from The Berkeley Ars Magica mailing list.
Suffice to say, it is well-put-together, and ties off fairly nicely with True Lineages, where the two overlap (with one glaring exception, see
below). It also tends to tie off with Sanctuary of Ice, although there is a near-total departure from Houses of Hermes (for both GotF and TL).
The copy editing for both books should embarrass someone, but the content for both is solid. In case others haven't mentioned this, both are hard-bound, which is nice. Kudos to the various authors. (David Wood, you spend way too much time thinking about Hermetic Law
Great stuff for reference, though.)
The map is good, although made slightly less handy by the gutter issuesomeone already mentioned. Having a fold-out for the map, a la Dragon and the Bear, would have been nice. But just having a quality map (plus other good quality detail maps) is setting a good precedent for the new edition.
Durenmar is detailed enough to give it good flavor, but not so much that a troupe won't be able to add their own twists. Overall, the book
continues in the tradition of SoI, giving a few sample magi with stats, but general descriptions of others.
Irencillia is given a nice, original treatment, while Crintera harkens back to the Second Edition in a nice way (teaser).
There are lots of historical details that give it an organic feeling (i.e. things didn't just appear in the fashion that you see them, this Tribunal grew into its current form). However, the "mundane" history is quite brief, so if you're looking for lots of mundane details, you'll need to look elsewhere. The focus here is on the Rhine Tribunal, not Germany in the middle ages.
There are also lots of mystical sites noted, some of which are left open enough for troupes to customize for their purposes. Others are more detailed, and serve as nice examples.
There are some new virtues and flaws. They are well-integrated with the material, so this isn't a case of the "40 new feats!" syndrome of a certain other Game Which Will Remain Nameless. There is also more than a hint of what the revised Mysteries will look like when that is published (teaser).
I'm a little disappointed that so much of the book's limited space (about 30 out of 144 pages) was devoted to specific story plots, including an entire saga framework, but that's probably just me (I'd already developed that for our saga, so its not as immediately useful for me). Some of that material could be recycled and used, though.
I'll have to make some changes to the details for our saga (set in Bohemia, so I've been eagerly awaiting this book). One of the covenants described in the book (Roznov) will have to be trashed, but that is no loss, really, since it is also the one element of the book that clashes with True Lineages. I heartily recommend that others trash it as well, since it hearkens back to the Third Edition in all of the worst ways. Ditch Roznov! I cry!
Overall this is a good "first" for the new edition, Roznov or no Roznov. Go get it!
Ravagin
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