Introduction
The introduction makes some sort of attempt to change the scope of
the product from a narrators only product, as promised, to one aimed
at narrators and players alike. However there appears to be utter
confusion over which parts of the book Players may actually read.
They are encouraged, for example, to go through the Clan Activities
section; an interesting suggestion considering the amount of Narrator
only material the section contains.
The Kingdom of Sartar: History, The Tribes of Sartar, Tribal Rings,
Travel Customs
While interesting, this section has all the hallmarks of having been
brainstormed. I was half expecting to see Dr Rock and Mr Raccoon
making another appearance. There are constant referrals to the
Orlanth temples being closed, but when this actually occurred is
never actually stated. The information on Tribal Rings does not
mention what effects the Lunar occupation has had on the activities
or functions of Ring members. It is also interesting to note that
this was first slated to be included in the second Sartar Rising book.
Your Clan: Clan Councils
Keeping with Gloranthan tradition most of this information has
appeared in at least two other sources.
Player Resources: Common Resources, Special Resources Some interesting information, but much of it is mechanics with very little framework. The leader sheets are an interesting idea but mechanics for their use seems to have been hacked out, perhaps for reasons of space. The sheer number of examples leads one to believe that they have been put in as space fillers.
Narrator Resources: Neighbors, Imperial Enemies, Wanderers and
Oddballs
Very useful and long overdue, but this section should have been a
neat add-on instead of what amounts to the actual meat of the entire
product.
Clan Activities: Seasonal Activities, Triggered Events, The
Rebellion, Everyday Events
Some rehashed material, including a cut down version of a rather weak
scenario which first appeared on the web site. At least we can be
grateful that kite flying was not put forward as major Sartari
activity, as I have seen proposed in some places. There is some
contradictory information, like the three types of rebels, two of
which are earlier said not to exist any more.
A Year of Chaos
A disappointing mish mash of ideas strung together.
Blood Feud
There is a big fight at the fair (and why do farmers bring hoes to
the fair? Is this just some local name for Uleria initiates?). Rugs
are thrown, as well as punches. Yes I did say rugs. Supposedly
Heortling women throw rugs over the weapons of armed combatants to
break up fights. Neither the reasons nor the practicality of this
are discussed; it is just another throwaway line. Characters get a
visit from some pissed off ancestors. There is some spear rattling
at a funeral. Then the players can go and beat up some herders, visit
somebody else's stead and beat them up too (or alternatively visit
their bigger mates and then go and do the beating). Then it's off do
the court for an argument - or alternatively get your mum to go round
and sort it out because you're too scared. Good grief, no wonder the
Lunar occupation is going so well.
These Women Need Help
To summarise:
Random encounter
Random encounter
Random natural hazard
Someone is arrested
You attend a ritual no PC would normally go anywhere near
An astoundingly lame 'secret' is revealed
Index
The core rules for Hero Wars did not have an index. A lot of people
rightly took exception this and made their feelings known to
Issaries, and later products did have an index. The length of this
index however, given the page count of the supplement, is excessive,
and some of the entries are simply ridiculous. If I was the paranoid
sort I could take it as some sort of ironic insult.
What Your Grandpa Told You
Almost pointless and quite confusing. Hints that the start of the
campaign is in 1616, yet information from the tribes section world
lead one to believe that is sometime after 1618.
Conclusion.
This is a deeply disappointing product, especially considering it has
been germinating for 10+ years. The reason for the lack of detail in
the product would appear to lie in a desire not to upset hardened
Gloranthanphiles, who have already mapped out their version of Sartar
and jealously and often violently defend it. Newcomers are presented
with little scraps of information and game mechanics, and with one
exception, (a truly pathetic little map), there is nothing to give
any sort of scope. All this could have been forgiven if exciting and
engaging scenarios have been provided.
This should have been the `must have' product for Narrators. But because of the last minute decision to throw it open to players (perhaps an attempt to increase the sale base) the creators have made it a product which will please no one. Issaries continues to present us with a view of a Heortling society that ignores vital external elements. Vital aspects of the Lunar occupation continue to be ignored in the main text, often appearing instead as little scraps of information boxed of in out of the way places. It is a bit like describing Celtic British society just before Boudiccia's rebellion and failing to mention the Romans.
If you want a product that gives the detail contained in Griffin Mountain and Borderlands, along with the mechanics to run a clan then forget Barbarian Adventures. Issaries has stated that they will not produce anything with the level of detail of the classic Runequest products. What we are left with is what looks like a mixed bag of items thrown together at the last minute because a committee could not make its mind up.
One further mystery surrounds Barbarian Adventures, and this is the whereabouts of the Clan Questionnaire. I got my first glimpse of what was proposed for Sartar Rising at Convulsion some time ago. At the time I was reading the Aria RPG from LUG. The one thing that caught my attention with these rules was the ability to play a community as well as a `normal' PC. This bore a remarkable resemblance to what was being proposed for Hero Wars. A vital part of the proposed of Sartar book was therefore to be the clan questionnaire, a series of multiple choice questions to be decided upon by the players, which would determine all sorts of details about the clan - things such as clan specialties, favoured clan cults, relationships with neighbors and with the Lunar invaders. After being initially proposed for inclusion in Thunder Rebels then Barbarian Adventures the questionnaire has now seemingly disappeared. It would appear to be utterly pointless to put it in any further book in this series as most Narrators will have already had to work out these vital clan details.
Personally Barbarian Adventures left me with a feeling of being irredeemably lost. I seem to be in good company though, as Issaries seems to be in a remarkably similar state.
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