anybody has a complete list of the Encyclopedia Arcane's that have been published by Mongoose and if there are any plans for more...

I have looked for information about them online... but it is surprisingly difficult to find...

-SS

[Tam_OConnor]

Listing, complete as far as I can tell:
Abjuration: Shielded by Sorcery
Battle Magic: The Eldritch Storm
Blood Magic: Oaths and Sacrifices
Chaos Magic: Wild Sorcery
Chronomancy: The Power of Time
Components and Foci: The Materials of Magic
Conjuration: By Bell, Book and Candle
Constructs: It Is Alive
Crossbreeding: Flesh and Blood
Demonology: The Dark Road; I believe there was an online supplement named 'Family Tzaretch'
Divination: The All-Seeing Eye
Dragon Magic: Power Incarnate
Drow Magic: Sorcery of the Endless Night
Elementalism: The Primordial Force
Enchantment: Fire in the Mind
Familiars: Crouching Monkey Hidden Toad
Illusionism: Smoke and Mirrors
Magic Item Creation: Forging Legendary Weapons
Necromancy: Beyond the Grave
Nymphology: Blue Magic (patently hilarious)
Purgatorium
Sovereign Magic: Mastery of the Land
Star Magic: Wisdom of the Magic
Tarot Magic
Tomes and Libraries: Secrets of the Written Word

And the Encyclopedia Divine:
Fey Magic: Dreaming the Reverie (very interesting)
Shamans: The Call of the Wild

And the Encyclopedia Psionica:
World Shapers: The Secret Revolution

I think that's a comprehensive listing, taken from everywhere on the internet. Mongoose Publishing apparently doesn't have a listing on their website, and I couldn't get very far into their archives to check old catalogs. Ironically, I got the bulk of the names from torrent content listings.

They're publishing 4th edition stuff, and I vaguely remember something in the GSL about ceasing publication of 3rd edition material. I assume that's the main reason why info's so hard to find.

As for the contents: Nymphology was hilarious; didn't take itself nearly as serious as the Book of Erotic Fantasy. Deliciously vague, AD&D style spell descriptors, designed to give rules lawyers fits. Fey magic was...interesting. Exotic, yes; powerful, yes; but I'm still not decided on if I like it or not. The rest I only saw in ads in Dragon magazine.

[Sir Shadow]

Thanks! I really appreciate the time you took to reply.

They're publishing 4th edition stuff.

Ah, that's a bummer, I was always hoping they'd come out with more supplements on Constructs...

As for the contents: Nymphology was hilarious; didn't take itself nearly as serious as the Book of Erotic Fantasy. Deliciously vague, AD&D style spell descriptors, designed to give rules lawyers fits. Fey magic was...interesting. Exotic, yes; powerful, yes; but I'm still not decided on if I like it or not. The rest I only saw in ads in Dragon magazine.

Aye, I have those ones ;)

Nymphology was certainly interesting... and I've been tempted to persuade my DM to allow a few spells from it for certain combat situations XD

Fey magic was also something else I liked, but the Shaman book was FAR more interesting to me.

[Myrmex]

I find a lot of the Mongoose stuff is horribly broken for casters and rather mediocre for everyone else.

[Tam_OConnor]

Some of the Quintessential Archetype/Background things were rather ridiculous all around.

For the Rogue: Assassin: Hmm, +1d6 sneak attack vs humanoids in exchange for two less skill points and a slightly diminished skill list? Yes, please.
Thug: Full BAB and sneak attack and 4 + Int mod skills. Even with the skill hit, lovely for the combat rogue.
For the Elf: Apprentice: A bonus feat and a masterwork item at first level, with a penalty that disappears by 5th level, and isn't all that bad beforehand?

Admittedly, their alternate magic systems are really mechanically unbalanced. But at least they're up-front about it, at least in Magic of the Fey.

On the other hand, Quintessential Rogue had a well done Guild system, much more in-depth than the PHB2 and DMG2 equivalents. Or maybe I was blinded by the awesome tables.

[Fizban]

Mr. Ococonnor's list is more complete than mine, so I'd let it stand. I've read quite a few, and I agree with Myrmex: most of it is for casters, and not much for anyone else. As with most 3rd party stuff it can get out of hand easily if your players actively try to break it. Mongoose is definitely in the "non-casters don't get anything camp", and their stuff hits both ends of broken (too good and too bad). They also really like making up their own mechanics, which contributes to all of the above. I'd recommend them for a read or if you can get them cheap.