While Compleat Alchemist goes overboard with an extremely detailed an powerful class, The Compleat Spell Caster (1983) is more reserved, detailing five new system neutral (but really intended for D&D) spellcasting classes, each complete with their own compliment of new spells: Witch/Warlock, Mystic, Necromancer, Sorcerer and Sage. In addition to that, there are new rules for familiars, magic circles and summoning creatures (and a bestiary of the same).

The interesting thing here is that these magic-users feel a little less like D&D classes, and more like professions of the sort we’d eventually see from Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. They’re certainly designed to complement the existing D&D classes. The Witch is sort of a combination of magic-user and druid, the mystic a fusion of cleric and magic-user (interestingly, they cannot cause harm at all). The necromancer is the binary opposite of the mystic. The last two are perhaps the most interesting. The Sorcerer is sort of a parapsychologist or occultist, investigating and deriving their magical power from outside of the established magical systems. Sages are learners as well, and serve as a multiclass off all four (though they can only get spells to a limited level).

There was potential here. Still is! I’d love to see these classes tinkered with for OSE or similar old school hack.