I can’t respond with much of a comparison to the previous games. I do have S3 Supernatural and have played it some, but not in depth.
RoM has a tier system like Vampires but instead of weaknesses Spellcasters are in danger of incurring curses from bad potions or spells. Glimmerbrook is a nice, but small, world. Not dark and foreboding like Forgotten Hollow, but still with a bit of its own personality. It matches well with HoB if you have Cottage Living. The Magic Realm, to me, is one of the most beautiful worlds created in The Sims. I love to go around and just take pictures. Only Spellcasters can go there, and the game generates Spellcasters to populate it. You can’t live there. It’s more of a training center. But I have found a way to let my Spellcaster use it as a second home.
In game, Spellcasters will only autonomously practice magic in the Realm, but can live in any world. Sometimes they will pop into a public lot on a broom, but that’s about it. Sims don’t really react much to the Magic, in my experience. In addition to the schools of Magic and alchemy, I made sure my sim also learned herbalism and wellness, as well as mixology to get a large number of potions and additional mystical skills in his inventory, so even after you’ve got the RoM skills mastered, there’s more to be accomplished. He’s almost too skilled up at this time.
Spellcaster clubs are chaos and a lot of fun! There is a pub in Glimmerbrook that can be used, and I had one actually meeting at the Magic Realm, but you can set them to meet anywhere in game.
I enjoy RoM more than Vampires, even if the tiers aren’t as challenging. To me, Spellcasters have more storyline possibilities than vampires do, but that’s just my preference.
