[Kromm]

Had I not written Magical Styles in the dusk of my last fantasy campaign (which ended a month after the PDF was released), I'd have used it in said campaign in a flash. That campaign was the genesis of the idea. I did not allow free-and-easy spell selection, or have general-purpose wizards who attended generic magic academies. There were 39 magical "paths" and 13 major priesthoods in the PCs' homeland, and many others from away, as well as a couple of sorts of shamanism, a form of druidism, and something I called "witchcraft." Oh, and alchemy, and probably other stuff that I've forgotten. It was a messy jumble of special cases and fiat that only worked for that campaign because it evolved alongside the PCs, world, and storyline over a run of seven years. However, the magic was so much more colorful than that in any campaign in which I used GURPS Magic as written that I vowed to organize my thoughts in a book.