Foreword (POSM)

==Foreword==
My introduction to fantasy began when I was assigned J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit in my 6th grade reading class. Although I was only eleven at the time, I was already a fan of science fiction—I'd read a lot of Robert Heinlein's juvenile SF, as well as Doc Smith's Lensman books and a smattering of other titles. I hadn't read anything in the fantasy genre, and as I recall, I had little desire to do so. The Hobbit changed that for me, and I went back and re-read it as soon as I finished turning the last page. After that, I was off and running. The next thing I read was the Lord of the Rings. Then I found Terry Brooks' The Sword of Shannara, followed by Ursula K. Leguin's A Wizard of Earthsea.
And that's where I was brought to a screeching halt. My hometown library was on the small side, and all of their fantasy and science fiction books occupied one carousel in the kids' section. It may be hard to believe now, but even as recently as 1977 fantasy was a poor cousin to science fiction, which was a poor cousin to mainstream fiction. Bookstores just didn't have the massive sections devoted to fantasy and science fiction that they have today. By hook and by crook, I eventually tracked down more and more fantasy titles. But when I was still desperately searching for fantastic fiction, sometime in 1978 or 1979, I ran across a brand-new game called Dungeons & Dragons®. So, like many people, I came to fantasy role-playing through my love of fantasy fiction.
In writing this book, I've come to the conclusion that the single defining characteristic of the fantasy genre is magic. Every fantasy story features a character who can use magic, owns a magical item, or is confronted with a magical situation or paradox. Movies like Ivanhoe or Robin Hood are wonderful adventures, but they're not fantasy stories—there's no magic. On the other hand, the popular Star Wars movies are fantasy, not science fiction, because magic (referred to as the Force) is part of the story. Science fiction is the literature of things that could happen; fantasy is the literature of things that can't happen. And magic is the very essence of the impossible.
So, here's a book about magic in the AD&D® game. I've tried to include enough options and choices to give you, the reader, the ability to give magic in your particular campaign almost any kind of flavor or feel that you like. If you want to make magic rarer, more “realistic,” or more dangerous, you can find rules in here for doing so. If you want rules to add detail and complexity to the AD&D magic system, they're here. Or if you just want some new wizard and priest character types as well as some complementary spells, you'll find them. When I started this project, I thought that I'd have a hard time filling this whole book... now, I can't believe how much more I could have written if space had permitted.
Have fun, and good gaming!
Rich Baker
January, 1996
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
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