Your Westeros Primer

Having finally got round to watching Season #3 of A Game of Thrones and read both parts of A Storm of Swords, I can at last feel confident in avoiding spoilers in reading and then reviewing A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide. This is the first supplement for A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue , the RPG published by Green Ronin based on the series of best-selling fantasy books by George R.R. Martin.  I have already reviewed the second supplement, A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter, as that contains no spoilers from either the books or the television series and is much of more of a gaming supplement than A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide. This supplement though, is much grander affair, describing as it does Westeros in lavish detail, providing full details on all the major regions and principal players of the game of thrones.

So if you happen not to have watched season #3 of A Game of Thrones or read both parts of A Storm of Swords, you do need to know that it does contain some spoilers. For in detailing the places and personages of Westeros and beyond, it focuses on places and peoples that do not appear until towards the end of both. It should be made clear that for the most part, these are not plot spoilers, but rather setting spoilers. Nevertheless, at least one plot spoiler is illustrated late in the book.

In keeping with the A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue, the setting for A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide is in the immediate years before the events of Martin’s heptalogy—or is that octet?—begin. The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros are at peace under the reign of Robert Baratheon, who usurped the Iron Throne from the Targaryen dynasty, the last of the Targaryens are powerless exiles to the east, the wildlings beyond the Wall seem contained, and the first stirrings of winter have yet to come. The handsome hardback opens with a history of Westeros, covering from The Dawn Age through the Age of Heroes and Age of the Dragons to just beyond the War of the Usurper and Greyjoy’s Rebellion. It is followed by an examination of the culture of Westeros, covering laws and justice, customs, entertainments and pastimes, goods and trading, language, faith, and the Maesters—the latter the scholars of Westeros. Several sections here will be of interest to the GM wanting to run a standard campaign based around a house of the players’ creation as described in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue. These include knighthood, social status and rank, and illegitimacy—the latter accompanied by the regional names accorded bastards in Westeros, Jon Snow of the North being the most obvious example.

This sets the stage for the bulk of the book. From King’s Landing and Dragonstone to The Stormlands and Dorne, the book details the history, geography and key locations, and the ruling House of its region, plus persons of note and notable personages, and the Banner Houses that owe fealty to the ruling House. So for example, the chapter detailing The Reach tells you how rich and fertile it is and of its rivalry with Dorne; of Oldtown, the city that is  home to the Maesters of the Citadel that was once Westeros’ premier city; and of the Maesters and how you would don the Chain to become one, before presenting House Tyrell. Some members of the House are simply given descriptions, but others are also given full stats according to the rules of A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue. In this case, they are Lord Mace Tyrell, his mother Lady Olenna Tyrell, and three of his four children, Ser Garlan, Ser Loras, and Margaery. Other persons of note are also given full write-ups, though these are less frequent. For the Reach, they consist solely of Samwell Tarly of House Tarly. Following the description of the Ruling House, the most notable Banner Houses are presented. These include major, minor, and landed houses as well as extinct ones. In some cases they are accorded a single line, others are a bit more detailed and thus interesting.

In each of the descriptions of the Seven Kingdoms, further aspects of Westeros are also given. In the case of The Reach, this is Oldtown and the Maesters, for the North, this the Night’s Watch, the neutral sworn brotherhood that mans the Wall against incursions by the Wildings, and for Dragonstone, it is background to the Targaryens, including write-ups and stats for Viserys and Daenerys, the surviving heirs. Accompanying the House descriptions and the Banner House descriptions are their castle names, coat of arms, and motto. In many cases, a very many of the Banner Houses have their coats of arms illustrated. Each of these chapters is accompanied by a decent map.

Having worked its way north from King’s Landing to the North and back down south again, the penultimate chapter in A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide is the eponymously titled ‘Beyond Westeros’ as it takes the reader across the Summer Sea to the Free Cities, the Dothraki Sea, and beyond. There are no game stats or character write-ups in this section.

Rounding out A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide is ‘Exploring Westeros’, a chapter of advice for the GM. This presents a look at the themes and feel of a Westeros campaign—noting that throughout, both are unlike traditional fantasy, either of certain novels and their bearing of rings or particular roleplaying games. It addresses the issue of running a campaign with a setting that has a particular plot—something that the A Song of Ice and Fire series has in abundance. There is a balance to be maintained the advice suggests between the players and their characters wanting to interact with the series’ signature characters and the influence and input from the player characters not derailing the plots and events that weave around the series’ characters. Essentially, what it comes down to is that a GM  and his players need to decide on the game that they want to play—one that unfolds alongside the events of the novels or want that goes off in another direction entirely. Completing the chapter is a number of campaign ideas that a GM could develop.

Physically, A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide is nicely presented with lots of full colour, painted art that presents another look and feel to that depicted in the television series. The book is nicely written and an enjoyably clear read, and the maps are good too.

There are one or two issues with A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide. As good as the maps are, the book could have down with more. In particular, no maps are given for the lands to the East. Given that they figure strongly in the novels, the lack of maps is a disappointing omission. Similarly, more maps of other locations would have been nice too. Maps are given for King’s Landing and the Red Keep, but not for many of the other castles or big towns in Westeros. To an extent, not all of them are detailed in the novels, but this is a roleplaying supplement after all, and some GMs like to have things quantified. Having already mentioned the plot spoilers in the art in the rear of the book, it should be pointed out that the choice of characters given full stats seems odd given that they are not connected with any particular character or House. This sort of heralds the importance of their roles in the novels.

If you happen to have read A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords, and watched the first three seasons of A Game of Thrones, then there is much to be enjoyed in A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide. You could ignore the game game stats altogether, because really, they do not take up all that much space; if you did, then what you would have is a well written and informative sourcebook for both the books and the television series up to end of book #3 and season #3. One that complements them both, though the books more so than the television series. As written though, A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide is a roleplaying supplement and both the source material presented here and the accompanying stats ably support that aspect (the latter without being unobtrusive). The advice in the last chapter is a pleasing if concise counterpart to the material presented earlier in the book and is good corollary to the advice given in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue.

Thus A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide is a good sourcebook for the A Song of Ice and Fire novels. It is also a good roleplaying supplement, expanding upon the information given in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue. So A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide succeeds twice.

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The First Step onto The Game of Thrones

Once you have a copy of A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, the RPG published by Green Ronin Publishing based on the highly popular fantasy novels by George R.R. Martin, the question is, where does a GM go next? Or in other words, what does he purchase next for nascent campaign? Where most roleplaying games focus on a small group of player characters doing relatively small things, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying expands that to have the player characters be in charge of a minor noble house. So they need a larger stage, and if not ‘larger’ foes, rivals, and allies, then ones that are of an equal status and challenge. 

For the GM, there are two choices. One is A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide, regarded as the counterpart to the A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying core book, which not only describes Westeros in some detail, but also details the major holdings and major players of the Seven Kingdoms. On the downside, this supplement is not spoiler free, containing as it does details from the first three books in the series – A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords. Also roleplaying on such a ‘grand’ stage can be daunting for both the GM and his players. Perhaps then, a smaller stage is preferred, one that the players and their noble house can make their own? The other choice then is A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter.

The A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter is a means by which the player characters can begin the story of their noble house. It presents six houses all located within the rich lands of the Riverlands, each of which whose fortunes is ready to be led by the players, ready to ally with the players’ house, or ready to feud with, if not outright fight, the players’ house. The latter might be one of the six described in the Chronicle Starter, or it could be one of the players’ creation, either replacing one of the houses in the book or slotted in alongside the six given here. However the supplement is used, each house comes ready with an allegiance to one of the great houses, a description of its history and holdings, descriptions of its personages of note, and a means to make each house’s chronicle that much darker by muddying the palette. In addition to an overview of the Riverlands, the Chronicle Starter also gives other interesting locations, places to put a players’ house, and more. Lastly, the supplement is rounded out with ‘The Iron Plot’, a starting scenario that revolves around the six houses described in the Chronicle Starter and which the GM will have to tailor to his players’ choice of noble house.

The supplement opens with House Barnell, a young house founded by a hedge knight and allied to the Starks. Known primarily for its martial prowess, the future of the house rests on its two sons. Garret Snow, the elder, has some of his father’s martial skill, but while favoured by his father, is a bastard with a reputation as a cad. In comparison, Lord Barnell’s step-son, Daveth has none of martial skill, but much of his mother’s courtesy and his own learning. Add to this is the fact that Lady Barnell has yet to give her husband an heir and has a reputation for being cursed – as does the castle itself, several of the previous houses having died out while in possession of it. House Bartheld is an ally of the Baratheons with a colourful reputation for holding lavish parties and having one of the finest wine cellars in Westeros. Unfortunately in the eyes of many of the Bartheld family, the new lord is too sober an influence on the household and thus some scheme to restore the family’s reputation for fun. In the meantime, the young lord is preoccupied by the House’s inability to deal with a bandit threat on its borders.

House Dulver is an ancient Lannister ally whose small holdings go deep underground. In Lord Dulver’s cellars are to be goods and items of all kind, ready to be sold or bartered for other goods or favours. The ambitious, so-called ‘Vulture of Dulver’ greedily eyes the richer commercial possibilities of neighbouring lands, works carefully towards their acquisition. Ill advice though might turn that care to something more impetuous… Newly allied with the Freys, House Kytley is struggling to recover from years of misrule despite a lack of proper family seat and the heir held by another house as a ward.

Situated guarding the western border of the Vale of Arryn, House Marsten is circled by every lord and knight wanting to make an advantageous marriage. The house has neither lord nor a male heir, their having died of the plague. Instead his wife rules and works ensure her husband’s name continues through her daughter. Meanwhile, her husband’s brother, a personal friend to Rhaegar Targaryen, has not been seen since Robert's Rebellion. This house has an interesting link to the events of the novels. Lastly, House Tullison is loyal to the Tullys and would seem secure in its mountain fastness were it not for the gullibility of its young lord who would prefer to be off adventuring and the mountain clans that raid down into the valley.

The Riverlands begins to put the six preceding houses in perspective as well as adding further elements to the region. These include the free community of Market Town, a kind of neutral meeting ground for the nobles of the surrounding houses. They have their designs on the community, but its wily mayor’s schemes have kept it independent so far. Three locations are included where the players can insert their house as a starting position – a bandit beset stretch of dense forest; once plague ridden farm land that needs resettling and redeveloping; and a local port and trade centre where the new lord must choose between coming to an accommodation with the powerful smuggling rings or routing them. Rounding the overview are details of a few other ‘odd’ locations and some regional customs.

Physically, the A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter is very nicely produced, although it is a pity that it is not in full colour as the art is excellent. It does an admirable job of breaking down and explaining the numbers that make up each house’s stats, bringing them to life. If there is an issue with the A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter, it is that it could have done with a stronger overview and possibly a better summary of each house for an easy grasp of each. Otherwise, it does take a while for the reader to grasp a feel for each house and how it fits into the Riverlands. Lastly, the ‘muddying the palette’ sections are underwritten and could have done with more development.  

A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter succeeds at what it sets out to do – provide a well written setting for a beginning campaign. It has links enough to satisfy the A Song of Ice and Fire devotee without such links becoming overbearing. There is plenty of variety in the given six houses and plenty of elements that the GM can develop and bring into his campaign to make it his and his players’ own. Lastly, the A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter is a pleasurable read as well as a satisfying roleplaying supplement.

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The Kobold Strips... Divinely

Upon reaching your twenty-first birthday, you are widely regarded as having reached the age of responsibility and acquired not just responsibilities, but also rights and freedoms too. You are at liberty to do what you want and take the consequences of your actions. So the question is, having reached its twenty-first issue, what does Kobold Quarterly, Open Design's roleplaying magazine devoted to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition, and the AGE or Adventure Game Engine, do? Well, the first thing it does is take its clothes off and gut a rabbit and play with its entrails, all before discussing religion.

Now that sounds all so terribly rude, not to say dangerously controversial or even dangerous. The truth of the matter though, is that contents of Kobold Quarterly #21 is far from controversial, certainly not rude, and anything other than dangerous. The bulk of the issue is devoted to matters clerical, divine, and religious, all matters which are treated in a mature and reasonable manner. The first “controversy” though comes with Kieran Yanner’s cover, “The Wood Nymph.” Having seen the artist’s work inside the covers of numerous RPG titles, it is a pleasure to see a fully painted cover by him, but the fact that it depicts a semi-clad nymph might not be to everyone’s taste. It is something that is acknowledged by Kobold Quarterly editor, Wolfgang Baur. There is nothing prurient about that cover, and if it can regarded as being art of the cheesecake variety, then its flavour is a tasteful vanilla.

The controversy of the issue’s contents begins with “The Shaman – A Spirit-Based Class for the Pathfinder RPG.” Written by Marc Radle – whose The Expanded Spell-less Ranger I reviewed recently, as its title suggests, this presents the Shaman as a new Class for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. At its heart it feels much like a variant upon the Druid Class, but a combination of spells that do not have to memorised to be cast, the ability to heal by touch rather by spell, being able to morph into animal form, and having unimpeded movement through undergrowth gives the Class a wilder, more free spirited feel. The Class also has harder edge as seen in its limited spell choice and the sanguinary start to the augury powers with the Totem Secret, “Blood Divination,” which can provide a Shaman with skill and initiative bonuses. The Shaman has an array of Totem Secrets to choose from, many of which call upon the spirits for healing, protection, warnings, and other aid. In addition, the Shaman possesses a Spirit Guide, with whom he shares an empathic link, deliver touch spells for him and even help him draw spells from the spirit world for him. The Class includes a selection of sample Spirit Guides. At later levels, a Shaman can enhance his magic with a spirit dance and even go on a vision quest. Overall, the Shaman Class has a pleasingly earthy feel, and would make a useful addition to any wilderness set campaign. Where the controversy of the piece comes is in the opening colour text, which has a Shaman casting an augury through the examination of rabbit’s entrails. Perhaps a little too strong to some tastes, but still in keeping with the Class as described.

The sexual tone of the issue’s cover is continued with Sersa Victory’s “Daughters of Lilith – An Ecology of the Succubus.” Written as a piece of academia, this delves into the origins, motivations, life cycle, faith, society, and sexual proclivities (despite most actually being unable to bear children) of a type of devil that is widely regarded as being the ultimate in sexual seductresses and arch manipulators. It also discusses her male equivalent, the Incubus, and presents the Cult of the Succubus Queen, a cabal that in worshiping Mother Lust seeks to undermine the chaste morality underlying civilization’s integrity… Although the article is written for use with Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition, including a new Feat and Powers for both worshippers and Succubae, much of the background presented in the article would work just as well with any fantasy RPG setting that includes seductive devils. Especially an urban set campaign that involves power politics. This is though, an article best suited for a mature audience, as its content does touch on sexual themes. They are well handled and what could have been potentially prurient piece is nicely judged.

The first real discussion of religion in Kobold Quarterly #21 is “It's a Mystery!” by David “Zeb” Cook. This is a generic article that suggests how a GM might make religion in his campaign more interesting by adding Mystery Cults. Drawing from those of Ancient Rome, Greece, and Egypt, it discusses how to design a Mystery Cult and its motivations, how and why you might join such a Cult, and hints at what its secrets might be. This being an article in a roleplaying magazine, your first thought at reading the word “cult” would be that this article is all about cabals bent on evil, but nothing could be further from the truth. As the author makes clear, Mystery Cults are about secrets and the privacy of worship rather than just being evil. A Mystery Cult could just as easily be composed of farmers worshipping for a bountiful harvest as they could “cultists” attempting to learn the secrets of summoning some tentacle creature from the nether regions. With advice on how to get the player characters involved, this is another interesting article that would work in many fantasy RPG settings. If it lacks anything, it is that it would have been nice, given the article’s historical sources, if some references and suggestions as to further reading had been included.

Tim and Eileen Connors continue the divine theme with “Clerical Conflicts – Thy Will Be Done” for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Although its opening paragraphs feel bland, the piece really steps up a pace with the five well-written and colourful examples that support the idea that the faith adhered to by a player character Cleric can the source of character conflict. Essentially, it asks what if a character’s experiences or interpretation of his faith conflict with the dictates of his deity or his church? The examples all use members of the same faith, all sat down to the same meal, and all mulling over questions of faith. Each one comes with a mechanical effect, mostly minor, but some come with major effects instead. For example, a Cleric with the “Forsaken” Conflict has not only lost his direct connection to his god, but also his Domain spells too, and in praying for them he literally steals them from other Clerics around him. These are all interesting and colourfully written dilemmas that could easily adapted to the religions detailed within a GM’s campaign, and whilst the mechanical effects are written for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, the dilemmas would work in most fantasy RPGs.

With “Howling Tower: Why No Monotheism?” Steve Winter asks an interesting question. Why do so many fantasy settings have pantheons of gods when most real-world religions are monotheistic and have the single, one god? The article comes up with some good answers and suggests ways in which such a faith can be added to a game. “Divine Archetypes: Angelic Heroes, Holy Traps, and Celestial Fists of Fury” by Stefen Styrsky, details divinely scented Archetypes for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, turning the Sorcerer, Fighter, Gunslinger, and Ranger into the Angel Scion, Seraphic Cohort, Peacemaker, and Spirit Hunter respectively. Also for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Christina Stiles’ “Saints of Mavros” describes two saints worshipped in Midgard, either widely in the case of St. Brigantia of Valera, or just in Morgau, Doresh, and the Ghoul Imperium, in the case of Saint Whiteskull of Bratislor. Both include descriptions of each Saint’s worshippers, Domains and favoured weaponry, symbols, noted books, famous shrines and priests, connection to other faiths, and what demands each places upon his worshippers.

As its title suggests, “A Background in Magic – Alchemists, Druids, Illusions, and Seers for the AGE System” by Rodrigo Garcia Carmona gives new magical backgrounds for the magic-using character in Green Ronin Publishing’s AGE or Adventure Game Engine. These are reasonable Backgrounds, but they feel like half an article because there is no information about these forms of magic given for the Adventure Game Engine. With just that half, both GM and player will have to work hard to supply further detail and flavour.

Diverging further from the issue’s divine theme, “The Scriveners of Allain” further develops background and concepts previously described in Kobold Quarterly #8. Written by Brian A. Liberge for Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition, it describes glyph and ink magic and the disparate cult devoted to it in the magocracy of Allain. In a Scrivener’s hands, this form of magic summons deadly glyphs that for a time will obey the summoner’s commands, though their diabolic nature makes them wilful servants. Again, this article contains a nice mix of flavour and mechanics. Also for the wizard or sorcerer is David Schwartz’s “White Tongue, Black Heart,” which describes a literally tongue twisting companion for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Known as a Witch Louse, it replaces the mage’s tongue, as his familiar it can help by maintaining the Concentration required to keep a spell going, deliver a nasty bite, give the mage a really disturbingly intimidating countenance, and because of its duplicitous nature, it can enhance his lies. The article is rounded out with a fully-fledged NPC, the enchanter Kergart, who is commonly known as “the man with the silver tongue.”

More entertaining flavour for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game comes with Nicholas Milasich’s “Nine Treasures of Deep Midgard” which describes a nonet of goods, treasures, and trophies that might be brought up from the Underdark. Drow Brandy is a euphoric intoxicant whilst Tinned Heads are literally that, each crafted by the Ghoul Imperium to contain a head that will each serve the owner as a fount of certain knowledge… What brings all of these intriguing items together is their unfamiliarity to surface dwellers, that is, the player characters. Everyone requires an Appraisal skill roll to identify and value each item. Lastly, “The Shadow Lodge Insurgency” describes the events surrounding an attempt to subvert the Pathfinder Society of Golarion, the setting for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. As recounted by Marius Scipio, it is a lengthy background piece that is interesting enough, but it lacks an immediate use and brings the issue to disappointing close. This is not to say that it is a bad article, but the issue would have all the better had it included a scenario in its stead.

Rounding out the issue is an entertaining interview with Bill Slavicsek, the former Director of R&D for Dungeons & Dragons as well as freelancer and writer on numerous titles for West End Games’ Star Wars and Torg RPGs. This is in addition to the usual “From the Mines...” (letters) section, cartoons, “Ask the Kobold” column that answers questions about being “Flat-Footed in Heavy Armour,” and the Free City of Zobeck column, “Deadly Tolls and Honest Challenges,” which looks at banditry in the Midgard campaign setting. The issue is without its usual book review column, but it promises to return with issue #22.

Available as an eighty page magazine or a 26.69 Mb PDF, Kobold Quarterly #21 is well presented and pleasingly adheres to its theme although it does need an edit in places. Overall, Kobold Quarterly #21 is another entertaining and useful issue, with plenty to say on matters divine whatever your choice of fantasy RPG. That it does so with maturity and a lack of controversy over what could be contentious issues is a sign that it has come of age.

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Roleplaying Before A Game of Thrones...

Despite the fact that there has been a copy of A Game of Thrones on the bookshelf for a good decade or more, I have never found the time to pick it up and start reading George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire series. Nor did I pick it up and start reading it when the television series was made or when Green Ronin Publishing released A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue in George R. R. Martin’s World of Westeros. In this last week or so, I have however engaged in a marathon one-day viewing of A Game of Thrones, Season One and finished reading through A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition released by Green Ronin Publishing. So now, I at least feel qualified to review what in effect, is the game’s second edition, updated and revised from its original release in 2009 and now including not one, but two full scenarios that had been previously available as separate adventures.

What should be made clear about A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition is it is not a roleplaying game about playing the events of the novels or the television series. In fact, none of the signature characters appear, or are described, in its pages. Nor is it set at the time of the novels, but rather, before the chaos of the events that they describe. That said, some spoilers are contained within its pages. Anyway, instead of portraying the signature characters, the players of A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying work together to create a minor noble house and attempt to control not just its fortunes, but also those of the members of its household, as roleplayed by the players, either nobles or retainers. This can be through allegiances, war, and intrigue, but ultimately, the fate of the house is tied to one of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. These kingdoms vary in nature and tradition as much as the continent of Westeros does, from the sparseness of the North dominated by the three hundred mile long, seven hundred foot high Wall of ice and magic that has protected the lands to the south for millennia, to the rocks and mountains of Dorne in the far South.

Whilst the setting of the series and the RPG is one of High Fantasy, it is not one necessarily of great magic. Magic has existed in its past, but exists only in small ways within both the setting and the RPG, mostly as omens or dreams. This is reflected in what is available as characters to the players. They can be warriors, whether Anointed Knights of the nobility or Hedge Knights who have risen from the common folk to sell their service to the nobility; heirs and nobles intriguing for their house; the learned Maesters who wear chain necklaces with each link indicating an area of their learned knowledge and advise the houses on a range of subjects, except for faith, as this is provided by the Godsworn; and any number of retainers and experts that a house might employ, from a bard to a scout. Within the limits of game’s setting, the players are free to create any characters that they want.

The process though, starts with House creation – this despite the fact that the rules for this are placed after those for character creation in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying. The players work to create the house together, deciding which of Westeros’ Seven Kingdoms it lies, before rolling handfuls of dice to determine its Resources in terms of its Defense, Influence, Lands, Law, Population, Power, and Wealth. These are influenced by a House’s history and the events that have taken place since. Whilst these are also randomly rolled for, the players are free to decide the exact nature of these events. Once the Resource levels are finally determined, they are then used as points to purchase a House’s castle, hall, or tower; how many children its current Lord has; the features of its lands, basically its terrain types and communities; any lesser or Banner Houses that swear fealty to it – each Banner House can also be created using these mechanics – and what military units it commands; and lastly, features born of wealth, like a marketplace or port. The players also decide what their House’s motto is and with rolls of even more dice, its coat of arms. Lastly, the players decide upon the members of the household, many of whom will become player characters.

The creation process is entertaining and will probably take a session in its own right. Beyond the creation process itself, the House needs to be run from one month to the next. This can be as simple as making a House Fortune roll, which provides a random event such as a plague that reduces a House’s Population Resource or an increase in its Influence Resource with the blessing that the Lady of the House is with child. The Lord of a House can also undertake an action each month, managing Resources, adding new features to his lands, waging war, or even host a tournament. Beyond the mere mechanics, the House serves as a character in its own right, from which the Narrator can derive events and challenges to present to his players.

-o-O-o-

House: Install of the Iron Islands, Lords of the Ladder
Defence: 36 (Small Castle [30])
Influence: 26 (First-born son [20])
Lands: 22 (Wetlands [3], Hamlet [10], Coast [3], River [3], Ruin [3])
Law: 19 (House Fortunes -5)
Population: 33 (House Fortunes +3)
Power: 48 (Banner House Mohr – Defence: 18, Influence: 22, Lands: 21, Law: 12, Population: 9, Power: 20, Wealth: 15), (Banner House Lassen – Defence: 15, Influence: 14, Lands: 20, Law: 18, Population: 19, Power: 18, Wealth: 20), (Trained Sailors: Discipline Routine [6], Agility 3/Awareness 3/Fighting 3, [Power 7]; Fleet: Trained Warships: Discipline Routine [6], Awareness 3/Fighting 3/Marksmanship 3, [Power 10]; Green Peasant Levies: Discipline Routine [9], Animal Handling 2/Awareness 3/Fighting 2, [Power 1])
Wealth: 45 (Artisan, Maester, Port, Sept)
Heraldic Device: Sanguine over Azure Per Chevron with a Ladder Or centre
Motto: We Climb to Honour

Family legend says that the founder of House of Install helped the Grey King of the Iron Islands to climb from the sea and was the first to kneel before him. In return for his fealty, the first Install was given the right to take an island by blood and conquest. He choose Harlaw and in a campaign that lasted a hundred years, the first Install claimed the island in the name of the Grey King, and from there would lead many raids upon the West coast of Westeros. The family’s fortunes fell during the Targaryen conquest. Aegon the Conqueror and his Dragons drove the Ironmen of the River Lands out and forced them to return to the Iron Islands, where their jealousy of the then Lord Install’s holdings weakened the response to the Targaryen invasion. Despite the niggardly attacks upon his estates, Lord Install stood with House Greyjoy throughout the assault on the islands, and when the Greyjoys were chosen by the Iron Men to become the Lords Paramount of the Iron Isles, the Installs swore their allegiance to them. Their loyalty was not forgotten and whilst Lord Greyjoy was forced to grant lands to House Install’s leading detractors – Lassen and Mohr, it was as Banner Houses to Lord Install.

In more recent times, Lord Gregor Install forged greater links through trade with the mainland and supported Robert of House Baratheon in his overthrow of Aerys II Targaryen, "the Mad King." He gained great favour with the new king, but the division to his loyalties drove him mad when his liege lord, Balon Greyjoy, openly rebelled against King Robert Baratheon. Although the rebellion failed, Lord Gregor’s indecision lost the house favour with both Houses Greyjoy and Baratheon and many of his decisions in the last decade have further weakened the family’s status. As has Lord Gregor’s conversion to the faith of the Seven, which resulted in him allowing the establishment of a Sept on his lands. His wife, Elana, persuaded her husband to acquire the services of a Maester in response, so as to reduce the influence of her husband’s madness on her children.

House Install’s holdings consist of the entire length of the River Piddle that divides the island of Harlaw and the wetlands that run along its banks. Castle Install stands several miles up the navigable river over the island’s major port, Harlaw’s Foot. The Installs tax the trade that passes through the port onto the market in Lassen and back out again.

Members:

• Lord Gregor Install, Lord of Harlaw’s Foot, an old man of nearly seventy 
• Lady Elana, Lady of Harlaw’s Foot, formerly of Banner House Mohr and aunt of Kyle, current head of House Mohr, a middle-aged woman of thirty-eight 
• Ser Aubran Pyke, bastard son of Harlaw’s Foot, an adult man of twenty-five years 
• Lady Ingirun Install, daughter of Harlaw’s Foot, a young woman of eighteen years 
• Lord Stefan Install, heir of Harlaw’s Foot, a young man of thirteen 
• Duncan Lassen, Squire to Ser Aubran, Ward of House Install, a young man of twelve years 
• Mace Weller, a Bravoosi Water Dancer and Swords Master, tutor to Lord Stefan Install and Duncan Lassen, an adult man of thirty years 
• Maester Gilbert, a middle-aged man of forty-one years, once of the Riverlands

-o-O-o-

Creating a character in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying involves choosing a place within a House. This should not be the head of the House, but can be his heir or his heir’s siblings, wards from other Houses, or any number of loyal retainers. Once selected, a character’s age is either chosen or rolled, and this determines how many points he has available to spend on Attributes, Bonus Dice, and Destiny Points, as well as any Flaws or Drawbacks. The older a character is, the more he has to spend on Attributes and Bonus Dice, but the less he has to spend on Destiny Points as they have already experienced much of his life. Younger characters receive fewer points to spend on Attributes and Bonus Dice, but have more Destiny Points to spend because they have their life yet to lead.

Although not a “class or level” game, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying does suggest what character Abilities fit certain Roles and illustrates it with characters from the book. For example, Eddard Stark is listed as a Leader, and the Cunning, Endurance, Fighting, Persuasion, Status, and Warfare Abilities are suggested for that role. The other Roles are Expert, Fighter, Rogue, and Schemer. Of course, a player is free to combine whatever role and take whatever Abilities he wants for his character. There are a total of eighteen Abilities, from Agility and Awareness to Warfare and Will. They are as much skills as they are the attributes to be found in other RPGs, and range from between one and eight, with an Ability starting at two and rarely going six or above. All of the Abilities are important, but within the setting of Westeros, Persuasion is useful in intrigues; Status represents the circumstances of your birth and station, as well as your skill at governing your House; and Warfare lets you take command of your House’s troops – if it has any! In addition, a character has a number of Specialities attached to his Abilities, such as Climb or Swim for the Athletics Ability, Bluff or Cheat for the Deception Ability, and Axes or Spears for the Fighting Ability.

During his creation, a character also begins with a number of Destiny Points, the amount varying according to his age. In game, they can be used to gain bonuses and control of the narrative, but more importantly, if the character is defeated – whether due to intrigue or open combat – they allow him to choose his fate. Otherwise, it lies in the hands of the victor – which is never a good thing! Whilst the game advises that the character keeps some for this purpose, during character creation, they can be used to purchase Benefits. These are the equivalent of Advantages in other games, and fall under several categories – Ability, Fate, Heritage, Martial, and Social. For example, the Guttersnipe Ability Benefit allows re-rolls of one on the results of all Thievery Tests; the Heir Fate Benefit grants no mechanical advantage, but should the head of the House die, then you inherit the Head of House Benefit and control the family’s fortunes; the Bludgeon Fighter I Martial Benefit makes it easier for the user’s weapon to shatter armour; and the Charismatic Social Benefit grants a bonus to Persuasion Tests. Many of the Benefits given in the game directly reflect elements of the setting, such as Brother of the Night’s Watch or Animal Cohort. Many also stack and require previous Benefits, such as Short Blade Fighter I, Short Blade Fighter II, and Short Blade Fighter III, such as the Warg benefit needing Warg Dreams and Animal Cohort.

In addition to these Benefits, older characters tend to suffer from Drawbacks, which inflict penalties on a character’s Abilities, and Flaws, which are like traditional Disadvantages of other roleplaying games. Lastly, a character rolls for his Life Events around which his background can be created, and either chooses, or rolls, for his Goal, Motivation, Virtue, and Vice. Again, these have no mechanical bearing on the game, and are included as roleplaying hooks.

Alternatively, some nine pre-generated characters are included as ready-to-play examples. A player is free to use these, or create his own. The creation process is more fun though.

-o-O-o-

Lady Ingirun Install
As the eldest legitimate offspring of House Install, Lady Ingirun rages at her situation. She does not wish to be married off to maintain some alliance, but rather to see to her House’s fortunes herself. She is torn between the aims of her parents, rent in twain by her father’s madness. Under his guidance, she would be a warrior and a raider, leading the house’s fleet into war. Only last year she took command of a vessel that was harried by pirates and turned her ship upon the buccaneers, not only capturing its captain in personal combat, but saving both the lives of her mother and younger brother in the process.

Her mother wishes her daughter to marry well and so strengthen House Install in the process. She has been presented at several courts, but as charming and as charismatic as she is, her suitors rarely linger. Vivacious and disarming she can be, but there is something a little odd about both her and some of the things that she says, things that sometimes come to pass. Ingirun is a popular member of House Install, especially with the Iron Men, who see her as a true daughter of the First Install who would be welcome on any of their boats.

Lady Ingirun Install
Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Cunning 3, Deception 3, Fighting 3 (Long Blades 1B), Knowledge, Language 3 (Common), Persuasion 4 (Charm 1B), Status 4 (Breeding 1B, Stewardship 1B), Warfare 2 (Command 1B), Will 4 (Dedication 1B)
Goal: Power Motivation: Hatred Virtue: Courageous Vice: Scheming
Events: Achieved a significant deed
Qualities: Destiny Points 2, Blood of the Ironmen, Charismatic, Third Eye
Attributes
Awareness 3
Intrigue Defence 10 / Composure 12
Move 3 / Sprint 14
Combat Defence 8 (10 with shield) / Armour Rating 5 / Health 6
Attack Longsword 3+1B (4 damage)
Attack Shield 3 (1 damage; defensive +2)
Personal Gear: Longsword, Mail, Shield, Courtier’s Clothing, 11 Gold Dragons

-o-O-o-

A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying uses what Green Ronin Publishing calls the Chronicle System which only uses six-sided dice. This of course, makes its mechanics easier for anyone coming to the game via the books or the television series rather than another RPG. To undertake an action, a character gets to roll a number of dice equal to the Ability plus any Speciality dice, but he only gets to keep a number of dice equal to the Ability. A Routine Test would be 6, with difficulties rising in steps of three. In certain situations, Degrees of Success matter, each requiring multiples of five above the basic Test value.

For example, Lady Ingirun Install is aboard a ship that has been attacked by a pirate ship. She has prepared for the attack and donned her sword and armour. As the pirate comes alongside, she attempts to leap across. This is an Athletics Test, which the Narrator sets at Formidable or 12. Her player asks that Ingirun receive a bonus for her Blood of the Ironmen Benefit and her Courageous Virtue and the Narrator gives her a +2 bonus. He rolls a 4, 5, and 6, which together with the +2 gives her a total of 17. This also gives Ingirun the equivalent of a Great Success and her Narrator rules that she has landed on her feet in the pirate boat and is ready to fight.

The combat system has a pleasing brutality to it. It makes a strong division between physical defence and physical protection. Thus the lighter the type of armour that a defendant is wearing, the more difficult it is to hit him, but when he is hit, his armour stops less damage. A defendant wearing heavy armour is easier to hit, but his armour offers him better protection. He is also much slower. Weapon damage is not determined by a die roll, by the actual weapon used. For example, a Greatword does damage equal to the wielder’s Athletics Ability +3. Most weapons also have one or more Qualities of their own. The Greatsword has the Qualities of Powerful, Slow, Two-handed, Unwieldy, and Vicious, which means that a wielder can put more effort into a strike and inflict more damage (Powerful), that the wielder cannot divide his attacks against multiple opponents (Slow), requires two hands (Two-handed), is difficult to use on horseback (Unwieldy), and in defeating an opponent, always kills him (Vicious). Whilst a simple hit inflicts a set amount of damage, Degrees of Success multiply the base damage, which when you consider that the base Health rating for a character is 6, means that combat can be very deadly. Combat is not necessarily complex, but it does offer plenty of options, especially once characters start employing manoeuvres.

When a character has his Health reduced to 0, he has been defeated. It can offset though, by taking Wounds or Injuries, which involves taking penalties to Tests until a character is healed. If he is defeated though, the victor chooses what happens to you. Common options include Death, Maiming (with an accompanying reduction in one Ability), being Ransomed (or being held captive until this can be paid), Take the Black (exile and service with the Night’s Watch rangers on the Wall), or Unconsciousness. Alternatively, the Defeated could Yield and negotiate with the Narrator as to his fate; or he could burn a Destiny Point to decide what happens.

For example, having led her troops aboard the pirate vessel, Lady Ingirun has cut her way through several of the pirates, but not without suffering in injury to her arm that imposes a -2 to all Tests in the combat. She finally reaches the pirate captain, Olef the Red, and attacks with the fury of the Blood of the Ironmen, giving her a single extra die to roll and keep. She has Fighting 3+1B with a longsword, so she gets to roll five dice and keep four, deducting two from the final result. She rolls 2, 3, 3, 6, and 6, chooses the highest four results, and deducts 2 to get a final result of 16. The captain is wearing ring mail and has a Combat Defence of 4, so Ingirun has rolled 14 higher than the target. This is three Degree of Success and so Ingirun inflicts 12 points of damage, which is reduced to 8 by his ring mail. The pirate captain cannot withstand this blow and attempts to yield. Ingirun, ever the schemer, demands Olef and his men surrender and enter her service, or die…

-o-O-o-

Mace Weller
Little is known of Mace Weller’s background and he rarely speaks of it. A trained Water Dancer despite his obviously being from Westeros rather than Bravos across the Narrow Sea, Weller has returned to his homeland where he is currently a sword master in the employ of House Install. If anyone asks, he will state that he was a student of the late Titos Fallelan, famed Bravoosi Water Dancer and nothing more. He denies any knowledge of the rumours surrounding his master’s death, but has been to stare longingly at a small cameo that he keeps in a locket and is never without.

Mace Weller
Agility 4 (Acrobatics 1B, Quickness 1B), Animal Handling 2, Athletics 3, Awareness 3 (Empathy 1B), Cunning 2, Deception 2, Endurance 3, Fighting 5 (Fencing 3B), Healing 2, Knowledge 2, Language 3 (Bravoosi) 2 (Westeros), Marksmanship 2, Persuasion 3 (Charm 1B), Status 2 (Breeding 1B), Stealth 2, Survival 2, Thievery 2, Warfare 2, Will 3
Goal: Revenge Motivation: Peace Virtue: Humble Vice: Cowardly
Events: Travelled across the Narrow Sea; Kidnapped and escaped; Falsely accused of wrong doing
Qualities: Destiny Points 1, Braavosi Fighter I, Water Dancer I, Courteous
Drawbacks: Honour-Bound
Attributes
Awareness 3
Intrigue Defence 7 / Composure 9
Move 3 / Sprint 14
Combat Defence 10+2 / Padded Armour 1/ Health 9
Attack Bravoosi Blade 5+2B (4 damage, Fast, Defensive +1)
Personal Gear: Bravoosi Blade, Courtier’s Clothing, 5 Gold Dragons

-o-O-o-

A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying includes two other forms of combat. The first is Warfare, which enables the Narrator to play out pitched battles and other military engagements, as well as allowing the player characters to get involved. Not just in fighting alongside the units, but also in joining and leading them. The rules involve units of a hundred foot soldiers or twenty cavalry, which possess Abilities just like characters, most obviously Fighting and Discipline. The latter is important when its commander attempts to give it orders using his Warfare Ability. Just like the rules for combat there several advanced options which allow for particular manoeuvres or formations, such as Pincer or Square. The rules can be used to roleplay out a military engagement, but they can just as easily be used with miniatures to play out as a simple wargame. These rules also allow the players’ House to go to war or defend itself using the military units purchased with the Power Resource.

The second form of combat in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying is Intrigue. Where both melee and missile combat and Warfare handle physical combat, Intrigue is for social combat. Whilst the danger of physical combat in the Seven Kingdoms is an ever present threat, Intrigue is more civilised form of warfare and constantly plays out across Westeros, most notably as the “Game of Thrones.” Where in melee combat a character will enter into the fray with his arms and armour, when entering into an Intrigue, he has Dispositions and Techniques, the first serving as his armour, the latter as his attacks, and will withstand attacks with his Intrigue Defence – and if not, will take “social” damage to his Composure. An Intrigue can be handled in as complex a fashion as the players and Narrator wants. A Simple Intrigue can be handled with a single Test, a Standard Intrigue as a series of Tests, and a Complex Intrigue as a series of Standard Intrigues played out over time.

As with physical Combat, there are consequences to suffering a Defeat during an Intrigue. These though, will vary depending upon the Technique used by the victor. For example, a successful Bargain might gain the victor a reduction in the cost of a service, whilst with a successful Convince, the defeated will agree to support the victor, even if they hate the victor. As with the previous forms of combat, the rules for Intrigue are supported with detailed examples.

Other elements of the setting of A Song of Ice and Fire are supported through the equipment lists, which includes a lengthy section on poisons, and the bestiary. The latter includes a small selection of supernatural creatures, such as the Others and Wights, should the player characters’ adventures ever take them beyond the Wall. The Narrator also receives some expanded rules and discussion of the previous rules as well as the usual advice on running the game, plus advice on handling magic and supernatural events, and running a game set within the Seven Kingdoms not built around the game’s default of running and playing a House. This includes having the players take the roles of the adventurers more typically found in a fantasy RPG, playing Free Folk, getting involved in the Game of Thrones or the events of the books, and of course, having the player characters Take the Black and join the rangers of the Night’s Watch on the Wall.

If there is an issue to A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying it is that the background is underwhelming. The almanac at the book’s start gives a good introduction to the setting, but at no point do you get the feeling that you have enough information about Westeros. Much of it comes down to small details, such as names. For example, in creating the sample House, Banner Houses, and characters above, I was left wondering what would be suitable names for the setting. Much of this is addressed in the game’s two main supplements. A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide, for example, provides much more detail about the Seven Kingdoms and Westeros, as well as describing the characters from the books. A Song of Ice and Fire Chronicle Starter also gives six whole Houses in detail, any one of which could become the one run by the players. The others of course, could be their House’s allies, enemies, or rivals – or all six could serve in any of these capacities if the players have created their own House.

Nevertheless, this problem has been in part addressed in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition. This new deluxe version of the RPG has been expanded by a third with the inclusion of two scenarios that had previously been available in PDF. “Journey to King’s Landing” originally appeared in the A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Quickstart, whilst the much, much longer “Peril at King’s Landing,” which appeared as a supplement of its own. Notes are included that allow the scenarios to be run together with the scenario “Wedding Night” which appears in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Narrator’s Kit. “Peril at King’s Landing” also provides specific information about the Westerosi capital, King’s Landing, and a full set of NPCs and minor houses. Both scenarios make use of the sample pre-generated characters provided at the beginning of the book, specifically adding a background to each to involve them in the adventures.

Physically, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition is nicely presented. The new edition is cleaner and tidier, and it has all of the errata worked in from the original A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: Adventure, War, and Intrigue. New artwork has been added, including the cover, and whilst some of it hints at spoilers, it is generally evocative of the setting.

As an aside, it should be noted that A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition bears strong comparison with another roleplaying game, both in terms of setting and mechanics. That game is Alderac Entertainment Group’s Legends of the Five Rings. Both games employ a “roll and keep” core mechanic, using ten-sided dice in the case of Legends of the Five Rings and six-sided dice in the case of A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying. Of course, how the results are interpreted is very different, with the Chronicle System being the slightly more complex of the two. In both settings, there is massive wall built through magic that protects the nation. In Westeros, this is of ice and found in the North, in Rokugan, it lies in the far South and is of stone construction. Both constructions are known as the Wall. Similarly, in both settings great clans or houses vie with each for power and prestige before the current holder of the nation’s throne – the Iron Throne in the case of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, the Emerald Throne in the case of Rokugan. Parallels aside, there is nothing to stop a GM from the rules given in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition and the Chronicle System in general to run a fantasy campaign in which a family organisation matters. So it would work with the RPGs King Arthur Pendragon and Tékumel: Empire of the Petal Throne, and it would also work with Frank Herbert’s Dune. All it would take is some tweaking upon the part of the GM.

In many ways, the basic rules and mechanics in A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition do feel far from original. Yet does something have to be original to work? The Chronicle System is a relatively simple one, and simple for a roleplaying game that has deal with both experienced players and those coming to it anew as a fan of the novels and television series, is nothing but a good design decision. Plus, the one or two steps that the rules take in order to handle the trio of rules sets at the heart of the game and Westeros itself – Combat, Intrigue, and Warfare – are not overly complex ones and they do have enough similarities to go from one to another. In fact, the most mechanically complex aspect of the game is character generation, and that is more a problem of having to flip back and forth though the book to understand how each element of a character works in order to create one suitable for both the game and the setting.

Ultimately, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition is weakest when it comes to the background of the books and the television series, but get past that and the Chronicle System and its implementation here capture the grim, often brutal fantasy as seen in both the books and on screen. The rules allow you to make an interesting House around which to play your characters, and also allow you to create characters that have the potential to be honourable, feared, hated, devious, and even mourned… If a Narrator and his players want to roleplay a campaign set within the Seven Kingdoms and Westeros, then A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying: A Game of Thrones Edition has everything that they need to get started.

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A Kobold's Score

As Kobold Quarterly #20 attains its score, its coverage of Dungeons & Dragons – and its primary variants, continues to maintain a high standard with its mix of articles, advice, and scenarios. As with Kobold Quarterly #19, this latest issue from Open Design continues to move away from its previously self-avowed tag line – “The Switzerland of the Edition Wars” – with more coverage for Paizo Publishing’s Pathfinder Roleplaying Game than Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition. This is not to say that Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition receives less coverage than in the previous issue, but the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game definitely gets the most space. In addition there are articles for the Adventure Game Engine, the mechanics that power the Dragon Age – Dark Fantasy Roleplaying from Green Ronin Publishing.

So if being neutral is not what Kobold Quarterly #20 is all about, what then, does it have as its theme? Again, the clue is in the tag line: “A Strong Bow and a Full Quiver,” for its theme is all about archers and archery, arrows and quivers, hunters and the hunted. Kicking off this theme is John E. Ling, Jr.’s “The Elven Archer: For Some Heroes, the Arrow Strikes Swift and True” which provides a Racial Class for the player who wants to play a character akin to Legolas. The Class is essentially a variant of the Ranger Class, but a pleasing touch is that it includes notes on how to adapt the Class to other races, roles, and missile weapons, as well as how the Class fits into the publisher’s Midgard Campaign Setting with a discussion of the Arbonesse Exiles and Daughters of Perun.

Thus “Arrows of the Arbonesse” by Jarrod Camiré can be seen as a companion piece, describing as it does the deadly and varied arrows of the Elves known as the Arbonesse Exiles. Again for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, it offers arrows that splash acid on a target, that release an obscuring fog, that leave a trail of razor wire, and need to be fired in pairs to create the anchoring points for the equivalent of the Web spell they release. The theme continues with Christopher Bodan’s “Fey Hunters & Shadow Hounds: Hunting PCs in the Margreve and the Shadow Plane,” which delves into the dangers of the hunt in the Old Margreve Forest in Open Design’s Midgard Campaign Setting. The region itself is described in more detail in the supplement, Tales from the Old Margreve, but this article looks at one particular aspect – how the Shadow Fey use the forest to hunt their prey. Their prey being the player characters… Discussed are the shadow fey’s tactics, devices, and servants, the latter possibly being the heroes’ fate if they fail to escape the shadow fey’s predations. It is perhaps not as punchy as the previous articles in the theme, but instead provides a greater depth.

Nicholas L. Milasich adds a mucky element to the art of Alchemy in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game with “Derro Ooze Magic: New Discoveries and Archetypes for Alchemists.” It introduces the Ooze School of magic, a variant of the Transmutation school, the most notable features of which includes the ability to turn your arm into a slimy pseudopod and attack with its acidic touch and even temporarily transform into an Ooze! Similar abilities are available to the Sorcerer who selects the Ooze Bloodline, whilst adherents of the Ooze School who can take an Ooze familiar! Naturally, the article includes a list of oozy spells, but it is also much more than its mechanics as there is plenty of detail to be found here that can be added to a game, whether for player characters or NPCs.

A regular contributor to Kobold Quarterly, for this issue Mario Podeschi offers “Servants from Beyond: Lesser Planar Allies that are Ready to Summon,” a quartet of servants that the heroes could summon to their aid by casting the lesser planar ally and lesser planar binding spells. All four come with motivations as well as their stats and a list of negotiation mechanics that help bring them alive. The best of the four is Kaliskaria, an ambitious Fire Mephit whose jealousy and arrogance will surely try the patience of anyone who summons her. More obviously dangerous creatures are on show in Jack Graham’s “Night Terrors: Four Creatures to Truly Terrify.” They include the Chrysalis of the Changeling Moth, which charms groups of humanoids to care for it to the detriment of their own well-being and the haggard Pishtaco, a form of undead that butchers the living for their body fat and are reputed to be Alchemists or Gunslingers. Each of the four threats comes with a corresponding adventure hook and should present an interesting challenge to the heroes. Both articles are for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Of a similar nature is “Small Spirits: 5 Nature Spirits for Any Campaign” by Matthew J. Hanson, which is written for both the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition. Each of the five is powerful force of nature within a localised area and whilst capable of granting a boon will not always do so readily. Each comes with an adventure hook or two that the GM can develop. My favourite of these is the “String of Grandfathers,” a necklace of teeth from a lost tribe’s shaman that will offer the wearer the toothy advice of the ages if he can win the shamans’ approval.

Christina Stiles makes two contributions to Kobold Quarterly #20. First, she authors the issue’s single scenario, “Captured in the Cartways.” Designed for use with fifth level characters for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, it is an entertaining side trek adventure set in the tunnels under the Free City of Zobeck that sees the adventurers captured and given a small task before they can progress with their current task. Quite literally a mucky adventure, it throws the adventurers into the murk of the city’s underworld politics as well as providing a set of NPCs that can be added to a GM’s campaign. Written to support the release of Open Design’s Streets of Zobeck, to get the fullest use out of the scenario a GM will need access to the recently published Zobeck Gazetteer and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 1. For her second contribution to this issue, Christine is interviewed as part of the magazine’s regular “Kobold Diplomacy” feature. This is a thought-provoking article because the interviewee has been involved in various aspects of the industry that are rarely considered by the gaming public at large. As an editor myself, it was interesting to read her thoughts on the process.

Although the idea of old heroes coming out of retirement to perform one last deed is not new – it certainly gets used in books and movies aplenty – it is rare that such a narrative device gets used in roleplaying. Stefen Styrsky remedies this with “Putting the Band Back Together Again” for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, supporting it with examples and a full set of age related Feats. This has everything bar the plots specific to the GM’s campaign, but it could spur a great campaign and be a chance to bring back old, retired player characters that could revisit the sites of their former victories. (As an aside, an existing example of how this could be done would be with B2, Keep on the Borderlands followed by Return to Keep on the Borderlands).

Kobold Quarterly #20’s single article for the Adventure Game Engine is Randall K. Hurlburt’s self-explanatory “AGE of Specialization: Five New Character Options.” This presents five new Specialisations, one for the Warrior class, one for the Mage class, and three for the Rogue class. These become available once a character in Adventure Game Engine reach sixth level – as detailed in Dragon Age – Dark Age Roleplaying Set 2: For Characters Level 6 to 10, with the selection here providing some alternatives to the limited number given in that set. The number assigned to the Rogue class is indicative of the class’ flexibility, with the inclusion of the Marksman Talent covering for an odd omission in the rules given in the box.

“The Bardic Arts” by Aaron Infante-Levy is the first of the issue’s few articles written solely for Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition. It provides a set of new Class features that expand obvious features of the class, whether that is its use of magic with “Cantrip Study;” interaction with “Carousing,” “Etiquette,” “Seduction,” and so on; and study with “Polyglot” and “Student of Human Nature.” Over the course of a Bardic character’s career he gets to choose four of these and they nicely add non-combat aspect to the Class and the game. This is followed by the second article, Jerry LeNeave’s “Unearthed Ancestry: Racial Utility Powers for Gnomes, Tieflings, and Minotaurs” which provides five new Utility Powers for these three species that do add more flavour to them in play.

The last article for Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition is actually for the Adventure Game Engine and Pathfinder Roleplaying Game as well. “Make Haste! How to Design an Adventure with Time Pressure” by Ron Lundeen is really a generic article that provides a simple set of mechanics handling adventures that are a race against time. It is well explained and its mechanics are so light that it would work with many other RPGs too.

Rounding out Kobold Quarterly #20 is perhaps the issue’s oddest article, “Fish of Legend: Magical Seafood for Fighters & Wizards Alike” by Crystal Frasier. The idea is that in a world of magic that fish can provide more than the mundane – dyes, food, medicine, cosmetics, leather, and so on. This adds magical elements to fish and gives them innate abilities and secondary abilities to anyone who consumes or uses them. For example, the abaia has the knack of creating small rainstorms, but when eaten, renders a person impervious to dehydration and able to drip water from his skin for a day. In addition, it can be used as a material component doubles the duration of the control water and control weather spells. As the article explains, this is a means of recreating magical items in a different form, and a clever one it is too. Its contents should be used sparingly, but there is detail enough to add flavour and feel to a game.

For his regular Game Theories column, Monte Cook offers “The Power of the Game Master,” an exploration of the “GM as God,” the “GM as a Player,” and how this affects the group. All told its conclusions might be obvious to anyone with an interest in some of the theory behind roleplaying, but this is a well thought out piece. Of the other regular columns, Skip Williams answers questions about disease and poisons in “Ask theKobold,” Jeff Grubb explores “The Ruins of Arbonesse” in the “Free City of Zobeck” column, plus there are the usual cartoons and book review column.

Physically, Kobold Quarterly #20 is an improvement over Kobold Quarterly #19. It feels far less rushed, the art is more appropriate, and there are fewer editorial problems. The issue also feels as it has much more in the way of content. Similarly, the inclusion of more content, even if only a slight increase, for Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition makes the issue feel more balanced. Anyone who wants to play a character akin to Legolas will get a lot out of the issue, but equally, the article on Ooze magic begs to be added to a campaign (now can I persuade my GM to me play a Kobold Sorcerer with the Ooze Bloodline?). There is material aplenty in Kobold Quarterly #20 that can be added to a campaign, with the detail galore present that add flavour and feel.

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Freeport in Peril

Freeport: City of Adventure, the very setting that heralded the arrival of the d20 System and third party support for Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition is over a decade old now. We saw our very first glimpse of this pirate island nation back in 2000 with the release by Green Ronin Publishing of the classic scenario, Death in Freeport, and in the decade since, the city and its environs has been supported with sourcebooks and scenarios, and a campaign, as well as companion guides for running the setting using a variety of different rule sets, including Savage Worlds, Dungeons & Dragons, Fourth Edition, Castles & Crusades, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, and True20. All of these, bar Savage Worlds, it should be noted, being variants of Dungeons & Dragons in one form or another. Of late, the Freeport: City of Adventure setting has received little in the way of support, but since it is a personal favourite, it was pleasing to note that there has been one scenario for it this year, Peril in Freeport.

Published by Adamant Entertainment through Cubicle Seven Entertainment, Peril in Freeport is for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. It is written for a party of characters of between sixth and eighth level, each of whom should get a level’s worth of experience from playing through the adventure. To get all of the details of the monsters that appear in Peril in Freeport, the GM will need access to a copy of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary as the main villains of the piece are fully described there. He will also find a copy of the Freeport Companion: Pathfinder Edition useful, although it is not totally necessary as much of the action in the adventure actually takes place away from the city itself. Indeed, this is such that a GM could easily place the events and plots of this scenario around any island chain or archipelago within his own campaign world. Of course, as a setting, Freeport: City of Adventure is designed to be dropped into most fantasy worlds. The scenario does not specify that any particular class is needed to play through it, but the player characters will find the Perception, Profession: Sailor, and Swim skills to be useful. Of course, this being a Freeport adventure, the adventurers are more than likely to end up under water and so will need a means of breathing once submerged.

Peril in Freeport opens with a bang, or rather a wave! The city being struck by tidal is a sign that it is in danger again, but a more insidious threat appears when the adventurers come upon a Halfling, desperately in need of a good cup of tea, who has been shipwrecked after the vessel he was travelling aboard was attacked. He suspects that both his family and the ship’s crew have disappeared and offers a reward for their safe return. Tracking the culprits down puts the adventurers on the track of a conspiracy to sink ships sailing in and out of Freeport, and then a slaving ring, and then eventually a really big bad!

As an adventure, Peril in Freeport involves lots of sailing and swimming and sneaking and fighting. In fact, this is a more physical adventure than a cerebral one, but given the piratical nature of the setting, an action orientated adventure is fitting. During the first few chapters there are plenty of breaks during which the GM could insert adventures of his own devising. In fact, it might be a good idea for the GM to add them as the scenario’s plot could be a little linear in nature.

Physically, Peril in Freeport is good in places and bad in others. Certainly both the art and the cartography are good, while the editing veers towards the bad in places. Also, presenting the book using a serif rather than a sans serif fount might have made it easier to read. Similarly, some GMs might object to having the adventure’s monsters all in one place in a large appendix at the back of the book due to the need to flip back and forth between the adventure’s text and its monsters.

Lastly, given the fact that much of the scenario takes place away from the city of Freeport, its title of Peril in Freeport does not feel wholly apt. Now, the convention when naming scenarios for Freeport: City of Adventure is to use some kind of threat word followed by “…in Freeport.” Hence, Death in Freeport, Crisis in Freeport, and of course, Peril in Freeport. Yet, the nature of the scenario means that “Freeport in Peril” feels far more appropriate.

Over all, this is a solid affair that should present no difficulty to the GM in adapting to the other RPG rules that support Freeport: City of Adventure. Once under way, Peril in Freeport should provide a gaming group with several solidsessions of straightforward action and adventure – more if the GM adds his own adventures.

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