From publisher blurb: What is this? Sorcery is a Sword Without a Hilt is a magic system for OSRish games. It contains 40 level-less spells and dozens of magical catastrophes. The spells are flexible, with variable effects depending on how much "juice" the sorcerer gives them. Each spell is designed to feel like a weird, useful tool. At the same time, there are no spells that solve the essential problems of dungeon crawling. Magic feels magical Sorcerers use components to cast spells. These components are your eye of gnat, tongue of dog, toe of bat variety. Pulling out a pickled, rune-covered tongue and placing it into the mouth of a corpse to cast Speak with Dead inherently makes the sorcerer seem more magical and weird. Additionally, this system makes magic fit into a basic inventory management system. How many spells you have available equals how many pack slots you've dedicated to components. Additionally, the spell descriptions are somewhat terse. They do not have the precise legalism certain systems have. The GM has a good amount of leeway to interpret the spells as they're cast, creating a sense of manageable mystery. Magic is a strange Swiss-army knife With magic, an adventuring party should be able to solve problems in a dramatically different way than without it. A thief can unlock a door and eavesdrop at the threshold. A sorcerer can cast Portable Hole onto the door and peer through it. One is subtle and one is obvious. Both have their drawbacks and advantages. Magic doesn't solve the essential dungeon problems At the same time, magic can't solve all of your problems. There are no spells that solve the essential challenges of the dungeon: light, hunger, exhaustion. There are no spells that provide darkvision, conjure food and water, or provide continual light.