Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium
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 | |
| Author | Jeremy Crawford, Stephen Schubert, Matthew Sernett |
|---|---|
| Genre | Role-playing game |
| Publisher | Wizards of the Coast |
Publication date | September 20, 2011 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 160 |
| ISBN | 978-0-7869-5744-6 |
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium is a supplement to the 4th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. While this book was published after the Essentials line officially ended in 2010, it served as a replacement for the main magical item supplements, Adventurer's Vaults (2008-2009), from the Essentials line.[1]
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium is a 160-page source book on items and magical treasures for both Dungeon Masters and players in the 4th edition. Lore or other details are included for every item in the book.[1] Along with sidebars throughout the book, each chapter starts with in-character introduction from the fictional wizard Mordenkainen:
By cataloguing what exists—and what is rumored to exist—I hope to be forewarned of the danger of any item when it falls into the wrong hands. Soon I will share this knowledge—if not with the world, then with the Circle of Eight. Surely someone besides myself should be armed with this knowledge. I suppose, if you are reading this, I have already chosen to share it. In that case, I hope you take what you learn here and put it to sensible use. I would not have this book used as some plunderer’s to-do list! Instead, tread lightly, act wisely, be wary, and be well. — Mordenkainen[2]
The table of contents lists the follow sections:[3]
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Armor
- Chapter 2: Weapons
- Chapter 3: Implements
- Chapter 4: Magical Gear
- Chapter 5: Artifacts and Curses
- Chapter 6: Adventuring Gear
- Appendix 1: Hirelings and Henchmen
- Appendix 2: Magic Item Stories
- Appendix 3: Item Levels as Treasure
- Appendix 4: Item Lists
Shannon Appelcline, author of Designers & Dragons, wrote: "Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium features some reprinted material. About a quarter of the magic items in the book were originally published (in a somewhat different form) in Adventurer's Vault 1 (2008) or Adventurer's Vault 2. The Emporium also contains an article on henchmen and hirelings that had previously appeared in Dragon #397 (March 2011). Finally, the idea of implements originated with Player's Handbook 3 (2010)."[1]
Publication history
Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium was written by Tavis Allison, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Robert J. Schwalb, Matt Sernett, and Jeff Tidball, with development by Jeremy Crawford and Stephen Schubert.[4] It is an updated book about magic items that was published on September 20, 2011.[5] It was exclusively released at local game stores and was not made available for purchase through online stores such as Amazon. The book was re-released as a PDF on November 10, 2015.[1]
Appelcline highlighted that this book nearly did not exist at all - the book "was first announced late in 2010 with a release date of April 19, 2011. Unfortunately, that put it right in the crosshairs of a series of cancellations that would eventually lead to the death of D&D 4e (2011-2012). Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium was thus cancelled on January 12, 2011, as part of the same announcement that moved Heroes of Shadow (2011) back a month and killed "Class Compendium: Heroes of Sword and Spell" and "Hero Builder's Handbook" entirely. That was it for those other books [...], but Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium was lucky enough to make it back onto Wizards' production schedule. In August, Wizards announced that it was returning as a September release".[1]