Kingbeast's Lair

Monday night I finished up my Terra Incognita : Ancient Mysteries campaign.? I will now be starting a new Fantasy Hero campaign called Spirit Storm.? The document for the campaign can now be had at the File Downloads page of this fine site.? To wet your appetite here is the introduction…

Welcome to the exciting fantasy world of Spirit Storm!

Spirit Storm is a high adventure fantasy campaign set after a cataclysmic magical war that devastated most of the land. If the adventures have a high tension, anime mixed with fairy tale feel, then I have achieved my vision for the campaign. This campaign is standard fantasy fare with some changes that will be detailed below.

A mere six months before the start of the campaign a great magical war was waged that lasted for almost fifteen years. This war devastated most of the known world creating large wastelands that did not exist previously. Fallout from the war also resulted in a dense layer of clouds that blanket the skies. This cloud layer limits the sunlight that can reach the planet and the stars can no longer be seen at night. Overall the land has become much colder. This dense cloud bank has also put an ?emotional pallor? on the people of the land.

The name of the campaign comes from the fact that spirits are the source of all magical energy. Spirits are found in all living things. The more majestic the being the more powerful the spirit. Thus the spiritual energy in a blade of grass is much less than that of a large majestic oak tree. In concept this is similar to the belief of American Indians and Japanese folk stories. Spells and magic are the summoning and control of called spirits.

Although this is ?standard fantasy fare? there is a difference with the races. Instead of dwarves, elves, etc all of the races are based off of animals. The dominant race is the Ape Kin. As far as the game is concerned Ape Kin, or ?Ape Men?, are ?humans?. Other races can include those which are spawned from mammals, avians, reptiles, fish, and insects. Several of the prevalent races can be found in this document but PC are encouraged to come up with their own races if desired. (Note that I am not a ?Furry? or anything like that.,..I just thought this would be a fun change that I have always wanted to try.)

The PC have been called by a powerful unseen force to leave their homes. This force is calling them together for some yet unknown reason. Players are encouraged to work this into their back stories. Another thing that the PC have in common is that on the day the mage war started something important happened in their lives that involves spiritual energy. It could be the devastation of their home village, the death of a loved one, a birth, an emotional turning point, etc. Again the PC are encouraged to be creative in this area.

-== What is it? ==-

Pulp Egypt : Adventures Along the Nile, 1933-1939 is a PDF product from Griffon Publishing Studio. The PDF is written by Peter Schweighofer. It details Egypt in the 1930’s with a heavy emphasis on how it can be best utilized for pulp style adventuring.

The PDF has a color cover and essentially a black and white interior. The artwork is taken from published photos. The book is 8.5? x 11? and is 175 pages in length. I have read the book cover to cover and used some of the material in my Terra Incognita campaign.

-== What I Like ==-

The Egyptian Exotica section is in my opinion the best chapter in the book and is frankly worth the price of the book. This section goes into the myths and legends of Egypt with focus on how it can be used for roleplaying. The section has many adventure ideas imbedded in the text.

The section that contains a sample campaign with an archaeology feel is very well done. The story is fresh but has a strong Indy feel which is just great.

The Who’s Who In Egypt section is also neat. It mentions the various figures who were traipsing around Egypt during this time frame. These folks are just awesome for guest appearance or even as opponents in some cases.

The art in the book is comprised of photographs from the time period that are taken from published photo sites. Normally this turns me off but for this book it really works. Some of the photos of buildings and indigents are just great.

-== What I Don’t Like ==-

The Travel section is pretty bland. There is not a lot to use and tips are missing for incorporation into games.

The espionage and criminal campaign sections are not great. In fact the criminal campaign section really does not have an ending in my opinion. These could use some additional content or maybe better stories.

-== Summary ==-

This book is the best examination I have read regarding Egypt in this time frame and how it can be used for gaming. My Terra Incognita campaign is set in the Victorian era but I still found this book to be very useful. If you want to run a game in Egypt anywhere near this time frame I highly recommend this book. If you want to get some free pulp adventures set in Egypt there are a couple on the Griffon Publishing Studio site at this URL: http://griffonpub.home.att.net/.

Pulp Egypt sells for $20 from Your Games Now. This is a great price point for the amount of material in the product.

I give it 8 out of 10 paws.

I just setup a website for my new Fantasy Hero campaign called Spirit Storm.? There is not a lot of content yet but more stuff will get added in the next month or so.? If I do a major update of the Spirit Storm site I will post it here.? 🙂